Yellow Peril Sla v —You know, it might not be such a
dumb idea if the Ministry of Transport, or whoever is in charge, managed to eliminate the yellow or amber phase of traffic lights as the lights switch from red to green.
Your remarks in 'A Spectator's Notebook' of August 5, which copy has just been received, point up the danger of having a yellow light facing motor- ists proceeding in the several directions.
The practice of eliminating the yellow phase on the red to green shift is used somewhat extensively in this country, and especially in Baltimore. The yellow is used only to warn moving traffic that the traffic light will, within seconds, turn to red. In some eases, after the light has turned red there is a slight pause before the light for the traffic waiting to move switches from red to green. This allows time for the intersection to be cleared and thus re- duces the chance of accidents and collisions.
Marples should have seen this when he was in Baltimore several years ago. He spent enough time poking his nose into things and should have seen the obvious advantages of this system of having no yellow phase on the lights when changing from stop to go.
GEOFFREY W. FIELDING
208 Hawthorne Road, Baltimore 10. Maryland, USA
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