Chennai: New LED traffic signalling poles installed at Marina – Times of India

CHENNAI: Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) on Friday installed LED signalling poles at a traffic signal on Marina Beach Road. These signals are popular in European towns like Turkey and Ukraine.
The entire cantilever, on which traffic lights are fixed, glows according to change in traffic signal light colour. For instance, when a signal changes from green to red, the entire signalling pole glows red.
“Some motorists claim that usual traffic signals at one corner of the road may not be properly visible to them from a distance and they tend to jump the signal. We hope by illuminating the entire pole with appropriate LED lights, it will create an impact in their minds for obeying traffic rules,” said a senior officer from CCTP.
Additional commissioner of CCTP N Kannan said that sometimes heavy vehicles like buses or trucks can block the view of the signal right above to motorists behind. In such instance, these poles are a huge sigh of relief and will assist them in bringing in more discipline.
The pilot project at the traffic signal near the office of the director-general of police will be expanded to other areas after studying the impact of the new model. If it is received well, tenders will be floated to expand the initiative to other areas in Chennai, he added.
Tamil Nadu leads the country in terms of stop-line and signal violations and every year around 700 people die and 4,000 get injured because of signal jumping, according to government’s accident report data.
On an average 1,600-2,000 licences are suspended by the city traffic police for such traffic offences.
Despite this, violations continue and police hopes that such efforts will create more awareness as it was impossible to keep accident rate down without public coordination.
Welcoming the initiative, transportation activist R Rengachari said that it will be of help for motorists along broad and long stretches like Marina Beach Road, which were frequented by heavy vehicles too.
However, this kind of signalling system faced of opposition in some European countries because of high energy consumption and glare to car drivers during rainy days, he added.