Traffic light colours, etc, UK/US/elsewhere

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
apparently "yellow".

In one UK warning system both yellow and amber are used with different
meanings.

UK Meteorological Office Weather Warnings:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/guide/colour_warnings.html

Key to warning colours

Warnings are based on a combination of:

Likelihood — How likely the event is to occur;
Impact — The potential impact the expected conditions may have.

The combination of likelihood and impact is measured against a
matrix to give each warning a colour:

red;
amber;
yellow.

It gives an example using a diagram of the matrix.

And then:

You can simply use the following guidance for each colour:

An image of a diagram follows. The "alt" text for the image mistakenly
uses "orange" instead of "amber":

Green implies no severe weather,
yellow implies be aware,
orange implies be prepared,
red implies take action

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[the Omrud]

On 17/07/2012 15:20, Peter Duncanson [BrE] wrote:
> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".
>
> In one UK warning system both yellow and amber are used with different
> meanings.
>
> UK Meteorological Office Weather Warnings:
> http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/guide/colour_warnings.html
>
> Key to warning colours
>
> Warnings are based on a combination of:
>
> Likelihood — How likely the event is to occur;
> Impact — The potential impact the expected conditions may have.
>
> The combination of likelihood and impact is measured against a
> matrix to give each warning a colour:
>
> red;
> amber;
> yellow.

You must always take notice of a yellow snow warning.

--
David

[Guy Barry]

On Jul 17, 3:20 pm, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
wrote:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".

It's red, red-and-amber, green, amber, red. I'm not sure whether that
sequence is used anywhere else.

> In one UK warning system both yellow and amber are used with different
> meanings.

I looked up "amber alert" and got the following (equal to "child
abduction emergency"):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMBER_Alert

However I'm aware of "amber warning" as used by the UK Met Office.

--
Guy Barry

[John Varela]

On Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:20:40 UTC, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
<ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".

Either one. I think that technically it's "amber" but common usage
is "yellow". The turn signal lights on cars are also amber, and
common usage is to call them "amber".

--
John Varela

[Curlytop]

Guy Barry set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time
continuum:

> It's red, red-and-amber, green, amber, red. I'm not sure whether that
> sequence is used anywhere else.

There are several variations in Europe. Germany uses the same sequence.
France, Benelux and Jersey, possibly others also, miss out the
red-and-amber phase, going straight from red to green. Austria includes
red-and-amber, and adds a flashing green between steady green and amber.
--
ξ: ) Proud to be curly

Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply

[Jerry Friedman]

Hm. I don't remember ever hearing any mention of the color of turn-
signal lights (which in common usage are often called "blinkers").

--
Jerry Friedman

[the Omrud]

On 17/07/2012 19:28, Guy Barry wrote:
> On Jul 17, 3:20 pm, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
> wrote:
>> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
>> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
>> apparently "yellow".
>
> It's red, red-and-amber, green, amber, red. I'm not sure whether that
> sequence is used anywhere else.

Germany is the only place I can remember driving which has the same
sequence. It's burned into my mind since the age of eight when I took
my cycling proficiency test. There being no traffic lights in my town,
the testers set up a freestanding set at a junction near my school and
triggered it to Red as each candidate pedalled towards it. The trick
was to stop. I knew the trick so I passed and gained the circular
aluminium disc which I proudly attached to the handlebars. I wonder if
I still have it.

In those days, nobody had a car, or if they did, they went to work at
08:30 and stayed there. No women at home had spare cars for frivolous
daytime shopping. So no drivers were around to be confused by the fake
traffic lights. You wouldn't be allowed do that now.

--
David

[the Omrud]

The normal UK word is "indicators".

--
David

[R H Draney]

the Omrud filted:

When did it stop being "trafficators"?...r


--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

[Paul Wolff]

In message <A3lNr.9430$ma6....@fx09.am4>, the Omrud
<usenet...@gmail.com> writes

Before indicators, the semaphore kinds (where the passengers had to bang
on the inside panel to loosen them if they jammed) were called
trafficators. I know that because I had them on my pedal car, and I told
old Mrs Thomas at the village Post Office counter so, after practising
the word outside. The trafficators were amber too.

Flashers are ambiguous (and probably ambidextrous too). Maybe that's
what happens when you're amber.
--
Paul

[Robin Bignall]

I don't think flashing had been invented when Forever Amber was written.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England

[Robert Bannister]

It's just taken me quite a search to find the colour in official use
here. When I did my written test, there was a booklet called "Code of
the Road", but the Department of Transport today has mno official
booklet as far as I can make out. Instead, they recommend the somewhat
ungrammatical "Drive Safe" which specifically states that our traffic
lights have a "yellow" phase.

--
Robert Bannister
W Australia

[Peter Moylan]

I've just looked up the NSW legislation and discovered to my surprise
that it too refers to yellow lights. So the situation here is the
opposite of that described by John. Technically it's "yellow" but common
usage is "amber".

--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.

[Mike Barnes]

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>:

>the Omrud filted:
>>
>>On 17/07/2012 22:23, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>>
>>> Hm. I don't remember ever hearing any mention of the color of turn-
>>> signal lights (which in common usage are often called "blinkers").
>>
>>The normal UK word is "indicators".
>
>When did it stop being "trafficators"?...r

About 1957 in our family. The indicators might have been very modern but
they weren't half as much fun.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

[the Omrud]

You were lucky. We didn't have a car until 1965, although Dad sometimes
borrowed his father's.

--
David

[Mike Barnes]

the Omrud <usenet...@gmail.com>:

Dad was in the motor trade and something of an enthusiast so we were
ahead of the game. At an early age I learned how to do a decoke and
valve-grind for a Morris Minor engine and I could probably make a
reasonable fist of it today.

[bob]

On Jul 17, 4:20 pm, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
wrote:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".

My understanding is that, in the glass industry, "amber" and "yellow"
glasses are made from different compositions, so the terms are not
interchangable (if you are being techincally correct). Traffic lights
on the roads in the UK use amber glass filters on the bulbs (they may
use some other technology these days) while railway signals use yellow
glass filters (and there are definitely now LED railway signals that
obviously don't use any glass filters). Of course in common language,
particularly where the colours are used figuratively, the technical
differences are not important.

