OT: "Pedestrian" lights

Close to where I live is a multi-way junction and 10/20 metres before traffic lights a pedestrian crossing. On red the traffic is stopped for approx 4 minutes. Do the pedestrian lights go green for pedestrians any time during this period? Not usually as they seem to be completely unsynchronised. More often the pedestrian crossing stops traffic at the same time that the traffic light allows it to flow. Result, instead of perhaps 20 or 30 cars getting through the lights only 3 make it.

Those who take region that far are usually called terrorists :)

That would only apply to Pelican crossings, which don't have pedestrian occupancy sensors. Those are the ones with a flashing amber period, rather than the amber/red period of ordinary traffic lights and Puffin crossings. Depending upon road width, those normally give a red light of

Puffin crossings work on an initial stop of 4-5 seconds, which may be extended to 6-9 seconds if heavy disabled pedestrian use is expected. If the crossing is clear after that, the vehicle lights change to amber/red for 2 seconds. If not, there is a variable red light time extension that is normally 5 + 1.67*<length of crossing in metres> seconds, of which the last three seconds won't be applied if the crossing is then clear.

That may be deliberate. Measures that make it easier to travel by car are discouraged at every turn and have been for decades.

No. There were protests some years ago when a management company installed automatic lights in the shared areas of a block of flats. They had to take them out, as some strongly religious residents were complaining that it trapped them in their flats, as by leaving their door and triggering the lights, they were operating them against the rules for the sabbath.

My wife used to have some Jewish patients on her list. All the lights in their houses were on timeswitches for the sabbath, so that they would not need to operate any, either directly or by movement sensors.

None of them would be using a TV on the sabbath.

It would. There was a case some years ago where a management company changed the hallway lights in a block of flats to movement detecting ones and effectively trapped the religious Jews living there, in their flats, every sabbath, until they were removed.

There are many Jews who do take it that seriously. I've not heard of any Jewish terrorism in the UK.

If the area has a high Jewish population and the day was their sabbath, some crossings do switch to automatic cycling, as the strongly religious cannot operate a normal crossing on that day.

Quite a few UK soldiers have been killed through 'Jewish' terrorism. Perhaps the history books have been re-written?

They could simply stay at home. The crossings set to automatic cycling are for show purposes, in reality the same people would be happy to use a remote control and a light switch at home, outside of a public arena.

fecking religious headcases ...f*ck them all....

But not, I think, in the UK

They do it secretly :-)

As I mentioned in another part of this thread, an old fashioned Zebra crossing, a few of which are still in use, wouldn't require them to do anything more than wait at the kerb.

It's a bit difficult for them to stay at home, when they are supposed to go to the synagogue.

They are definitely not happy to use remotes or operate lightswitches. My wife has dealt with a number of strict Jewish households and they rely upon timeswitches alone. Those that are happy to operate remotes and switches are perfectly happy to operate pedestrian crossings too and do not ask to have timer controlled ones nearby.

Indeed, but in some places a zebra would mean little chance of traffic flowing at busy times, as too many people might cross separately. Nothing to do with Jews, but when I used to regularly travel through a nearby town centre on Saturdays, traffic frequently backed up on a roundabout, with pedestrians stepping onto the zebra at one of the exits, just as the previous one(s) stepped off it, totally blocking traffic. It improved dramatically when replaced with a Pelican, as both pedestrians and road users got a fair chance.

It is utterly stupid to interpret a press of a button to be work. More work is involved dressing oneself, unless the afflicted are required to sleep the night before in their day clothes the night before.

Are proximity switches also treated the same way?

Is using a mobile also forbidden? Are there exceptions such as calling a dying relative? What happens if they live on the top floor of a tower block?

As I said, it is to make a point.

My experience is that they don't work! They still keep pedestrians waiting for lengthy periods, not stopping the traffic until a long gap appears in the traffic from both directions and if a pedestrian does decide to cross in a shorter gap, the lights stop the traffic just as they are stepping off the far end of the crossing.

I frequently use one such near here as both a driver and a pedestrian and it annoys me all the time. The previous Zebra was much better, pedestrians didn't have to wait and drivers were never held up at an empty crossing.

I quite agree, but that is their belief.

It is not just doing work, it is carrying out actions that cause work to be done.

Yes.

Yes, using a mobile is forbidden).

As far as I can tell, no there are no exceptions for calling a dying relative, but all "laws" can be ignored if necessary to deal with a threat to life - so, for example, it would be fine for someone suffering anaphylaxis to be driven to hospital (although they must walk if possible), once there, they must avoid anything that is not necessary (so not trigger the automatic doors if there is a manual one or if they can wait until someone else walks through, not signing anything, not carrying prescription medicines or even a paper prescription, home again).

If they are on the top floor, they use the stairs.

I have just looked it up and there are 39 forbidden things:

Sowing, Ploughing, Reaping, Gathering (bundling sheaves), Threshing, Winnowing, Sorting, Grinding, Sifting, Kneading, Baking/cooking, Shearing, Whitening (bleaching), Disentangling/Combing, Dyeing, Spinning, Mounting the warp (stretching threads onto loom), Setting two heddles (preparing to weave), Weaving, Separating threads (Unweaving), Tying a knot, Untying a knot, Sewing, Tearing (unsewing - ripping), Trapping, Slaughtering, Skinning, Salting/tanning, Tracing lines, Smoothing/scraping, Cutting (to shape), Writing two or more letters, Erasing two or more letters, Building, Demolishing, Extinguishing (putting out a flame), Kindling (making a fire), Striking the final blow (Finishing an object), Transferring (carrying),

In addition, in order that a Jew should not come close to working on the Sabbath with one of the 39, it is for example, forbidden to do any business related transactions even without doing one of the 39; it is forbidden to touch any electrical appliance or any object that is used for forbidden activities on Shabbat.

Orthodox Jews refrain from working on the Sabbath; driving or riding in a car or any other powered transportation; using a telephone or any other electrical appliance; cooking and baking.

While it all seems ridiculous to me, Orthodox Jews really do take this seriously.