Why I dislike Traffic Lights particularly on roundabouts

And yes, my ticket for going through a red light hasn’t helped this, particularly as I think that camera is unnecessary as it on a site where there have not been any accidents since 2004, and no fatal ones since 1999, and it is a fairly new camera.

I think that traffic lights are an inefficient way to control traffic as there is always a gap between lights changing when the road is empty.  Traffic lights also arguably add to CO2 emissions, with the electricity used in the lights, and the extra fuel used by drivers idling and then accelerating from a standing start, though I guess this is difficult to quantify. This is one reason why I find it particularly annoying still at times sitting at traffic lights where no traffic comes the other way, though I accept many lights are smarter in this respect nowadays.

Roundabouts without traffic lights are more efficient at controlling traffic as they allow full use of the road with no gaps. Thus adding traffic lights to a roundabout that is not suffering specific congestion issues (e.g. one junction tailing back at busy times), slows down traffic movements, and probably increases CO2 emissions,  as there are now gaps in traffic flow that were not there before.

I reluctantly accept that traffic lights are necessary on many junctions where there is no space for a roundabout. However I am completely opposed to traffic lights on roundabouts, except in exceptional circumstances when they should probably only be part-time where possible. In Chester I think removing traffic lights from pretty much all the roundabouts, including the ones added in the 1990s, would improve traffic flow and save the council money. This is presumably not the prevailing view in the highways departments of the UK as they seem to be popping up on roundabouts all over the place.

In times of cut-backs when road surfaces seem to getting worse, there should surely be a focus on getting the basics right, rather than increasing council costs and congestion by adding traffic lights to roundabouts where they are not required.