Robin

[Nick Spalding]

Mike Barnes wrote, in
<OSwpKSzT...@34klh41lk4h1lk34h3lk4h1k4.invalid>
on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:08:19 +0100:

I wonder how many of today's yoof would have any idea what you were
talking about. What would the cut-off age be?
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE

[MC]

In article
<18cc35e0-747c-4638...@8g2000vbu.googlegroups.com>,

They've introduced a new red light this year here in Montreal. It's a
circle of red LEDs surrounded by a ring of white ones that flash
continuously.

There seems to be a bit of confusion and disagreement as to what it
means. I've heard it's part of the camera setup designed to catch
drivers who run red lights, which is possible I suppose, but since we
only have licence plates on the rear of our cars it would identify the
driver but not the car, and there's no warning sign that cameras are in
operation - which is standard here.

This site:
http://minneapolis.about.com/od/cityservicesgovernment/qt/opticomp.htm

Seems to be describing a similar light, but says it's to warn of
approaching emergency vehicles - doesn't apply here since they flash all
the time.

--

"If you can, tell me something happy."
- Marybones

[MC]

In article <2rhd08dmhbtlmst1j...@4ax.com>,

I'm old enough to remember the introduction of flashing turn signals in
the UK and a heated debate about how unsafe they would be compared to
those flip-up lights.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

MC <cope...@mapca.inter.net> writes:

> They've introduced a new red light this year here in Montreal. It's a
> circle of red LEDs surrounded by a ring of white ones that flash
> continuously.
>
> There seems to be a bit of confusion and disagreement as to what it
> means. I've heard it's part of the camera setup designed to catch
> drivers who run red lights, which is possible I suppose, but since we
> only have licence plates on the rear of our cars it would identify the
> driver but not the car, and there's no warning sign that cameras are in
> operation - which is standard here.
>
> This site:
> http://minneapolis.about.com/od/cityservicesgovernment/qt/opticomp.htm
>
> Seems to be describing a similar light, but says it's to warn of
> approaching emergency vehicles - doesn't apply here since they flash all
> the time.

They're talking about something completely different (I'm in
Minneapolis). We have the system cited in the article, the 3M
"Opticomm", which lets emergency vehicles control the traffic lights.

At intersections with this, there's a white light mounted on one of the
cross-bars (nowhere near tha actual colored traffic lights) which comes
on when Opticomm has taken over control of the signals. It's there
primarily for the emergency drivers, so they can know that they do in
fact have control. But the rest of us have learned that it means that
"ordinary" behavior has been suspended, so we stop expecting the light
to do what it usually does.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd...@dd-b.net; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <copespaz-5DC0CE...@news.eternal-september.org>,

MC <cope...@mapca.inter.net> wrote:

>They've introduced a new red light this year here in Montreal. It's a
>circle of red LEDs surrounded by a ring of white ones that flash
>continuously.

Such signals are commonly used in places where there is a high
incidence of red-light-running crashes, and also in places where the
scene is strongly backlit, in both cases to draw attention to the red
light.

-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

[Whiskers]

I can remember having to punch the door pillar to make a reluctant
trafficator appear.

Until recently there were still a few London buses with early turn
indicator lamps at the back, shaped like arrows pointing in the
appropriate direction and showing a red light with the words 'turning
right' or 'turning left' in white. They also had a round red 'bus
stopping' light.

When I took my driving test, I had to give hand signals. The 'Highway
Code' of the time included signals to be given using a whip by drivers
of animal-drawn vehicles.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

"Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> writes:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".
>
> In one UK warning system both yellow and amber are used with different
> meanings.

Whereas here in California, at least in the Vehicle Code,

112. "Amber" has the same meaning as "yellow," and is within the
chromaticity coordinate boundaries for yellow specified in
regulations adopted by the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.

"Amber" appears to be used for turn signals, hazard lights, warning
lights (e.g., on school buses or tow trucks), reflectors, (prohibited)
window covers, and (prohibited) light bars (or facsimiles thereof).
Yellow is used for traffic signals, vehicle lights, ground markings,
reflectors, and "oversize load" signs. The overlap is probably why
they just decided to say that officially there's no difference between
the terms.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |As the judge remarked the day that
SF Bay Area (1982-) | he acquitted my Aunt Hortense,
Chicago (1964-1982) |To be smut
|It must be ut-
evan.kir...@gmail.com |Terly without redeeming social
| importance.
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ | Tom Lehrer

[Mike L]

I remember some big trucks had things with a white-painted cut-out
"hand" on the end. IIRC, they were mechanical: the driver pulled a
lever, and out the device clunked.

--
Mike.

[John Varela]

http://www1.mscdirect.com/eCommerce/NavigationServlet/Fleet-Maintena
nce/Automotive-Electrical-Lighting/Automotive-Lighting/Turn-Signal-T
ail-Lights/_/N-77fem?a=dsa_12527075584&002=2167139&004=2417208184&00
5=28498630744&006=12527075584&007=Search&mkwid=sp4ccbrJS&pcrid=12527
075584&cm_mmc=Didit-_-SEM-_-ItmDtl-_-PypClk

or http://preview.tinyurl.com/7cwz3ru

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/partsearch/turn_signal_assembly.ht
ml?apwcid=X1093010841W41260599c6350&apwkwd=turn+signal+assembly&gcli
d=CMbx-_H_o7ECFYio4AodEnq8iw

or http://preview.tinyurl.com/clnxat2

--
John Varela

[John Varela]

I downloaded the Virginia Driver's Manual and the word "amber" does
not appear. In the Old Dominion, the traffic lights are red, yellow,
and green.

--
John Varela

[Robin Bignall]

I reckon the technical change occurred sometime in the 1940s. My 1936
Austin 7 had trafficators; my 1948 Triumph Roadster had flashing
indicators. I think we called the flashing ones 'flashers' as far ago
as the 1950s.

