Traffic light control and coordination

A junction for road vehicles and pedestrians controlled by traffic lights in the UK. The various vehicle and pedestrian movements are separated in either time or space for safety and efficiency.

The normal function of traffic lights requires more than sight control and coordination to ensure that traffic and pedestrians move as smoothly, and safely as possible. A variety of different control systems are used to accomplish this, ranging from simple clockwork mechanisms to sophisticated computerized control and coordination systems that self-adjust to minimize delay to people using the junction.