New York Times: Taiwan’s Solution to Traffic Accidents
About a year ago in Taiwan, they started installing countdown timers at traffic lights at a number of intersections. Some counted down the amount of time remaining ’till a green light turned yellow and then red, while others counted down the amount of time remaining before a red light turned green. ...
...It’s a fact that a certain number of accidents are caused both by people who jump the gun on the red light, and those who try to make it through the intersection after the light has already turned red. Ostensibly, the reason for the timers was to give people more precise information about exactly how much time they had remaining before the light changed, in the hope of reducing accidents.
The results are quite interesting. A research institute within Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation released a report showing that at 187 intersections which had the timers installed, those that counted down the remaining time on green lights saw a doubling in the number of reported accidents, with a 33 percent increase in the number of injuries, while those that counted down until a red light turned green saw a halving in both the number of reported accidents and injuries. Intersection that had both red and green light timers saw a 19 percent increase in reported accidents and a 23 percent increase in injuries.
Ever since moving to the US I've been struck by the way the lights work here, particularly the quick change from red to green. In the UK the lights go from red, to red and yellow, and then green. The reverse being the same as the US green to yellow to red.
I have no idea if there is a difference in accident stats but it does create a transitional phase from stop to go, perhaps allowing for you a second to check and see if the intersection is clear.
Posted by: neil | Mar 21, 2008 at 02:12 PM
Interesting! I wonder if there is difference in accidents instances with the UK vs. USA methods.
I've driven in major cities in Mexico. There, the traffic lights are treated as optional suggestions. :)
Posted by: Michael W. Kruse | Mar 21, 2008 at 02:22 PM