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <51W5y0sPNk52-pn2-dhWNHcDdfpen@localhost>,

John Varela <newl...@verizon.net> wrote:

>I downloaded the Virginia Driver's Manual and the word "amber" does
>not appear. In the Old Dominion, the traffic lights are red, yellow,
>and green.

State driver's manuals often do not reflect the words the law or
regulations (as appropriate) actually use. However, the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices uses the word "YELLOW" (so
capitalized) as well, and it claims that its expectations for driver
behavior are based on the Uniform Vehicle Code (a model uniform state
law, which most but not all states have adopted).

[Katy Jennison]

On 18/07/2012 21:40, Robin Bignall wrote:

>
> I reckon the technical change occurred sometime in the 1940s. My 1936
> Austin 7 had trafficators; my 1948 Triumph Roadster had flashing
> indicators. I think we called the flashing ones 'flashers' as far ago
> as the 1950s.

I'm pretty sure we called them "winkers" or possibly "blinkers" in my
young day.

--
Katy Jennison

[Iain Archer]

Evan Kirshenbaum wrote on Wed, 18 Jul 2012

>"Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> writes:
>
>> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
>> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
>> apparently "yellow".
>>
>> In one UK warning system both yellow and amber are used with different
>> meanings.
>
>Whereas here in California, at least in the Vehicle Code,
>
> 112. "Amber" has the same meaning as "yellow," and is within the
> chromaticity coordinate boundaries for yellow specified in
> regulations adopted by the Department of the California Highway
> Patrol.
>
>"Amber" appears to be used for turn signals, hazard lights, warning
>lights (e.g., on school buses or tow trucks), reflectors, (prohibited)
>window covers, and (prohibited) light bars (or facsimiles thereof).
>Yellow is used for traffic signals, vehicle lights, ground markings,
>reflectors, and "oversize load" signs. The overlap is probably why
>they just decided to say that officially there's no difference between
>the terms.
>

Wikipedia has an article on the international standards at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_%28color%29
--
Iain Archer

[Robin Bignall]

Actually "blinkers" rings a memory bell.

[Glenn Knickerbocker]

On 7/18/2012 10:31 AM, MC wrote:
> They've introduced a new red light this year here in Montreal. It's a
> circle of red LEDs surrounded by a ring of white ones that flash
> continuously.
>
> There seems to be a bit of confusion and disagreement as to what it
> means.

I'd be confused about what it means to "flash continuously," too. We
might have to revisit that recent discussion of bubble-gum machines.

In New York, instead of white LEDs, we get painfully bright white xenon
strobe tubes running across or above the red light. They're put on
lights where there have been crashes caused by running the red light,
particularly where it's the first traffic light in a long distance.
They're supposed to prevent accidents by catching the attention of
distracted or impaired drivers. What they'll do when accidents start
being caused by retinal damage from sitting at red lights, I don't know.

�R

[Robert Bannister]

On 19/07/12 3:31 AM, Whiskers wrote:

> When I took my driving test, I had to give hand signals. The 'Highway
> Code' of the time included signals to be given using a whip by drivers
> of animal-drawn vehicles.

I started thinking about those as soon as the disappearance of
trafficators was mentioned. They were in use, at least in theory, when I
arrived in Australia in 1972 because I had to learn how the left turn
signal (for a car driver) was different from England. The English one is
a sort of circular wave of the arm; the Australian one almost like a
"halt" signal.

Aha, I checked my "Drive Safe" pdf and hand signals apparently still exist:
"� hand signals

These must be used if your vehicle is not equipped
with stop light or flashing indicators.
Car drivers and motorcyclists must use this [picture of car driver with
raised hand] hand signal when:
� slowing down;
� stopping; or
� turning left.

Car drivers and motorcyclists should use this hand signal [picture of
car driver with arm stuck out to the right] when:
� turning right; or
� overtaking another vehicle.

Cyclists must signal a left turn by putting out their left arm.
This signal may also be used by motorcyclists and moped riders."

I had assumed that once it became an offence to have indicators that
were not in working order and once motor bikes got indicators too, that
hand signals had been quietly dropped for everyone except cyclists and
equestrians, but apparently not. I usually do signal a left turn at my
laneway - I turn left down what used to be access for the night-soil man
and it is just before a crossroads so I want cars behind me to realise
I'm turning left now and not in a few seconds time. Of course, the
adjectival cyclists still try to creep up into the blind spot on my
left, but what can you do?

--
Robert Bannister

[Robert Bannister]

On 18/07/12 10:31 PM, MC wrote:

> There seems to be a bit of confusion and disagreement as to what it
> means. I've heard it's part of the camera setup designed to catch
> drivers who run red lights, which is possible I suppose, but since we
> only have licence plates on the rear of our cars it would identify the
> driver but not the car, and there's no warning sign that cameras are in
> operation - which is standard here.

Our cars have registration plates front and rear, but motor bikes only
have them at the rear, so now they have come up with a new camera - no
idea how it works, but it takes front and rear view pictures. I don't
think the "red light cameras" are equipped that way, though.


--
Robert Bannister

[Peter Moylan]

As I recall it, both the flip-up variety and the flashing lights were
originally illegal in Australia. You could use them, but you also had to
give a hand signal to make it legal. By the time I got my driver's
licence you had a choice between hand signals and blinkers. At some
later stage the hand signals became illegal, but I've forgotten when
because it wasn't enforced.

In my opinion the flip-up ones were totally useless. They weren't
sufficiently visible to other drivers.

[MC]

In article <a6p6e3...@mid.individual.net>,

We used to have them front and back but the provincial government took
into account two bits of info...

1) The police only ever approach a car from behind except in very rare
cases.

2) It costs half to manufacture one plate rather than two... But one can
generate the same income as two.

...and decreed only one was needed.

One result of this is that no one bothers to seek or obtain vanity
plates from the government. If they want one they can have it made for a
few dollars and stick it on the front of the car. Very few drivers
bother to do this in practice.

Another result when it was first introduced was that the authorities in
New York State routinely ticketed cars from Quebec for not having two
plates, as mandated by New York law. That doesn't happen any more, but
it was the source of much irritation at the time.

