The Junction with 42 Separate Traffic Lights

Adapted From The Express - June 2016

Insert the correct words into the text from the choices
below.
A controversial junction dubbed the "red light district" with a staggering 42 separate signals has too many
traffic lights, a road safety audit has found. Motorists and residents in Beverley, near Hull, East Yorkshire, have
been (1)____________ red over Grovehill junction - which replaced a roundabout when a £22million bypass
opened in 2015.

The junction attracted international headlines because of the large amount of lights in such a small area.
Now a road (2) ____________ audit, commissioned by East Riding Council, has recommended engineers
"rationalise where possible" the number of signals. American engineering consultants AECOM, who conducted
the £5,000 audit, said the junction appeared "over-populated".

A spokesman said: "Throughout the junction, a number of lanes and junction approaches have more signal
poles than the audit team consider necessary for the number of approach lanes. As such, the junction appears
over-populated with vertical elements (traffic lights). The overuse of such street furniture increases the risk of
(3) _________ occurring between a motorist and signal poles. Furthermore, the overuse of vertical elements
may obstruct the junction's inter-visibility zone, restricting the view for approaching motorists."

However, the engineers (4) ________ the junction and its controversial design, Pell Frischmann, have insisted,
"there is no scope for reduction of the number of signal poles". This has been accepted by East Riding Council.

The result of the audit findings has not surprised residents and Howard Tomlinson, of Grovehill Area Action
Group, said: "The concern from the auditors is there are just too many lights in a small space. The report was
supposed to have been produced some time ago but even two weeks ago they had a camera out checking the
number of cars going (5) ____________ red lights. There's minor acknowledgement of things that can be done
to remedy problems. It seems to be a way of saying this is an imperfect junction but we are not going to do
much about it."

Mr Tomlinson added that the independent audit indicated residents' safety concerns but he doubted traffic
lights would be removed. He said: "There's not going to be an admission of responsibility for something that is
a bit of a (6) ____________."

However, East Riding Council (7) ____________ the signal system "works well". Alan Menzies, East
Riding Council's director of planning and economic regeneration, said: "Our general view is, in terms of motor
vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians that have to cross, the signal system works well. We accept there are
(8) ____________ views from experts in terms of the number of traffic signals. It is unlikely there will be major
adjustments."

1. A) looking B) seeing C) going D) watching

2. A) security B) safety C) safeness D) well-being

3. A) pileups B) impacts C) clashes D) collisions

4. A) behind B) responsible C) accountable D) ahead

5. A) around B) across C) for D) through

6. A) obligation B) responsibility C liability D) accountability

7. A) confirm B) uphold C) sustain D) insist

8. A) differing B) arguing C) discussing D) quarrelling

 Traffic Light Debate
You are a councillor and have been summoned to attend an urgent
meeting regarding the controversial traffic lights. Read the memo below
and, using your personality card on the next page as your motivation,
debate what you think should be done.

Memo
To: Committee Members
From: The Mayor
Date: 27/02/17
Re: Traffic Lights Issue

Fellow Councillors,

As you may or may not know from our previous meetings, the situation regarding the traffic lights at
Beverley has started to attract a lot of attention in the media that is very much to our detriment. It would also
appear that the report we had carried out by AECOM has been leaked to the press and is now public knowledge.
As such, the time has come to act and we have no other choice than to convene a meeting where the pros and
cons of the said traffic lights will be debated in full.
Unfortunately, our previous meetings have produced very little in the shape of ideas or agreements. On
the contrary, our former gatherings have only given vent to more disagreement and disharmony which paints us
all in a very bad light. As such, I would like this meeting to be more productive and provide at least one
agreement among us as to what the next step should be.
For those of you that have seen the figures, the upkeep for the traffic lights is close to £5,000 per month.
This is clearly unacceptable. With our local hospital services stretched the way they are at the moment, we
cannot be allocating such sums to unnecessary traffic systems if they are failing to do the job they were designed
to do in the first place. For this reason alone, I would like you all to have a long hard think about what we should
be doing at this busy road junction in Beverley in order to reduce our costs and hopefully divert funds to where
they are needed the most.
The meeting will take place in the Council Chambers at 4pm next Tuesday. Each councillor is expected
to make at least one statement regarding the issue at hand.

Warmest regards
The Mayor

Connect each of the words on the left with its definition on the
right.
1. detriment a. meetings

