Traffic light counters
Earlier today I was driving towards some traffic lights when they changed from red to green. This was very good, but made me have an idea - countdowns for traffic lights. It would be good to have some idea of how long you have to wait - giving you time to do something else (such as have a quick drink) with a bit more control (or alternatively to not bother if you don’t have time). It will probably also reduce impatience since people know how long to go, they will not be endlessly checking the lights.
It would also help improve traffic flow - eliminating those initial few seconds when the dopey driver at the front of the queue takes a while to realise that the lights have changed, then puts the car in gear and stalls.
Traffic lights with sensors will need something slightly different - but I’m sure during busy times they could have ETAs. Similarly during quiet times a “0″ with a red light would encourage people to slow down, but move slowly up to the light (hopefully giving the lights enough time to change). This will all lead to more freely flowing traffic and reduce polution since cars will not be braking/accelerating so much.
Posted: October 5th, 2005 under Idea.
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