# Chinese traffic lights

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 22, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082 "2004-12-22T00:23:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082/1 "2004-12-22T00:23:03Z")

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Back before the Cultural Revolution period the a Communist party person (whose name is unknown to me and maybe history) introduced a measure to change the traffic lights so that red would mean GO, since it wasn’t fit that the color of communism should be associated with stopping. The party voted down the measure on the grounds that it would lead to too many traffic accidents. 🆒

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**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082/2 "2004-12-22T03:37:54Z")

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I’m assuming this is in reference to this column:

[Who decided red means “stop” and green means “go”?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_152.html)

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**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082/3 "2004-12-22T12:44:43Z")

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Ah, yep. Sorry for forgetting to mention that link. Anyway, the story seemed appropriate.

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**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-traffic-lights/281082/4 "2004-12-22T23:35:33Z")

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[Before anybody asks, yes, the following was prompted by this evening’s episode of Simon Schaffer’s _Light Fantastic_ on BBC4.]

What Cecil misses is that colour blindness and railway safety had been an issue of active concern before 1914.  
Following a train crash in Sweden where a train had probably jumped a red light because one of the crew were possibly colourblind, the British government set up an inquiry under Lord Rayleigh on the issue which [reported](http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref6221.html) in 1892. Their recommendation was that the likes of train drivers should be tested for red-green colour blindness in order to prevent such accidents.