[metspitzer]

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

[Red Green]

Metspitzer wrote in
:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?




Triggered by nearby emergency vehicles approaching???

[Ed Pawlowski]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:23:15 -0500, Metspitzer
wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?


That would be my guess. In many places, emergency vehicles can change
the lights as they approach.

None of the speed cameras I've seen have a red light.

[hr(bob) [email protected]]

On Nov 29, 6:23*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

[metspitzer]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:00:55 -0800 (PST), "hr(bob) "
wrote:

On Nov 29, 6:23*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

That makes more sense to me. I couldn't see a reason to build a
camera into a flashing red light.

[Harry K]

On Nov 29, 7:00*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Nov 29, 6:23*pm, Metspitzer wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. *Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. *I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

[Ed Pawlowski]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:25:04 -0800 (PST), Harry K
wrote:



What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

Wake up the drivers around it.

[Red Green]

Harry K wrote in news:25da532f-f438-46d5-8262-
:

On Nov 29, 7:00*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Nov 29, 6:23*pm, Metspitzer wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. *Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. *I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

To get more attention then the f'n cell phone?

[Tony Miklos[_2_]]

On 11/29/2011 7:23 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

The white strobe is an attention getter at intersections where the red
light is often not noticed. They work very well.

http://www.elliottequipment.com/barlo_strobe.htm

[Art Todesco]

On 11/30/2011 7:22 AM, Red Green wrote:
Harry wrote in news:25da532f-f438-46d5-8262-
:

On Nov 29, 7:00 pm, "hr(bob)
wrote:
On Nov 29, 6:23 pm, wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

To get more attention then the f'n cell phone?
Actually, the strobe is more of a flashing lamp, I think, to let the
emergency vehicle know that he actually changed the traffic light. As I
recall, in one direction the light goes on steady and in the other, it
flashes. I think it flashed in the direction the emergency vehicle is
going and steady on the cross street. Some are controlled by IR-type
remotes and some by RF remotes.

[DerbyDad03]

On Nov 29, 7:23*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

Most of the flashing lights I've seen at intersections were "attention
getters" at intersections where the red light might not be as
noticeable to drivers.

I've seen them on dark country roads so that the red light is noticed
by the driver who is cruising over the hillsides and I've seen them at
very busy intersections where there are lots of distractions such as
left hand turning lanes, lighted strip mall signs, etc.

I've never seen a camera built into a red light...in my area they are
covered with a blue dome.

[Jim Yanik]

Metspitzer wrote in
:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

No,speed cameras are set back from the intersection,so they include the
traffic light itself in the pic of your car being past the white stop bar.
Usually on a pole at curbside,they are a breadbox sized box,and may have an
extra box for the flash.

some traffic lights have an extra light so that police can tell that the
light is actually red in a particular direction without seeing the red
themselves.(because they are off to the side...).
The ones in my area change from white to blue when the traffic light is red
for that lane and direction.

I've also seen red lights that have a strobe built in,so that it draws
drivers attention better. eyes are naturally drawn to flashing or movement.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

[Bill[_9_]]

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow down to see what is up...

[DerbyDad03]

On Nov 30, 12:22*pm, "Bill" wrote:
What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow down to see what is up...

I, for one, have never seen a correlation between the flashing strobe
within a red light and the presence of emergency vehicles.

I've stopped at strobed red lights many times and it was nothing more
than your basic red light waiting period while crossing traffic
crossed or turning traffic turned.

I've appproached traffic lights on long, straight country roads and
watched them turn from green to strobed red and back to green as a
single passenger car or pick up truck crossed through the
intersection. No emergency vehicles in sight.

As far as I can tell, the strobes are nothing more than attention
getters and are not related to emergency vehicles.

[Tony Miklos[_2_]]

On 11/30/2011 9:23 AM, Art Todesco wrote:
On 11/30/2011 7:22 AM, Red Green wrote:
Harry wrote in news:25da532f-f438-46d5-8262-
:

On Nov 29, 7:00 pm, "hr(bob)
wrote:
On Nov 29, 6:23 pm, wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

To get more attention then the f'n cell phone?
Actually, the strobe is more of a flashing lamp, I think, to let the
emergency vehicle know that he actually changed the traffic light. As I
recall, in one direction the light goes on steady and in the other, it
flashes. I think it flashed in the direction the emergency vehicle is
going and steady on the cross street. Some are controlled by IR-type
remotes and some by RF remotes.