[MC]

In article <3aGdnR7f8JqqyJrN...@bestweb.net>,

I wonder if they have any effect on epileptics.

[R H Draney]

MC filted:

>
>One result of this is that no one bothers to seek or obtain vanity
>plates from the government. If they want one they can have it made for a
>few dollars and stick it on the front of the car. Very few drivers
>bother to do this in practice.
>
>Another result when it was first introduced was that the authorities in
>New York State routinely ticketed cars from Quebec for not having two
>plates, as mandated by New York law. That doesn't happen any more, but
>it was the source of much irritation at the time.

I wonder if I can have a front plate made up to look like a regular license
plate with a number different from my own...or is there some kind of law against
that?...r


--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

[MC]

In article <ju7so...@drn.newsguy.com>,

As far as I know you can put anything on the front. You quite often see
vintage plates with obsolete designs. I used to have a UK rear plate
with my Quebec plate number on the front of my car. There are all kinds
of souvenir and novelty plates floating around.

[J. J. Lodder]

Peter Duncanson [BrE] <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".

Another data point for your collection:
Dutch trafic lights are red, orange, green.

How else could it be?

Jan

[Adam Funk]

On 2012-07-17, Peter Duncanson [BrE] wrote:

> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> apparently "yellow".

Don't forget "yellow" for British railway signals.


--
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him
whose? --- Don Marquis

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

Very appropriate.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[MC]

In article <m33g08hdnbvg6kp9l...@4ax.com>,

"Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:

> On Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:01:19 +0200, nos...@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J.
> Lodder) wrote:
>
> >Peter Duncanson [BrE] <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
> >
> >> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning light in a
> >> set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In AmE is it
> >> apparently "yellow".
> >
> >Another data point for your collection:
> >Dutch trafic lights are red, orange, green.
> >
> >How else could it be?
> >
> Very appropriate.

I've heard of William of orange but George of red and Stanley of green
are new to me.

[Adam Funk]

"Don't play with deadly amber snow"


--
In the 1970s, people began receiving utility bills for
-£999,999,996.32 and it became harder to sustain the
myth of the infallible electronic brain. (Verity Stob)

[Mark Brader]

John Varela:

> > Either one. I think that technically it's "amber" but common usage
> > is "yellow". The turn signal lights on cars are also amber, and
> > common usage is to call them "amber".

Robert Bannister:
> It's just taken me quite a search to find the colour in official use
> here. When I did my written test, there was a booklet called "Code of
> the Road", but the Department of Transport today has mno official
> booklet as far as I can make out. Instead, they recommend the somewhat
> ungrammatical "Drive Safe" which specifically states that our traffic
> lights have a "yellow" phase.

In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related
subjects and British for legal-related subjects.

In almost full conformity with this, Ontario's Highway Traffic Act

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm

always uses "amber" in referring to yellow traffic lights and yellow
lights on vehicles, and mentions "yellow" only in connection with
the paint used on school buses -- but the Driver's Handbook

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/index.shtml

uses "yellow" almost invariably, except for one instance of "yellow --
or amber --" and one instance of "amber" alone.

(The French version of the act

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/french/elaws_statutes_90h08_f.htm

, by the way, translates both "amber" and "yellow" as "jaune".)
--
Mark Brader | "Red lights are not my concern.
Toronto | I am a driver, not a policeman."
m...@vex.net | --statement made after collision, 1853

My text in this article is in the public domain.

[Peter Young]

On 19 Jul 2012 m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:

> John Varela:
>>> Either one. I think that technically it's "amber" but common usage
>>> is "yellow". The turn signal lights on cars are also amber, and
>>> common usage is to call them "amber".

> Robert Bannister:
>> It's just taken me quite a search to find the colour in official use
>> here. When I did my written test, there was a booklet called "Code of
>> the Road", but the Department of Transport today has mno official
>> booklet as far as I can make out. Instead, they recommend the somewhat
>> ungrammatical "Drive Safe" which specifically states that our traffic
>> lights have a "yellow" phase.

> In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related
> subjects and British for legal-related subjects.

[snip]

I didn't know that Canada still transported criminals to the other
side of the globe. Or is that the AmE sense of "transportation"
infiltrating itself into Canada?

From the BrE perspective, what's wrong with the word "transport"?

Peter, a.k.a. "cynical of Cheltenham").

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

[Mark Brader]

Mark Brader:

>> In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related
>> subjects and British for legal-related subjects.

Peter Young:

> I didn't know that Canada still transported criminals to the other
> side of the globe. Or is that the AmE sense of "transportation"
> infiltrating itself into Canada?

In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related

subjects.

> From the BrE perspective, what's wrong with the word "transport"?

I would imagine nothing is wrong with it from tbe Britglish perspective.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "My ambition is to see a saying of mine attributed
m...@vex.net | to Dorothy Parker or Mark Twain." -- Joe Fineman

[R H Draney]

J. J. Lodder filted:

The white traffic light that the English call "green" is known as "blue" in
Japan....r

[Peter Young]

On 19 Jul 2012 m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:

> Mark Brader:
>>> In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related
>>> subjects and British for legal-related subjects.

> Peter Young:
>> I didn't know that Canada still transported criminals to the other
>> side of the globe. Or is that the AmE sense of "transportation"
>> infiltrating itself into Canada?

> In Canada, the English usage is usually American for transportation-related
> subjects.

And for transport-related subjects? I hate to lose the specific use of
a word, as seems to have happened in Leftpondia with "transportation".

>> From the BrE perspective, what's wrong with the word "transport"?

> I would imagine nothing is wrong with it from tbe Britglish perspective.

Peter.

[Whiskers]

Semaphore arm trafficators were still being fitted in the late 50s, but
blinkers had certainly appeared before then. The earliest blinkers
were fitted in the same place as the semaphore arms, so just one on
each side of the vehicle; I think some were after-market substitutions.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[MC]

In article <slrnk0gucq.l...@ID-107770.user.individual.net>,

Am I imagining things or did some UK cars in the 1950s have after-market
semicircular "ears" on the roof - the same as the black cabs?