2. be leaked b. under considerable financial stress

3. gatherings c. problem

4. give vent d. when a confidential information is made public

 Traffic Light Debate: Personality Cards
You are a councillor and local business
person. You have made a lot of money in the
construction industry. Your brother-in-law
owns a construction company that
specialises in building roundabouts. If you
can give the contract for a roundabout to
your brother-in-law, he has promised to give
you £50,000. This is something that you
prefer to keep secret as you could go to jail if
this is discovered.
You are a councillor and a member of a
militant organisation that is dedicated
to the eradication of traffic lights. You
have been fined on several occasions
for jumping red lights. You think that
traffic lights should only be used in the
most dangerous accident black-spots
and, wherever possible, roundabouts
should be built.
You are a councillor and a business
owner. Your business installs and
maintains traffic lights. You have a very
big contract with the town and 75
people rely on you for work. You
obviously feel that the town needs
these traffic lights and without them
the streets and roads would be very
dangerous.
You are a councillor and a member of a
militant organisation that is dedicated to the
eradication of corruption. You have heard
that one of the councillor's brother-in-law is
trying to get a building contract for a
roundabout. You are determined to stop this
as you see it as blatantly immoral. You don't
care how the vote goes but you want to
expose the corrupt councillor at all costs.
You are a councillor and a member of a
pressure group that has been created
to make the UK’s roads safer. You think
that people that jump traffic lights
should go to prison for at least one
year. If they hurt anybody, you think
they should go to prison for at least 10
years. You think there should be more
traffic lights as you believe the
standard of British driving has
You are a councillor and a health and
safety officer. You are convinced that
the town’s traffic lights are, in fact,
making the roads more dangerous. You
have conducted a study of the town’s
roads and have found that accidents
have actually gone up in the last 5
years. You think that a sensible
roundabout with fewer traffic lights is
the best solution.
You are a councillor and a member of a
green organisation that is dedicated to
pedestrianizing as much of the town centre
as possible. You think that way too much
money is wasted on maintaining the town’s
roads and think that only vehicles owned by
local residents, and trucks making deliveries,
should be allowed on the town’s roads. You
think more money should be spent on a
bicycle lane.
Although a councillor for the Town Council,
you are also the owner of a car showroom.
Less and less people are buying cars because
the town is becoming greener. You think
that there is an anti-car sentiment among
the people of the town. You also think this is
damaging to local business and the
economy. You believe car drivers are unfairly
treated.

CHOOSE ONE OF THE PERSONALITY CARDS ABOVE AND THEN USE THIS AS
YOUR MOTIVATION DURING THE ROLE-PLAY.

A controversial junction dubbed the "red light district" with a staggering 42 separate signals has too many traffic lights, a road
safety audit has found. Motorists and residents in Beverley, near Hull, East Yorkshire, have been (1)seeing red over Grovehill
junction - which replaced a roundabout when a £22million bypass opened in 2015.

The junction attracted international headlines because of the large amount of lights in such a small area.
Now a road (2)safety audit, commissioned by East Riding Council, has recommended engineers "rationalise where possible" the
number of signals. American engineering consultants AECOM, who conducted the £5,000 audit, said the junction appeared
"over-populated".

A spokesman said: "Throughout the junction, a number of lanes and junction approaches have more signal poles than the audit
team consider necessary for the number of approach lanes. As such, the junction appears over-populated with vertical elements
(traffic lights). The overuse of such street furniture increases the risk of (3)collisions occurring between a motorist and signal
poles. Furthermore, the overuse of vertical elements may obstruct the junction's inter-visibility zone, restricting the view for
approaching motorists."

However, the engineers (4)behind the junction and its controversial design, Pell Frischmann, have insisted, "there is no scope for
reduction of the number of signal poles". This has been accepted by East Riding Council.

The result of the audit findings has not surprised residents and Howard Tomlinson, of Grovehill Area Action Group, said: "The
concern from the auditors is there are just too many lights in a small space. The report was supposed to have been produced
some time ago but even two weeks ago they had a camera out checking the number of cars going (5)through red lights. There's
minor acknowledgement of things that can be done to remedy problems. It seems to be a way of saying this is an imperfect
junction but we are not going to do much about it."

Mr Tomlinson added that the independent audit indicated residents' safety concerns but he doubted traffic lights would be
removed. He said: "There's not going to be an admission of responsibility for something that is a bit of a (6)liability."

However, East Riding Council (7) insist the signal system "works well". Alan Menzies, East Riding Council's director of
planning and economic regeneration, said: "Our general view is, in terms of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians that have to
cross, the signal system works well. We accept there are (8)differing views from experts in terms of the number of traffic
signals. It is unlikely there will be major adjustments."

1. A) looking B) seeing C) going D) watching

2. A) security B) safety C) safeness D) well-being

3. A) pileups B) impacts C) clashes D) collisions

4. A) behind B) responsible C) accountable D) ahead

5. A) around B) across C) for D) through

6. A) obligation B) responsibility C liability D) accountability

7. A) confirm B) uphold C) sustain D) insist

8. A) differing B) arguing C) discussing D) quarrelling

 1. detriment a. meetings

2. be leaked b. under considerable financial stress Answers

1) = f)
3. gatherings c. problem 2) = d)
3) = a)
4. give vent d. when a confidential information is made public
4) = g)
5. upkeep e. numbers and statistics 5) = h)
6) = b)
6. stretched f. disadvantage 7) = e)
8) = c)
7. figures g. express strong emotions

