Red turn unlikely

Press, 4 September 1980, Page 8

Red turn unlikely

Christchurch motorists are unlikely to find themselves allowed to go through red lights without risking a ticket. The possibility has been raised by an experiment at Takapuna, in which drivers turning left,will be able to go through red lights at certain intersections. According to one survey, the rule could save more than 100,000 litres of fuel a year. It is already used widely in the United States and on 30 intersections in Sydney, but is unlikely to be adopted in Christchurch, according to a spokesman

for the traffic engineer’s department of the Ministry of Transport. He said the department had already done its own tests using the remote-con-trolled circuit television monitors above several main city intersections. Motorists in the United States are supposed to treat the red light as a compulsory stop sign. They must come to a complete halt, give way to all traffic, and proceed to turn only if the way is clear. “Our timing tests revealed that the delay caused by red lights when no traffic is coming the other way is very short. The amount of petrol used

by an idling engine would be very small, and the saving minimal,” the spokesman said.

The system was open to abuse, and might easily increase the number of accidents on intersections, he said.

The National Road board agreed to conduct the limited experiment at Takapuna at the request of the Ministry of Transport. Turning left against the lights will be allowed on only a few selected intersections, marked by large signs. . Even if the system were adopted, it would not apply to every intersection, the spokesman said.