[tony cooper]

On 19 Jul 2012 21:17:45 GMT, Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com>
wrote:

US automobiles have returned the turn signal indicators to the side of
the vehicle. Many models now have turn signal lights incorporated in
the door mirrors. Now, if they could just get drivers to activate
them when about to turn.

I suggest voice actuated signals. When the passenger says "Turn left
here", the blinking starts.




--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[David Dyer-Bennet]

And when the GPS says "Turn left onto east thirty-eighth street", too.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd...@dd-b.net; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

[Robert Bannister]

I was going to suggest thought activated signals would be better, but I
watched a few drivers this morning and it is clear that the thought "I'm
going to turn right here" does not enter the heads until the very last
second. In the meantime, their left hand indicator has been flashing for
the last five kilometres.


--
Robert Bannister

[R H Draney]

Robert Bannister filted:

>
>I was going to suggest thought activated signals would be better, but I
>watched a few drivers this morning and it is clear that the thought "I'm
>going to turn right here" does not enter the heads until the very last
>second. In the meantime, their left hand indicator has been flashing for
>the last five kilometres.

We call that "receiving a transmission from the mothership"....r

[Peter Brooks]

On Jul 20, 2:25 am, Robert Bannister <robb...@bigpond.com> wrote:
> On 20/07/12 7:26 AM, tony cooper wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

> > On 19 Jul 2012 21:17:45 GMT, Whiskers <catwhee...@operamail.com>
> > wrote:

>
> >> On 2012-07-18, Katy Jennison <k...@spamtrap.kjennison.com> wrote:
> >>> On 18/07/2012 21:40, Robin Bignall wrote:
>
> >>>> I reckon the technical change occurred sometime in the 1940s.  My 1936
> >>>> Austin 7 had trafficators; my 1948 Triumph Roadster had flashing
> >>>> indicators.  I think we called the flashing ones 'flashers' as far ago
> >>>> as the 1950s.
>
> >>> I'm pretty sure we called them "winkers" or possibly "blinkers" in my
> >>> young day.
>
> >> Semaphore arm trafficators were still being fitted in the late 50s, but
> >> blinkers had certainly appeared before then.  The earliest blinkers
> >> were fitted in the same place as the semaphore arms, so just one on
> >> each side of the vehicle; I think some were after-market substitutions.
>
> > US automobiles have returned the turn signal indicators to the side of
> > the vehicle.  Many models now have turn signal lights incorporated in
> > the door mirrors.  Now, if they could just get drivers to activate
> > them when about to turn.
>
> > I suggest voice actuated signals.  When the passenger says "Turn left
> > here", the blinking starts.
>
> I was going to suggest thought activated signals would be better, but I
> watched a few drivers this morning and it is clear that the thought "I'm
> going to turn right here" does not enter the heads until the very last
> second. In the meantime, their left hand indicator has been flashing for
> the last five kilometres.
>

Even less explicable, to me, are those who turn and then turn on their
indicator - I can only imagine that they want to suggest that the turn
they just made was intentional, rather than accidental, but even that
seems somewhat perverse.

[J. J. Lodder]

William of Orange was the taciturn one.
He never told the world who his red and green friends were,

Jan

[James Silverton]

I've never understood the use of the term "amber" for yellow traffic
lights. To me, "amber" is a brownish yellow and, incidentally as a noun,
a not particularly attractive precious material formed from fossilized
tree sap.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

Whisk(e)y is often described as being amber coloured.

"Scottish Amber Nectar"
http://www.scotsoc.org.uk/scottish_amber_nectar.html

In Australia "amber nectar" is lager:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/30200.html

The phrase sounds modern but has been in use since the 19th century,
albeit originally referring to honey rather than beer. Marion
Harland included this in her 1857 work Moss-side:

"Piled-up [honey]comb,... which dripped with amber nectar."

Toward the end of the century the term became associated with beer,
as here in the Californian newspaper The Fresno Weekly Republican,
November 1893:
....
OED:

amber nectar n. (a) a liquid or (alcoholic) drink of an amber
colour; (b) spec. lager (in later use popularized as an advertising
slogan (from 1986) for Foster's lager).

To me, amber is a slightly warmer and deeper colour than yellow.

The amber of a fluid such as whisk(e)y or honey is not a dull or drab
colour.

[R H Draney]

Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> filted:

>
>On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:31:50 -0400, James Silverton
><jim.si...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>I've never understood the use of the term "amber" for yellow traffic
>>lights. To me, "amber" is a brownish yellow and, incidentally as a noun,
>>a not particularly attractive precious material formed from fossilized
>>tree sap.
>

>To me, amber is a slightly warmer and deeper colour than yellow.

To me, Amber is my next-door neighbor....r

[Adam Funk]

On 2012-07-20, James Silverton wrote:

> I've never understood the use of the term "amber" for yellow traffic
> lights. To me, "amber" is a brownish yellow and, incidentally as a noun,
> a not particularly attractive precious material formed from fossilized
> tree sap.

I mentioned BrE railway signals vs road traffic signals earlier. It's
been explained to me previously (in uk.railway) that road "amber" is
technically different from railway "yellow", with regard to CIE colour
specifications, glass manufacturing, &c.; see posts around here:

https://groups.google.com/group/uk.railway/msg/136cc4e04e5948c4?hl=en-GB
Message-ID: <EaUwtmTc...@romana.davros.org>

https://groups.google.com/group/uk.railway/msg/aaf94b756d071df1?hl=en-GB
Message-ID: <eih891162rvrm1d2e...@4ax.com>


--
...the reason why so many professional artists drink a lot is not
necessarily very much to do with the artistic temperament, etc. It is
simply that they can afford to, because they can normally take a large
part of a day off to deal with the ravages. [Amis _On Drink_]

[J. J. Lodder]

Amber (the stone) can be any colour between light yellow and dark brown.
'Average' amber is close to trafic light 'orange',
or Mac OS X 'yellow' button,

Jan

[J. J. Lodder]

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:

Searching in Google images for 'amber'
yields many more neighbours than stones,

Jan

[Mike L]

On Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:23:02 -0400, MC <cope...@mapca.inter.net>
wrote:

Yes, they did. I didn't know they were after-market, though.