8. issue h. maintenance, running costs

Dice Game –Police Traffic Stop

Find a partner and play together with one person speaking
the lines in the orange box and the other speaking the lines
in the grey. Throw a dice before you start to determine
which line number to say in each section. Once you have
finished, swap roles and start again.
A 4. Cheers. How come you have 3 points taken away?
1. Hello, Officer. Did I do anything wrong?
2. Good morning, Officer. What appears to be the
problem?
3. Good morning, Officer. What can I do for you?
4. Hello, Officer. Is there a problem?
5. Hi! I haven’t done anything wrong, have I,
Officer?
6. Good morning. Is there something the matter,
Officer?
B
1. Hi! Are you aware that you jumped a red light?
2. Hello. Do you know that you shot a red light?
3. Good morning. Did you know that you just went
through a red light?
4. Good morning. You didn’t stop at that red light.
5. Hello there. Could you tell me why you just went
through a red light?
6. Hello. Can you explain why you didn’t stop at that
red light back there?
F
1. Thanks. Could you tell me why you have these 3
points deducted?
2. Much obliged. Why did you have these 3 points
taken away?
3. Thank you. You have 3 points deducted, why is
that?
5. Ta. What were those 3 points deducted for?
6. Thanks. May I know why you lost 3 points?
G
1. I'm afraid I was caught speeding.
2. Oh, I was speeding.
3. It’s because I was going 80 in a 60mph zone.
4. They caught me going too fast.
5. I was clocked going too fast by radar.
6. Certainly. They got me for speeding, I’m afraid.
H
1. I'm going to have to give you a ticket, I’m afraid.
2. Well, I’m issuing with a ticket this time.
3. OK, now you have a ticket, as well.
4. All right. I’m giving you a ticket for jumping that
light.
5. I'm afraid you are going to receive a ticket for this.
6. I have no option but to give you a ticket, I’m sorry
to say.

C
1. Oh no! Did I really?
I
2. I jumped a red light! I didn’t, did I?
1. That’s OK. It’s my fault for being so careless.
3. I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t see it.
2. Well, it serves me right, I suppose.
4. There was a red light back there? I didn’t see it.
3. All right. That sounds fair enough to me.
5. I’m so sorry. There are so many lights. I must
4. Oh no. Not another ticket! Oh well.
have got confused.
5. Oh dear! I asked for it I suppose.
6. I shot a red light? I’m so sorry! I didn’t see it!
6. Of course. I should be more careful next time.

D 1. Here is your ticket. Be more careful in future.
1. Could I see your driving license, please?
2. Do you have your driving license on you?
3. I’m afraid I’m going to need to see your license?
4. May I see your driver’s license?
5. Can you give me you license, please?
6. Well, you’ll have to show me your license I’m
afraid.
E K
1. Sure. Let me see … here it is.
2. Of course. Here you are.
3. Certainly. There you go.
4. Absolutely. Here it is.
5. Oh, all right. Here you are.
6. That’s OK. There you are.
TRAFFIC POLICE ROLE-PLAY
Look at the situations below and practice them with a partner
The Police Officer
You have been watching the traffic all day
and you are extremely bored. All the
drivers have been very well-behaved
despite the fact that they are all in a very
slow traffic jam.
Just now you saw a driver eating
their breakfast and getting dressed while
driving past. They are now stopped at a
light. You need to tell them to be more
careful and check their license.
The Police Officer
You have been watching the traffic all day
while riding your motorbike. All the drivers
have been very well-behaved until now.
You have just seen a driver shouting at
two slower drivers. He has been bibbing
his horn and using very aggressive
language while shaking his fist at the other
drivers.
J
Off you go!
2. OK. This is your ticket. You are free to go.
3. Right, here is the ticket. Have a nice day.
4. OK then. Take this ticket and don’t do it again. Bye.
5. This ticket is for you. Behave yourself in future.
Goodbye.
6. Have this ticket and have a nice day. Take care!
1. Sorry Officer. Goodbye.
2. OK. Thank you, Officer.
3. Sorry about that, Officer. Goodbye.
4. Thank you. Goodbye, Officer.
5. All right, Officer. It won’t happen again. Bye-bye!
6. Ta. I’ll be more careful next time. Cheerio.
Distracted Driver
You have been stuck in a traffic jam for 2
hours and you have a job interview to get to.
To make matters worse, you got up late and
have had to get dressed and have your
breakfast while driving. You were sitting at
one of the many traffic lights at this stretch of
road when a police officer taps on your
window. You hope that whatever it is the
officer wants isn’t going to take very long.
Angry Driver
You have been stuck in a traffic jam for 2
hours and you have a meeting to get to. In
front of you are two cars being driven by two
very old people who seem to know each
other. They keep stopping their cars to speak
to each other and don’t move forward when
the traffic starts to move again. You have
bibbed them a couple of times to tell them to
hurry up but they have told you to relax and
that the traffic is going nowhere. Now a
police officer has tapped on your window.
 The Police Officer
You work at the police station normally and
love your job. However, today there is a
football match and they need you to help
supervise traffic. You hate supervising
traffic. While waving the traffic toward you,
you notice a driver texting and drinking
coffee. You are inclined to give the driver a
ticket.
Texting Driver
You are trying to get to hospital where your
wife is about to give birth. Unfortunately,
there is a football match and the traffic is
terrible. You have just sent her a text telling
her that you will be there when you can. A
very angry looking police officer is coming
towards you and has indicated that you
should stop. You hope it won’t take long.