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

[Tony Miklos[_2_]]

On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

[Hell Toupee[_4_]]

On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the
road and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car
behind, in which case proceed through the intersection, but be
prepared to pull over and stop - the emergency vehicles are
approaching from another direction, but may be turning down the street
you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all
the emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being
hit by the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection
then stop safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:
http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 11/30/11 01:57 pm, Hell Toupee wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the road
and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car behind, in
which case proceed through the intersection, but be prepared to pull
over and stop - the emergency vehicles are approaching from another
direction, but may be turning down the street you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all the
emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being hit by
the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection then stop
safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:
http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

I have never encountered this system and had never heard of it. If a
driver from another area is in an area where this system is used, how
would s/he know what it means and how to respond? This is simply one
more example of the downside of allowing every State (and even county or
municipality) make up its own rules instead of having a nationwide
uniform traffic code.

Perce

[DerbyDad03]

On Nov 30, 1:57*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:
On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the
road and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car
behind, in which case proceed through the intersection, but be
prepared to pull over and stop - the emergency vehicles are
approaching from another direction, but may be turning down the street
you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all
the emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being
hit by the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection
then stop safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

All I can do is re-state what I've said earlier:

"I, for one, have never seen a correlation between the flashing strobe
within a red light and the presence of emergency vehicles.

I've stopped at strobed red lights many times and it was nothing more
than your basic red light waiting period while crossing traffic
crossed or turning traffic turned.

I've appproached traffic lights on long, straight country roads and
watched them turn from green to strobed red and back to green as a
single passenger car or pick up truck crossed through the
intersection. No emergency vehicles in sight. "

I'm not saying that the systems don't exist, all I'm saying is that I
don't recall ever encountering the situation - or at least I've never
noticed it. Maybe I've just always been focused on the actual sound or
sight of the emergency vehicle and the actual color of the traffic
light. If it turns red, strobed or not, I stop. If it's green, then I
proceed through unless I see/hear the emergency vehicle and then I do
whatever makes sense given the specific situation. (just "pulling
over" isn't always the best/safest thing to do)

However, I can state with 100% certainty that I have encountered many
strobed red lights where an emergency vehicle was not part of the
situation.

[Harry K]

On Nov 30, 8:58*am, Jim Yanik wrote:
Metspitzer wrote :

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

No,speed cameras are set back from the intersection,so they include the
traffic light itself in the pic of your car being past the white stop bar..
Usually on a pole at curbside,they are a breadbox sized box,and may have an
extra box for the flash.

some traffic lights have an extra light so that police can tell that the
light is actually red in a particular direction without seeing the red
themselves.(because they are off to the side...).
The ones in my area change from white to blue when the traffic light is red
for that lane and direction.

I've also seen red lights that have a strobe built in,so that it draws
drivers attention better. eyes are naturally drawn to flashing or movement.

[Hell Toupee[_4_]]

On 11/30/2011 1:09 PM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 11/30/11 01:57 pm, Hell Toupee wrote:

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.


I have never encountered this system and had never heard of it. If a
driver from another area is in an area where this system is used, how
would s/he know what it means and how to respond?

By observing the actions of the other drivers. And, if the emergency
vehicle is within sight or hearing distance, by observing its
approach. The white lights are in place to warn drivers that an
emergency vehicle is approaching the intersection. The system grants
the emergency vehicle the right of way, which entails either quickly
changing the traffic light, or keeping it green for the road the
vehicle is travelling.

The other drivers' responsibility in that situation is the same
everywhere - to get out of the emergency vehicle's way as soon as it
is safe do so.

This is simply one
more example of the downside of allowing every State (and even county
or municipality) make up its own rules instead of having a nationwide
uniform traffic code.

But the rule *is* uniform - get out of the vehicle's way as soon as
you can safely manage to do so. This system merely permits emergency
vehicles to trigger the traffic light to give it right of way. As a
safety feature, it also activates a white light to alert other drivers
that an approaching vehicle has triggered the light.

Incidentally, its use has expanded in some instances to permit
selected non-emergency vehicles to give themselves the right of way.
For instance, in some cities certain intersections on certain bus
routes can have the lights triggered by an approaching bus that is
equipped with the signal system.