--
Mike.

[Mike L]

On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:41:19 +0100, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"

Alcoholic drinks (maybe not even other drinks - I don't know) are not
allowed in the UK House of Commons Debating Chamber, except, by
tradition, for the Chancellor during his Budget speech. Reporting
convention, however, didn't allow the fluid to be named, so the papers
made use of expressions such as "...refreshed himself from a glass of
amber-coloured liquid".

--
Mike.

[James Silverton]

I would agree with the use of "amber" to describe whisky or honey (and
the hell with the Thunderbird spelling checker flagging "whisky" and
suggesting "whiskey").

[R H Draney]

Mike L filted:

>
>Alcoholic drinks (maybe not even other drinks - I don't know) are not
>allowed in the UK House of Commons Debating Chamber, except, by
>tradition, for the Chancellor during his Budget speech. Reporting
>convention, however, didn't allow the fluid to be named, so the papers
>made use of expressions such as "...refreshed himself from a glass of
>amber-coloured liquid".

And knowing onlookers said to themselves, "ah, Galliano!"...

I don't drink, but that's an exception I might make....r

[Skitt]

Shades of Harvey Wallbanger.

--
Skitt (SF Bay Area)
http://come.to/skitt

[Peter Moylan]

Forever?

--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.

[Peter Moylan]

I've just checked. Thunderbird with the Australian dictionary accepts
both "whisky" and "whiskey", but puts a wiggly red line under "popularized".

[R H Draney]

Peter Moylan filted:

>
>On 21/07/12 05:44, R H Draney wrote:
>> Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> filted:
>>>
>>> On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:31:50 -0400, James Silverton
>>> <jim.si...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've never understood the use of the term "amber" for yellow traffic
>>>> lights. To me, "amber" is a brownish yellow and, incidentally as a noun,
>>>> a not particularly attractive precious material formed from fossilized
>>>> tree sap.
>>>
>>> To me, amber is a slightly warmer and deeper colour than yellow.
>>
>> To me, Amber is my next-door neighbor....r
>>
>Forever?

No, only since about a year ago....r

[Peter Brooks]

On Jul 20, 11:16 pm, James Silverton <jim.silver...@verizon.net>
wrote:

Only runny honey. Crystallized isn't amber.

[MC]

In article <p5ij08ptr8iljpu6j...@4ax.com>,

Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> >Am I imagining things or did some UK cars in the 1950s have after-market
> >semicircular "ears" on the roof - the same as the black cabs?
>
> Yes, they did. I didn't know they were after-market, though.

I'm not sure if they were or not.

[MC]

In article <juchr3$2p4$1...@dont-email.me>,

James Silverton <jim.si...@verizon.net> wrote:

> I would agree with the use of "amber" to describe whisky or honey (and
> the hell with the Thunderbird spelling checker flagging "whisky" and
> suggesting "whiskey").

This ay be an anciant topic (just don't know) but isn't "whisky" the
Scottish (Scotch?) product and "whiskey" the Irish?

[Peter Brooks]

The shade.

[Katy Jennison]

Amber the actual fossilised resin comes in all shades from brown to
almost white, translucent to opaque. I bet I could find some which
looked almost exactly like crystallised honey.

--
Katy Jennison

[Whiskers]

On 2012-07-21, MC <cope...@mapca.inter.net> wrote:
> In article <p5ij08ptr8iljpu6j...@4ax.com>,
> Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> >Am I imagining things or did some UK cars in the 1950s have after-market
>> >semicircular "ears" on the roof - the same as the black cabs?
>>
>> Yes, they did. I didn't know they were after-market, though.
>
> I'm not sure if they were or not.

I seem to remember they were factory fittings; it would be inconvenient
to move the wiring and drill holes in the bodywork, and then decide
what to do about the semaphore arms, when units were available simply
to replace the semaphore arms with fixed lamps.

I think the bunny-ears were mostly fitted to commercial vehicles - but
that could be because there weren't many new private cars here in the
'50s, most of those we could build were exported to help pay for the
war.

Another intermediate arrangement was to have the red tail-lamps and
white side-lights flash as direction indicators; I still think that was
the best idea, as it told you whether the vehicle was more likely to
move towards or away from you when it began to manoeuvre.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Whiskers]

On 2012-07-19, tony cooper <tony.co...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 19 Jul 2012 21:17:45 GMT, Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com>

> wrote:
>
>>On 2012-07-18, Katy Jennison <ka...@spamtrap.kjennison.com> wrote:
>>> On 18/07/2012 21:40, Robin Bignall wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I reckon the technical change occurred sometime in the 1940s. My 1936
>>>> Austin 7 had trafficators; my 1948 Triumph Roadster had flashing
>>>> indicators. I think we called the flashing ones 'flashers' as far ago
>>>> as the 1950s.
>>>
>>> I'm pretty sure we called them "winkers" or possibly "blinkers" in my
>>> young day.
>>
>>Semaphore arm trafficators were still being fitted in the late 50s, but
>>blinkers had certainly appeared before then. The earliest blinkers
>>were fitted in the same place as the semaphore arms, so just one on
>>each side of the vehicle; I think some were after-market substitutions.
>

> US automobiles have returned the turn signal indicators to the side of
> the vehicle. Many models now have turn signal lights incorporated in
> the door mirrors. Now, if they could just get drivers to activate
> them when about to turn.

'Repeater' blinkers are common over here, fitted to the side of the
bodywork or incorporated into the door mirrors. They don't replace the
front and rear indicators though.

> I suggest voice actuated signals. When the passenger says "Turn left
> here", the blinking starts.

I suggest that 'hazard flashing' mode be invoked by that verbal prompt;
it's anybody's guess what the driver will do.

[Whiskers]

On 2012-07-20, Peter Brooks <peter.h....@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jul 20, 2:25 am, Robert Bannister <robb...@bigpond.com> wrote:

[...]

> Even less explicable, to me, are those who turn and then turn on their
> indicator - I can only imagine that they want to suggest that the turn
> they just made was intentional, rather than accidental, but even that
> seems somewhat perverse.

