The Traffic Lights of Glasgow Part 1

I cannot leave Glasgow without commenting on its traffic lights.

They were one of the most frustrating, excruciating,  agonizing,  time wasting aspects of Glasgow.

We all know the sequence and what to do as the lights change:

Red STOP,
Red&Amber PREPARE TO GO,
Green GO
Amber PREPARE TO STOP

Most times Red STOP &  Green GO times are reasonable based on traffic visible conditions. You have the sense the lights are fair based on the traffic flows one can see but not in Glasgow.

The traffic light timings and phasing between on set of lights and another are totally without rhyme or reason.

You could wait upto three minutes on Red STOP with nothing in the junction moving., then  for that split second they run - Red&Amber PREPARE TO GO,Green GO, Amber PREPARE TO STOP.– just enough to let three or four cars thru.

Now three minutes may not seem long but when you’re not sure of the roads AND you don’t fully trust the directions from the satnav AND your passenger is a hurry to reach their destination AND they know you’re not fro Glasgow  – result stress, stress stress! I would sooner become lost fast rather than the slow agonizing stress build up as I was  sometimes not 100% certain that the left or right I was about to take was correct

I would sooner become lost quicker and so take corrective action quicker rather than being held, waiting to know if the route was right or wrong!