[Tony Miklos[_2_]]

On 11/30/2011 1:57 PM, Hell Toupee wrote:
On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the road
and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car behind, in
which case proceed through the intersection, but be prepared to pull
over and stop - the emergency vehicles are approaching from another
direction, but may be turning down the street you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all the
emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being hit by
the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection then stop
safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:
http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

I've never seen an OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system, but it
is interesting! However I don't think this is what the OP was referring
to. The "strobe" lights _on_ the red light that he describes is a red
light attention getter.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_th..._traffic_light

http://www.elliottequipment.com/barlo_strobe.htm

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 11/30/11 02:39 pm, Hell Toupee wrote:

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

I have never encountered this system and had never heard of it. If a
driver from another area is in an area where this system is used, how
would s/he know what it means and how to respond?

By observing the actions of the other drivers. And, if the emergency
vehicle is within sight or hearing distance, by observing its approach.
The white lights are in place to warn drivers that an emergency vehicle
is approaching the intersection. The system grants the emergency vehicle
the right of way, which entails either quickly changing the traffic
light, or keeping it green for the road the vehicle is travelling.

The other drivers' responsibility in that situation is the same
everywhere - to get out of the emergency vehicle's way as soon as it is
safe do so.

This is simply one
more example of the downside of allowing every State (and even county
or municipality) make up its own rules instead of having a nationwide
uniform traffic code.

But the rule *is* uniform - get out of the vehicle's way as soon as you
can safely manage to do so. This system merely permits emergency
vehicles to trigger the traffic light to give it right of way. As a
safety feature, it also activates a white light to alert other drivers
that an approaching vehicle has triggered the light.

Incidentally, its use has expanded in some instances to permit selected
non-emergency vehicles to give themselves the right of way. For
instance, in some cities certain intersections on certain bus routes can
have the lights triggered by an approaching bus that is equipped with
the signal system.

But one might see this flashing (or not) light before hearing or seeing
the emergency vehicle's signals -- and might be the first vehicle in a
line, so not having the behavior of other vehicles as a clue.

Perce

[hr(bob) [email protected]]

On Nov 30, 1:13*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Nov 30, 1:57*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:





On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the
road and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car
behind, in which case proceed through the intersection, but be
prepared to pull over and stop - the emergency vehicles are
approaching from another direction, but may be turning down the street
you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all
the emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being
hit by the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection
then stop safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

All I can do is re-state what I've said earlier:

"I, for one, have never seen a correlation between the flashing strobe
within a red light and the presence of emergency vehicles.

I've stopped at strobed red lights many times and it was nothing more
than your basic red light waiting period while crossing traffic
crossed or turning traffic turned.

I've appproached traffic lights on long, straight country roads and
watched them turn from green to strobed red and back to green as a
single passenger car or pick up truck crossed through the
intersection. No emergency vehicles in sight. "

I'm not saying that the systems don't exist, all I'm saying is that I
don't recall ever encountering the situation - or at least I've never
noticed it. Maybe I've just always been focused on the actual sound or
sight of the emergency vehicle and the actual color of the traffic
light. If it turns red, strobed or not, I stop. If it's green, then I
proceed through unless I see/hear the emergency vehicle and then I do
whatever makes sense given the specific situation. (just "pulling
over" isn't always the best/safest thing to do)

However, I can state with 100% certainty that I have encountered many
strobed red lights where an emergency vehicle was not part of the
situation.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have never seen a strobed red trafic light, just the white strobed
or continuous bright white light mounted on the same crossarm as the
traffic signal itself.

[Harry K]

On Nov 30, 11:39*am, Hell Toupee wrote:
On 11/30/2011 1:09 PM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

On 11/30/11 01:57 pm, Hell Toupee wrote:
What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.
I have never encountered this system and had never heard of it. If a
driver from another area is in an area where this system is used, how
would s/he know what it means and how to respond?

By observing the actions of the other drivers. And, if the emergency
vehicle is within sight or hearing distance, by observing its
approach. The white lights are in place to warn drivers that an
emergency vehicle is approaching the intersection. The system grants
the emergency vehicle the right of way, which entails either quickly
changing the traffic light, or keeping it green for the road the
vehicle is travelling.

