Welcome to Hell; Please Drive Carefully

Posted2 months agoActive2 months ago

2earth

106 points

28 comments

2earth.github.ioTechstory

calmpositive

Debate

40/100

ElectronicsTraffic ManagementDiy Projects

Key topics

Electronics

Traffic Management

Diy Projects

The post describes a DIY project to create flashing-LED Belisha beacon outfits, sparking discussions on traffic management, pedestrian safety, and innovative electronics projects.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Very active discussion

First comment

N/A

Peak period

132-144h

Avg / period

9.3

Comment distribution28 data points

Loading chart...

Based on 28 loaded comments

Key moments

01Story posted
Oct 27, 2025 at 5:47 PM EDT
2 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Oct 27, 2025 at 5:47 PM EDT
0s after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
25 comments in 132-144h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Nov 2, 2025 at 7:05 PM EST
2 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (28 comments)

Showing 28 comments

2earthAuthor

2 months ago

1 reply

A one-day electronics project to make two flashing-LED Belisha beacon outfits. Hope you enjoy!

niwtsol

2 months ago

1 reply

Thanks for sharing your fun project. Do you mind eli5 the logic of the circuit for someone unfamiliar with circuits?

2earthAuthor

2 months ago

Sure!

The battery provides approx 6V - the timing circuit uses a 555 IC to create a pulsed signal. The combination of resistor and capacitor values determines the period of oscillation. Then, the output signal from this circuit is used to switch a transistor on and off. That makes/breaks a connection from the battery to the LED strings.

I also added a switch to select between the red LED and Yellow LED strings.

Will draw the final circuit if I get some time :)

ErroneousBosh

2 months ago

2 replies

That background is a bit hard on the eyes.

2earthAuthor

2 months ago

1 reply

Op here. Noted; it was a 'halloween special'. But maybe I can find something more readable as well as fun for the theme

ErroneousBosh

2 months ago

It's a cracking article. I think I recognise that pub, too, though I haven't been there for a while.

dredmorbius

2 months ago

Reader-mode, if your browser supports it.

Firefox does, including on mobile platforms.

blueflow

2 months ago

1 reply

I'm impressed by the method of cutting copper foil to produce circuitry. Saves you the acid and/or ordering from Shenzhen.

NL807

2 months ago

2 replies

To be honest, it seems like a waste of copper. The way he did it, might as well use stiff copper wires, or better still - prototyping boards.

dredmorbius

2 months ago

Well, we did have some copper sheet leftover ...

From TFA.

This was surplus sheet. Doesn't scale, but fits the reduce/reuse/recycle model well, 2nd mode.

0_____0

2 months ago

It looks like it was fun, and I think that was the point.

I've done freeform electronics before, using wiring that was mainly the snipped-off legs of through hole resistors. I guess if you were fancy you could buy some bus wire. The assemblies are horrific to look at, and I love them.

wvbdmp

2 months ago

1 reply

>He had been demonstrating the new "C" pedestrian

What does this mean?

ZeroGravitas

2 months ago

1 reply

I think they missed the word "crossing" after pedestrian, though it's still a bit vague with that in place.

A type C Zebra crossing is one that doesn't have the Belisha Beacon lights at either side. Rare now but it existed before that innovation.

card_zero

2 months ago

1 reply

> Mr. SIMMONDS asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the erection of signs bearing the letter C is inadequate to differentiate between controlled and uncontrolled pedestrian crossings; and whether in the interests of public safety, he will have these two types of crossings painted upon the roadway in an unquestionably distinctive manner?

> The MINISTER of TRANSPORT (Mr.Hore-Belisha) The present arrangements are experimental, and I am watching them closely with a view to making such alterations as experience may show to be desirable in the interests of public safety.

https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard//commons/1934/jul...

I think "controlled" means drivers are legally obliged to stop to let pedestrians cross.

amiga386

2 months ago

1 reply

I believe "controlled" means "has traffic lights" (controlled by pedestrian signals, or on a cycle).

