Bengaluru commuters slam ‘unscientific’ traffic signals on Outer Ring Road, seek police fix

A viral post highlighted unscientific signal timings, prompting similar complaints from others who describe misaligned lights and long wait times.

Daily traffic gridlocks along the city’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) have become a frustrating routine for commuters, and now, a new concern has surfaced—poorly calibrated traffic signals adding to the chaos.

A Bengaluru commuter claims that a few traffic lights on ORR are unscientific

Take a look at the post

A commuter recently took to social media to call out what he described as “unscientific signal lighting” at the 19th Main Road exit towards ORR, claiming it was worsening traffic snarls on an already congested stretch. The post triggered a wave of similar complaints from fellow road users, many of whom echoed the sentiment.

In his widely-shared post on X (formerly Twitter), a user named Rajath wrote, “Congratulations @blrcitytraffic and @hsrltrafficps—you’ve installed yet another completely unscientific set of traffic lights. The signal changes from green to red before any vehicle can even complete a turn. When it’s green, the intersection is still clogged with leftover traffic. Earlier, your staff managed this manually, and it worked better. Now, two personnel operate the lights and two others are left requesting drivers to stop or go. What a mess! You’ve made us lose the will to live.”

Rajath’s post struck a chord with other Bengaluru residents who chimed in with similar experiences from across the city.

“This happens at a junction near Kendriya Vidyalaya between Lower Agara and Command Hospital,” another user wrote. “The lights are too far from the junction, and they don’t account for the actual stop line. It’s completely misaligned.”

Another frustrated commuter remarked that he has decided to avoid HSR Layout altogether, even if Google Maps suggests the route.

“Once, I had to make a U-turn at 27th Main because police had blocked the right turn at ORR due to traffic jam. It’s just not worth the hassle anymore.”

A third user questioned the overall traffic signal logic across Bengaluru. “Why do all major signals take multiple minutes to change? That just results in large clumps of vehicles moving together, which slows everything down. Shorter signal durations could allow smoother flow by moving smaller batches of vehicles.”

While traffic congestion along the ORR, especially near Bellandur, HSR Layout, and Agara, has long been a headache, complaints like these add to concerns over signal automation and traffic planning. Despite repeated calls for improved traffic management and smarter signal systems, commuters say little has changed on the ground.