The big twisty-turny thing their hands might be resting on already is
so much easier to find than the silly little clicky-flicky thing that
makes the lights do stuff.

[MC]

In article <slrnk0l6ge.n...@ID-107770.user.individual.net>,

Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:

> Another intermediate arrangement was to have the red tail-lamps and
> white side-lights flash as direction indicators; I still think that was
> the best idea, as it told you whether the vehicle was more likely to
> move towards or away from you when it began to manoeuvre.

I believe that's the reasoning behind the continuing American practice
of having yellow turn signal flashers on the front of the car and red
ones on the back. It tells you if the car is coming toward you or is
headed in the same direction as you. Useful when visibility is poor.

[Adam Funk]

On 2012-07-20, Mike L wrote:

> On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:41:19 +0100, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
><ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:

>>The amber of a fluid such as whisk(e)y or honey is not a dull or drab
>>colour.

I agree, it's yummy.

> Alcoholic drinks (maybe not even other drinks - I don't know) are not
> allowed in the UK House of Commons Debating Chamber, except, by
> tradition, for the Chancellor during his Budget speech. Reporting
> convention, however, didn't allow the fluid to be named, so the papers
> made use of expressions such as "...refreshed himself from a glass of
> amber-coloured liquid".

But IIRC there is a heavily subsidized bar nearby that's open whenever
the chamber is.


(Hmm, where should that "nearby" go?")


--
A lot of people never use their intiative because no-one
told them to. --- Banksy

[Robert Bannister]

"I wonder if he knows that only one of his brake lights is working, and
why does he keep stamping on the brakes?"


--
Robert Bannister

[Robert Bannister]

Our drivers are so good that whenever I see an indicator flashing, my
first thought is, "Oh, no. He's just discovered a switch he's never used
before".

--
Robert Bannister

[Peter Moylan]

Many Australian country roads are bounded by posts that have white
reflectors on one side and red reflectors on the other. (I haven't been
observant enough to see whether this is done in other countries.) This
is especially useful when you're on a winding road with no lighting
other than your own headlamps.

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> writes:

> J. J. Lodder filted:

>>
>>Peter Duncanson [BrE] <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>>

>>> In the recent past we discussed the word used for the warning
>>> light in a set of traffic lights. In BrE we call it "amber". In
>>> AmE is it apparently "yellow".
>>
>>Another data point for your collection:
>>Dutch trafic lights are red, orange, green.
>>
>>How else could it be?
>

> The white traffic light that the English call "green" is known as
> "blue" in Japan....r

Berlin and Kay note that Japanese blue ("ao") and green ("midori") is
a weird case, to the extent that "If these conjectures are borne out
by further work, we will have no alternative but to treat Japanese as
a counterexample to the evolutionary sequence of the foci blue and
green". [p. 43] They say

On the basis of internal evidence, the term for Japanese 'blue'
_ao_ is apparently of greater antiquity than 'green' _midiri_
(_iro_). Moreover, there is some evidence that _ao_ once was
extended over greens and blues.

A web age dealing with traffic lights says that the change is pretty
recent:

In modern Japanese, there is a word for "green" ("midori"),
however this is a relatively new term that has only been used
since the Heian Period. Even after "midori" came into use, green
was still thought of as a shade of "ao" instead of an independent
color. According to Wikipedia, educational materials only
distinguished between green and blue after World War II. In
current times, the word "ao" is still used to describe certain
items (such as vegetables, traffic lights) that are actually
green.

http://tokyo360.net/?p=94

Of course, the green light does actually contain a significant amount
of blue in it in order to make it distinguishable from the red light
by those who are red/green colorblind.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |Bullwinkle: You sure that's the
SF Bay Area (1982-) | only way?
Chicago (1964-1982) |Rocky: Well, if you're going to be
| a hero, you've got to do
evan.kir...@gmail.com | stupid things every once in
| a while.
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

[R H Draney]

Robert Bannister filted:

Recently someone pulled alongside me at a stoplight and signaled that I should
lower my window, at which time he told me my left taillight was out...since this
was in broad daylight, I knew he meant my brake light....

Short of hiring someone to do a preflight every time I start the car, this is
about the only way you can find out you have a brake light out...(once I'd
replaced the bulb, I backed up, at night, to a closed store with a glass front
and ran through the combinations of brake, driving, turn signal and backup
lights and watched the results in the double reflection)....r

[tony cooper]

On 21 Jul 2012 19:36:53 -0700, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
wrote:

Speaking of which, I was on Interstate 4 yesterday whizzing along at
about 75 mph behind a SUV pulling a large boat. The boat had a
Bimini top with the canvas wrapped around it. The canvas, though, had
started to unfurl and was flapping wildly in the wind.

I pulled up next to the passenger side of the SUV and motioned for the
person to roll down her window. She did, and I shouted "Your canvas
is coming loose" several times.

She evidently didn't understand me, took my comments as some sort of
complaint, and made a very rude gesture and mouthed something that
also presumably rude.

I went on my way, but in my rear view mirror I saw a chunk of canvas
tearing off and blowing away.

I assume that when they got to their destination, and saw the bare
Bimini frame, that the female will do the forehead slap and say "Oh,
that's what he was trying to tell me."

A Bimini top for the land-locked here:
http://www.attwoodmarine.com/userfiles/image/Categories/3%20Bow%20Bimini%202009%20c%281%29.jpg

When trailering the boat, the frame is folded and the canvas wrapped
around it. Some people have a cover that fits over the wrapped
canvas.





--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Peter Brooks]

On Jul 22, 4:36 am, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
> Robert Bannister filted:

>
>
> Short of hiring someone to do a preflight every time I start the car, this is
> about the only way you can find out you have a brake light out...(once I'd
> replaced the bulb, I backed up, at night, to a closed store with a glass front
> and ran through the combinations of brake, driving, turn signal and backup
> lights and watched the results in the double reflection)....r
>

Modern cars tell you when lights have failed. I've a kraut car and
they haven't bothered translating that, so I'm sometimes informed that
my 'Bremslicht' is buggered.