The other drivers' responsibility in that situation is the same
everywhere - to get out of the emergency vehicle's way as soon as it
is safe do so.

* This is simply one

more example of the downside of allowing every State (and even county
or municipality) make up its own rules instead of having a nationwide
uniform traffic code.

But the rule *is* uniform - get out of the vehicle's way as soon as
you can safely manage to do so. This system merely permits emergency
vehicles to trigger the traffic light to give it right of way. As a
safety feature, it also activates a white light to alert other drivers
that an approaching vehicle has triggered the light.

Incidentally, its use has expanded in some instances to permit
selected non-emergency vehicles to give themselves the right of way.
For instance, in some cities certain intersections on certain bus
routes can have the lights triggered by an approaching bus that is
equipped with the signal system.

If the rule was "uniform" it would be in the driver's handbooks handed
ouit to all beginning drivers and be on the driver's test.

Harry K

[Bill[_9_]]

"Tony Miklos" wrote in message
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to
do with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

Travel around a bit... Just because you have not seen something does
not mean it does not exist!

Different cities / states have different traffic control devices.
Tucson, Arizona has these flashing lights. I've heard that Tucson is a
"test city" for new traffic control gadgets. Lots of interesting
things there not seen elsewhere.

From following link...
"The light turned green but I noticed that the small emergency strobe
lights above the traffic signal (not the large camera strobe lights on
the tripods) had begun blinking. This occurs when a fire truck,
ambulance, or police car with its flashing lights comes within range
of an optical sensor."
http://www.camerafraud.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23

http://www.city-data.com/forum/tucso...fic-light.html

http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/trans...n%20Manual.pdf


Then in Texas they have sideways mounted traffic signals...
http://signalfan.tripod.com/central/tx02.gif

Minnesota Has a Warning for Tailgaters, Every 225 Feet...
(And similar markings in Europe.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/us/21tailgate.html

[DerbyDad03]

On Nov 30, 9:35*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Nov 30, 1:13*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:









On Nov 30, 1:57*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the
road and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car
behind, in which case proceed through the intersection, but be
prepared to pull over and stop - the emergency vehicles are
approaching from another direction, but may be turning down the street
you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all
the emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being
hit by the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection
then stop safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

All I can do is re-state what I've said earlier:

"I, for one, have never seen a correlation between the flashing strobe
within a red light and the presence of emergency vehicles.

I've stopped at strobed red lights many times and it was nothing more
than your basic red light waiting period while crossing traffic
crossed or turning traffic turned.

I've appproached traffic lights on long, straight country roads and
watched them turn from green to strobed red and back to green as a
single passenger car or pick up truck crossed through the
intersection. No emergency vehicles in sight. "

I'm not saying that the systems don't exist, all I'm saying is that I
don't recall ever encountering the situation - or at least I've never
noticed it. Maybe I've just always been focused on the actual sound or
sight of the emergency vehicle and the actual color of the traffic
light. If it turns red, strobed or not, I stop. If it's green, then I
proceed through unless I see/hear the emergency vehicle and then I do
whatever makes sense given the specific situation. (just "pulling
over" isn't always the best/safest thing to do)

However, I can state with 100% certainty that I have encountered many
strobed red lights where an emergency vehicle was not part of the
situation.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have never seen a strobed red trafic light, just the white strobed
or continuous bright white light mounted on the same crossarm as the
traffic signal itself.

I'm beginning to think that people are talking about 2 different
things in this thread. The OP said:

"there was a single red light hanging, and it had a white strobe that
looked like it was part of the flashing red light and it shined more
at the bottom"

That sounds like what I've been describing. That's what I believe to
be nothing more than an attention getter for the red light.

[Tony Miklos[_2_]]

On 12/1/2011 1:54 AM, Bill wrote:
"Tony Miklos" wrote in message
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?


For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...


Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

Travel around a bit... Just because you have not seen something does not
mean it does not exist!

I never said they don't exist. If you read the entire thread you should
come to the conclusion that the OP was writing about a strobed red light
attention getter, nothing to do with emergency vehicles, and that I was
already directed to a site describing the emergency vehicle system, a
totally different thing from what the OP described.

