Colour Deficient Tube Train Driver

[whole diary]

[SandTEngineer]

The first in the world thanks to technology advances and a sensible safety regieme?
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/colourblind-mans-dream-comes-true-as-he-gets-green-light-to-drive-tube-trains-a4105931.html

[Oxonhutch]

As someone who conducts these tests in a railway environment, and indeed has also just undergone one for his own ticket, I see a the sub-editor's sense of humour.

[caliwag]

You can, of course, get colour-correction glasses and clip on for prescription lenses, for less than £100...company called Pilestone

[Oxonhutch]

With red-green blindness, both those colours merge to yellow and glasses cannot make the eyes re-see these colours. I give an example from the Colourblind Awareness site.

[caliwag]

Interesting...apparently they were discovered by accident (like many good inventions). I'd be intrigued to learn of peoples' experiences. I'm red/green compromised (lousy at snooker...another reason) have driven cars for 50 accident free years, but am a landscape painter (hobby)so will try a pair of these glasses...though I feel I don't  need them!! I may keep the £70 in my pocket. I do find women's view on colour weird...especially car colours...who cares. Sorry I've wandered off signal recognition.     

[Oxonhutch]

I'm red/green compromised [...]     

As a matter of interest Caliwag, can you see a difference between the two pictures I posted above?

[caliwag]

MMM...there are distinct differences in flower colours of the hanging climber over the barrow . In the left pic they are quite deep red ...to the right they appear almost orange. Indeed I don't see amber on traffic lights or on railway signals. When, as a kid, I picked strawbs and rasps for pocket money, the gaffer would shout down the drill at me 'pick clean son, pick clean' the fruit colours didn't jump out at me.
Biggest handicap now are coloured charts, diagrammes and stats charts/population breakdowns are completely lost on me.

[broadgage]

In extreme cases of red/green colour blindness even bright distinct red and green colours can not be distinguished.
However MOST cases are more subtle and result in confusing dark olive green with dark red or maroon, or perhaps in confusing lime green and orange.

MOST people with moderately defective colour vision could PROBABLY drive a train safely, however "probably" is not sufficient, hence the cautious approach.

Standards are a bit lower for driving a car. Also road traffic lights always have the red light at the top which helps a bit. Railway signals USUALLY have the red light at the bottom though this is not universal and not to be relied upon. Some railway signals have a single lens through which red, green, or yellow light is passed.

It is said that colour blindness is more common in Japan than in Europe, and as a result of this the "go" signal in Japanese traffic signals is borderline blue rather than green. (there are international standards for the colours of lights used in traffic signals but these allow a wide tolerance. The Japanese signals are as blue as possible whilst JUST coming within the international definition of "green" )

[ellendune]

Standards are a bit lower for driving a car. Also road traffic lights always have the red light at the top which helps a bit. Railway signals USUALLY have the red light at the bottom though this is not universal and not to be relied upon. Some railway signals have a single lens through which red, green, or yellow light is passed.

That and the fact that a train driver needs to be able to act on them long before (s)he is close enough to see the position of the lights.