"Uncontrolled" crossings I think include Zebra crossings.

card_zero

2 months ago

I thought so, but then read "Zebra crossings are a type of controlled crossing" on Wikipedia. This may be a mistake (possibly in the source).

Edit: found a definition in a document by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. "Uncontrolled crossings do not afford pedestrians any particular priority over motorised traffic", and so it classes zebra crossings as controlled.

barbazoo

2 months ago

2 replies

I wonder how the environment impacts how well these crossings work. The road in the photo looks very narrow, an environment where drivers probably have to pay attention, maybe even slow down in general.

In my neighborhood there’s one at a two lane road but the street itself is very wide so people generally drive very fast to begin with and are often distracted.

Lots of conflict at that crossing even with LED flashers. I don’t know what to do to make drivers pay attention to the strip of road right in front of them.

divbzero

2 months ago

1 reply

> The road in the photo looks very narrow, an environment where drivers probably have to pay attention, maybe even slow down in general.

I’ve seen roads in Japan where the lines marking car lanes narrow as you approach crosswalks, creating the impression of an environment where drivers should slow down.

WheatMillington

2 months ago

It's a set of design features called Traffic Calming. It's widely used in New Zealand - using visual cues, narrowing, curves, obstacles and texture changes to slow traffic.

Feathercrown

2 months ago

This is a well-known effect, it does make a significant difference. People feel safer driving slower when the road has obstacles closeby or when it's curved. You can use this to slow people down with bollards, small curves, or even trees near the road in rural areas.

lbriner

2 months ago

1 reply

In my experience, the Puffin crossings are setup correctly precisely 0% of the time.

If you are going to pay presumably a lot more money for all of the extra detectors and electronics then they need to deliver 2 things as mentioned by OP: 1) They make sure that anyone on the crossing has time to cross rather than stopping traffic for a fixed amount of time (useful outside schools) and 2) If there aren't any people crossing, the traffic should be stopped for a short amount of time no worse than if they were just a normal Pelican crossing.

However.

Even when no-one is crossing or in some case someone crossed and is about 50 metres up the road, the crossings are still usually on red for a total of often 20 seconds, which is way longer than most Pelican crossings that are on red for usually 5 to 10 seconds max.

I don't know if no-one notices or cares but it is really annoying!

7952

2 months ago

1 reply

My biggest annoyance are the ones that wait for a gap in the traffic. And by the time it goes green you have already crossed. They seem to be configured to be irrelevant for any able bodied person. And completely ignore current traffic conditions in favour of some hard coded delays.

hgomersall

2 months ago

Most around me seem to be in this mode. The traffic crawls past at pedestrian speed whilst a steadily growing group waiting to cross stand in vehicle fumes. There's a pretty clear principle here of flow conservation. If the light stopping traffic does not reduce overall flow then the light should change for pedestrians immediately. If the traffic flow is low, then a small reservoir is built up which clears immediately. If the flow is slow and saturated the gap that opens up can be refilled quickly. The flow range where the change actually impacts local vehicle flow is rather narrow (high, but not too high). Of course there are second order effects at associated junctions, but at that point maybe the first order interests of pedestrians should be prioritised.

collingreen

2 months ago

1 reply

This was great although I have to protest super-glue-exuberance ("gluexuberance") and instead suggest "ex-glue-berance" as a better portmanteau. ;)

Thanks for the project write up and shaking up the Halloween costume mix a little.

2earthAuthor

2 months ago

Oh that is so much better! I'll to a footnote with credit.

Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed!

NooneAtAll3

2 months ago

I still don't get the argument against Pelican that it turns on Red+Yellow for cars when still showing Blinking Green for pedestrians

If that's a problem... then just don't do it? Turn on RY only after you show R to walkers

I don't see the point for a total redesign

kaladin-jasnah

2 months ago

Chris Spargo has a great YouTube channel, glad (and unsurprised!) to see it referenced in an article posted to Hacker News.

vismit2000

2 months ago

From the title, I thought you are talking about Bengaluru.

View full discussion on Hacker News

ID: 45726718Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 6:12:35 PM

Want the full context?

Jump to the original sources

Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.

Open link View on HN