[metspitzer]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:23:15 -0500, Metspitzer
wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

The light I saw looked exactly like this one except is was in a single
enclosure in addition to the regular red lights:
http://www.elliottequipment.com/barlo_strobe.htm

I was in the back seat in an unknown town in Alabama on 431 highway.
It was a pretty large intersection. At one time during the trip we
ran into a fire truck, but I can't be sure it was at the same time,
but it most likely was.

[Harry K]

On Nov 30, 10:54*pm, "Bill" wrote:
"Tony Miklos" *wrote in message
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to
do with emergency vehicles? *I've never heard of such a thing.

Travel around a bit... Just because you have not seen something does
not mean it does not exist!

Different cities / states have different traffic control devices.
Tucson, Arizona has these flashing lights. I've heard that Tucson is a
"test city" for new traffic control gadgets. Lots of interesting
things there not seen elsewhere.

From following link...
*"The light turned green but I noticed that the small emergency strobe
lights above the traffic signal (not the large camera strobe lights on
the tripods) had begun blinking. *This occurs when a fire truck,
ambulance, or police car with its flashing lights comes within range
of an optical sensor."http://www.camerafraud.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23

http://www.city-data.com/forum/tucso...king-thing-abo...

http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/trans...n%20Manual.pdf

Then in Texas they have sideways mounted traffic signals...http://signalfan.tripod.com/central/tx02.gif

Minnesota Has a Warning for Tailgaters, Every 225 Feet...
(And similar markings in Europe.)http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/us/21tailgate.html

And that is the point that has been made repeatedly. Traffic control
devices should be universal throughout _all_ states. Expecting
someone from a different state to know that _your_ state has some
unique thing on a traffic light is asinine.

Harry K

[DerbyDad03]

On Dec 1, 12:16*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:23:15 -0500, Metspitzer
wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. *Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. *One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

The light I saw looked exactly like this one except is was in a single
enclosure in addition to the regular red lights:http://www.elliottequipment.com/barlo_strobe.htm

I was in the back seat in an unknown town in Alabama on 431 highway.
It was a pretty large intersection. *At one time during the trip we
ran into a fire truck, but I can't be sure it was at the same time,
but it most likely was.

Read the section entitled "Why choose a Barlo Strobe Enhanced Traffic
Signal?"

It's basically says what I have been saying all along, including
references to the same things I mentioned in an earlier response:
visual noise (my example: strip mall lighting) and high speed
approaches (my example: long, straight country roads)

I'll save you throuble...here it is:

The Barlo Safety Beam traffic signal system has been designed to
enhance the normal illuminated red or amber section of the signal.
This is sometimes necessary because of intense background lighting
(visual noise), obstructed approaches, intersections that have
activities that distract the drivers attention, obscure rail-road
crossings, wrong-way warnings and high speed approaches that tends to
deceive the drivers perception of distance.

[DerbyDad03]

On Dec 1, 12:49*pm, Harry K wrote:
On Nov 30, 10:54*pm, "Bill" wrote:





"Tony Miklos" *wrote in message
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to
do with emergency vehicles? *I've never heard of such a thing.

Travel around a bit... Just because you have not seen something does
not mean it does not exist!

Different cities / states have different traffic control devices.
Tucson, Arizona has these flashing lights. I've heard that Tucson is a
"test city" for new traffic control gadgets. Lots of interesting
things there not seen elsewhere.

From following link...
*"The light turned green but I noticed that the small emergency strobe
lights above the traffic signal (not the large camera strobe lights on
the tripods) had begun blinking. *This occurs when a fire truck,
ambulance, or police car with its flashing lights comes within range
of an optical sensor."http://www.camerafraud.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23

http://www.city-data.com/forum/tucso...king-thing-abo...

http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/trans...n%20Manual.pdf

Then in Texas they have sideways mounted traffic signals...http://signalfan.tripod.com/central/tx02.gif

Minnesota Has a Warning for Tailgaters, Every 225 Feet...
(And similar markings in Europe.)http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/us/21tailgate.html

And that is the point that has been made repeatedly. *Traffic control
devices should be universal throughout _all_ states. *Expecting
someone from a different state to know that _your_ state has some
unique thing on a traffic light is asinine.

Harry K- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

At what level does the universality stop? State roads? County roads?
City/Town? Village? Hamlet?

