Digital Display Times Traffic Lights?

In My Humble Opinion
1

What do you think of this idea? Being a long-distance commuter, this thought hit me while waiting at a red light: What if there were digital timers which counted down to let you know how much time was remaining on your light (i.e: how much green light was remaining in your favor, or how much red light you have yet to sit through…)

The purpose would be to help people better gauge if they can make the light or not. Yes, we can still have those red light cameras (for better or worse), but maybe we’d cut down on people running the red…esp from too many feet away causing them to “gun it”?

{FYI: Using my own (painful) method to gather the data, I once figured out there exists a window in time by which I could leave my office and make every green light (~15) getting out into the country onto some back road, traffic light-free state highway home… Yes, you too can make every green light…it CAN be done!}

Gotta run…I have a lunch-time craving for some good chicken salad! :slight_smile:

Whatcha think? …no, not about the chicken salad, silly!

  • Jinx
2

They have a few digital timers for pedestrian crosswalks here in Cambridge, Mass. But I think that a timer for an auto green light wouldn’t be a good idea. In the first place, it’s too much information where you don’t need extra confusion. It will also encourage (rather than discourage) the stupid (“I can beat that light”). Besides, it will open the door to more lawsuit stupidity (“But I thought the timer said 53 seconds, not 3 seconds!”).
And don’t eat the Chicken Salad. Just some friendly advice.