[MC]

In article <b8sm08pqsodi0oqc1...@4ax.com>,

tony cooper <tony.co...@gmail.com> wrote:

> A Bimini top for the land-locked here:
> http://www.attwoodmarine.com/userfiles/image/Categories/3%20Bow%20Bimini%20200
> 9%20c%281%29.jpg

Thanks. For a moment I thought you might be talking about one of
these...

http://www.lalalingerie.com/images/microbikinitopwhite.jpg

[R H Draney]

Peter Brooks filted:

>
>On Jul 22, 4:36=A0am, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>> Robert Bannister filted:
>>
>>

>> Short of hiring someone to do a preflight every time I start the car, thi=
>s is
>> about the only way you can find out you have a brake light out...(once I'=
>d
>> replaced the bulb, I backed up, at night, to a closed store with a glass =
>front
>> and ran through the combinations of brake, driving, turn signal and backu=

>p
>> lights and watched the results in the double reflection)....r
>>
>Modern cars tell you when lights have failed. I've a kraut car and
>they haven't bothered translating that, so I'm sometimes informed that
>my 'Bremslicht' is buggered.

"Modern cars", eh?...I keep hearing about those getting recalled in bunches;
I'll stick with my antique 2005 jalopy until they iron out those little issues
of bursting into flame or suddenly deciding to accelerate and make sharp right
turns on overpasses....r

[Nick Spalding]

R H Draney wrote, in <jufp0...@drn.newsguy.com>
on 21 Jul 2012 19:36:53 -0700:

When a stop light goes on my car and on previous ones the flash rate
doubles. The time constant of the flasher depends on the current drawn.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE

[tony cooper]

One of our cars has a light in the instrument panel that glows amber
when a tire's air pressure is low. Shortly after purchasing the car,
we had a flat caused by a roofing nail. The tire was repaired and
continued to function for several thousand miles until four new tires
were purchased.

The light, however, came on when the flat happened and has never gone
off since. It didn't go off when the flat was fixed, and it didn't go
off when new tires were installed. The dealer says some calibration
or setting or something needs changing, and the cost for that will be
about $75.

Rather than spend $75, we continue to use the old method of checking
the air. We look at the tires and occasionally kick one. I've never
understood why kicking a tire improves ones ability to determine
internal air pressure, but that's what my father did and I continue to
follow his example.

[Peter Moylan]

On 22/07/12 19:38, Nick Spalding wrote:
> R H Draney wrote, in <jufp0...@drn.newsguy.com>
> on 21 Jul 2012 19:36:53 -0700:

>> Recently someone pulled alongside me at a stoplight and signaled that I should
>> lower my window, at which time he told me my left taillight was out...since this
>> was in broad daylight, I knew he meant my brake light....
>>
>> Short of hiring someone to do a preflight every time I start the car, this is
>> about the only way you can find out you have a brake light out...(once I'd
>> replaced the bulb, I backed up, at night, to a closed store with a glass front
>> and ran through the combinations of brake, driving, turn signal and backup
>> lights and watched the results in the double reflection)....r
>
> When a stop light goes on my car and on previous ones the flash rate
> doubles. The time constant of the flasher depends on the current drawn.

That works for the turn indicators on every car I've owned, but not for
the brake lights.

I can roughly see how you could wire up the circuit such that the time
constant would also be affected by the current through the brake lights,
but then the flashing rate of the blinkers would change every time you
stepped on the brake pedal.

[the Omrud]

On 22/07/2012 14:25, tony cooper wrote:

> Rather than spend $75, we continue to use the old method of checking
> the air. We look at the tires and occasionally kick one. I've never
> understood why kicking a tire improves ones ability to determine
> internal air pressure, but that's what my father did and I continue to
> follow his example.

In BrE, "tyre kickers" are people who don't know about a subject, but
want you think they do. I've never heard of this being a way of
checking the pressure - it's reputed to be done by people when
considering buying a second-hand car, but nobody knows what it's
supposed to establish.

My father taught me to use a tyre pressure gauge, like this:

http://www.diytools.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/4/image/400x400/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/r/draper-26443-expert-bar-type-tyre-pressure-gauge.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/ctpuf4e

--
David

[Whiskers]

On 2012-07-21, Adam Funk <a24...@ducksburg.com> wrote:
> On 2012-07-20, Mike L wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:41:19 +0100, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
>><ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>
>>>The amber of a fluid such as whisk(e)y or honey is not a dull or drab
>>>colour.
>
> I agree, it's yummy.
>
>
>> Alcoholic drinks (maybe not even other drinks - I don't know) are not
>> allowed in the UK House of Commons Debating Chamber, except, by
>> tradition, for the Chancellor during his Budget speech. Reporting
>> convention, however, didn't allow the fluid to be named, so the papers
>> made use of expressions such as "...refreshed himself from a glass of
>> amber-coloured liquid".
>
> But IIRC there is a heavily subsidized bar nearby that's open whenever
> the chamber is.
>
>
> (Hmm, where should that "nearby" go?")

Some members of the public, and a few members of the house, believe the
"nearby" should be removed to such a distance that members incapable of
speaking coherently would also be incapable of getting to the house.

[Whiskers]

If that worries you enough to stay out of his way, I think the main
purpose has been achieved.

[Whiskers]

On 2012-07-22, Peter Moylan <inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
> On 21/07/12 23:28, MC wrote:
>> In article <slrnk0l6ge.n...@ID-107770.user.individual.net>,
>> Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:

[...]

> Many Australian country roads are bounded by posts that have white
> reflectors on one side and red reflectors on the other. (I haven't been
> observant enough to see whether this is done in other countries.) This
> is especially useful when you're on a winding road with no lighting
> other than your own headlamps.

It's a common practice here in the UK too.

[Robin Bignall]

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:03:32 +0100, the Omrud <usenet...@gmail.com>
wrote:

I have a warning light for tyre pressure. When it shows up as a result
of a puncture, after the tyre is replaced and all tyres are at the right
pressure, you push a button under the dash and the pressure system
resets itself.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England