In order to ensure universality of traffic control devices on every
road, there would need to be a central, dare I say, *nationwide*
department to coordinate the universality.

Isn't the DOT one of the 3 agencies that Perry is going to eliminate?

[Oren[_2_]]

On Thu, 1 Dec 2011 12:54:27 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Isn't the DOT one of the 3 agencies that Perry is going to eliminate?

chuckle

[Bill[_9_]]

"Harry K" wrote in message

And that is the point that has been made repeatedly. Traffic
control
devices should be universal throughout _all_ states. Expecting
someone from a different state to know that _your_ state has some
unique thing on a traffic light is asinine.


Tell that to the cop and judge of that state! I wonder what they would
say?

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 12/01/11 05:19 pm, Bill wrote:

And that is the point that has been made repeatedly. Traffic control
devices should be universal throughout _all_ states. Expecting
someone from a different state to know that _your_ state has some
unique thing on a traffic light is asinine.

Tell that to the cop and judge of that state! I wonder what they would say?

That is the point: "ignorance of the law is no defense." But is a driver
supposed to stop and ask for a copy of the traffic code of every new
state s/he visits (or any state s/he hasn't visited for some time)?

States have enough unique traffic laws that they probably cannot display
them all on a sign on every road at the State line.

NY City does have signs indicating that right turns on a red signal are
not permitted unless otherwise indicated, but if one does not often
drive in NYC it's easy to forget; and when driving at night in bad
weather one might not realize that one is already in NYC.

Perce

[[email protected]]

On Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:50:13 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:25:04 -0800 (PST), Harry K
wrote:



What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

Wake up the drivers around it.

This is exactly the reason behind the Alabamistan red-light strobe; nothing to
do with emergency vehicles.

[[email protected]]

On Thu, 1 Dec 2011 03:59:26 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Nov 30, 9:35*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Nov 30, 1:13*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:









On Nov 30, 1:57*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:34 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:

On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to do
with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

What, is it still the 1970s where you live? 3M company developed the
OptiCom Emergency Vehicle Preemption system at least thirty years ago
and its use has expanded throughout the United States (and probably
elsewhere) since then.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/city...t/opticomp.htm

"If the white light is flashing it means that the emergency vehicle(s)
are approaching the intersection from a different direction than you
are. If you signal is green, it will soon change to red. Treat a
flashing white light as a red light. Pull safely to the side of the
road and stop. Unless you are in danger of being hit by the car
behind, in which case proceed through the intersection, but be
prepared to pull over and stop - the emergency vehicles are
approaching from another direction, but may be turning down the street
you are on.

If the white light is on but not flashing it means that the emergency
vehicle(s) is approaching the intersection on the same street that you
are on. The emergency vehicles are either in front of you, or behind
you. If the signal is red, it will change to green. Treat it as a red
light. Pull safely to the side of the road, stop, and wait until all
the emergency vehicles have passed. Unless you are in danger of being
hit by the car behind, in which case proceed through the intersection
then stop safely as soon as you can."

All about Opticom in layman's terms:http://www.tcmfd.com/stuff/opticom.html

All I can do is re-state what I've said earlier:

"I, for one, have never seen a correlation between the flashing strobe
within a red light and the presence of emergency vehicles.

I've stopped at strobed red lights many times and it was nothing more
than your basic red light waiting period while crossing traffic
crossed or turning traffic turned.

I've appproached traffic lights on long, straight country roads and
watched them turn from green to strobed red and back to green as a
single passenger car or pick up truck crossed through the
intersection. No emergency vehicles in sight. "

I'm not saying that the systems don't exist, all I'm saying is that I
don't recall ever encountering the situation - or at least I've never
noticed it. Maybe I've just always been focused on the actual sound or
sight of the emergency vehicle and the actual color of the traffic
light. If it turns red, strobed or not, I stop. If it's green, then I
proceed through unless I see/hear the emergency vehicle and then I do
whatever makes sense given the specific situation. (just "pulling
over" isn't always the best/safest thing to do)

However, I can state with 100% certainty that I have encountered many
strobed red lights where an emergency vehicle was not part of the
situation.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have never seen a strobed red trafic light, just the white strobed
or continuous bright white light mounted on the same crossarm as the
traffic signal itself.

I'm beginning to think that people are talking about 2 different
things in this thread. The OP said:

"there was a single red light hanging, and it had a white strobe that
looked like it was part of the flashing red light and it shined more
at the bottom"

That sounds like what I've been describing. That's what I believe to
be nothing more than an attention getter for the red light.

You are correct.

[[email protected]]

On Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:23:34 -0500, Art Todesco wrote:

On 11/30/2011 7:22 AM, Red Green wrote:
Harry wrote in news:25da532f-f438-46d5-8262-
:

On Nov 29, 7:00 pm, "hr(bob)
wrote:
On Nov 29, 6:23 pm, wrote:

We were setting at an intersection yesterday in Alabama. Besides the
regular red light there was a single red light hanging, and it had a
white strobe that looked like it was part of the flashing red light
and it shined more at the bottom. One of the passengers said that
this is a camera to see who runs the red light.

Is he right?

In our area, western Chicago suburb of Naperville, emergency vehicles
can signal lights to turn red and flash a brilliant white strobe
light. Our strobe lights are usually not part of the actual traffic
light, but are mounted on the same crossarm that supports the traffic
signal itself. I don't kknow if there are any standards for such
lights, but they are becoming somewhat more common.

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

To get more attention then the f'n cell phone?
Actually, the strobe is more of a flashing lamp, I think, to let the
emergency vehicle know that he actually changed the traffic light. As I
recall, in one direction the light goes on steady and in the other, it
flashes. I think it flashed in the direction the emergency vehicle is
going and steady on the cross street. Some are controlled by IR-type
remotes and some by RF remotes.

No, it's a strobe. It has nothing to do with emergency vehicles.

[The Daring Dufas[_7_]]

On 12/1/2011 2:54 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Dec 1, 12:49 pm, Harry wrote:
On Nov 30, 10:54 pm, wrote:





"Tony Miklos" wrote in message
On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Bill wrote:

What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

For drivers on the cross street who have their car stereos blasting
and
can't hear the siren of the emergency vehicle. Hopefully they will
slow
down to see what is up...

Can you cite any websites that say the strobe light has anything to
do with emergency vehicles? I've never heard of such a thing.

Travel around a bit... Just because you have not seen something does
not mean it does not exist!

Different cities / states have different traffic control devices.
Tucson, Arizona has these flashing lights. I've heard that Tucson is a
"test city" for new traffic control gadgets. Lots of interesting
things there not seen elsewhere.

From following link...
"The light turned green but I noticed that the small emergency strobe
lights above the traffic signal (not the large camera strobe lights on
the tripods) had begun blinking. This occurs when a fire truck,
ambulance, or police car with its flashing lights comes within range
of an optical sensor."http://www.camerafraud.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23

http://www.city-data.com/forum/tucso...king-thing-abo...

http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/trans...n%20Manual.pdf

Then in Texas they have sideways mounted traffic signals...http://signalfan.tripod.com/central/tx02.gif

Minnesota Has a Warning for Tailgaters, Every 225 Feet...
(And similar markings in Europe.)http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/us/21tailgate.html

And that is the point that has been made repeatedly. Traffic control
devices should be universal throughout _all_ states. Expecting
someone from a different state to know that _your_ state has some
unique thing on a traffic light is asinine.

Harry K- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

At what level does the universality stop? State roads? County roads?
City/Town? Village? Hamlet?

In order to ensure universality of traffic control devices on every
road, there would need to be a central, dare I say, *nationwide*
department to coordinate the universality.

Isn't the DOT one of the 3 agencies that Perry is going to eliminate?

Perhaps transportation, highway and vehicle standards could be
administered by The National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST)? Don't give them police powers and they won't need a SWAT team
like so many other federal agencies seem to have. Heck, US Department of
Education has a SWAT team. We kicked in your door because your kid
failed geometry. ^_^

TDD

[The Daring Dufas[_7_]]

On 12/1/2011 7:12 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:50:13 -0500, Ed wrote:

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:25:04 -0800 (PST), Harry K
wrote:



What is the purpose of the flashing white strobe?

Harry K

Wake up the drivers around it.

This is exactly the reason behind the Alabamistan red-light strobe; nothing to
do with emergency vehicles.

I first saw them in Birmingham on some busy streets near UAB where
drivers are more likely to be "cellphone driving". ^_^

TDD