When people think about a traffic light, there is usually the immediate association with a 3-lamp light with red at the top, yellow in the middle, and green at the bottom. However, public transport often uses a different kind of traffic light. This is in order to make sure that private traffic and public transport will not meet with a collision in terms of safety and priority. The shapes of public transport lights can vary in terms of letters and arrows, and contain different colored bars.
Traffic lights have a long history and the authorities experimented with various types of things until something was found to be of a superior focus. Nowadays, it is impossible to find a traffic light that does not have an arrangement of LED light bulbs. Halogen or incandescent bulbs were the most common ones found earlier, but the recent trend shows that the number of LED is steadily increasing everywhere each year. Halogen or incandescent lights are known to work for a shorter period of time and the intensity of the light is not as powerful as the LED. However, when LED was first introduced, there appeared one significant problem. In the midst of a heavy snowstorm, people in traffic might have problems to see which color is shining, since LED does not produce enough heat to melt the snow, unlike halogen or incandescent lights. Nevertheless, the advantages of LED are too great to go back to the predecessors. This is why a special heating element was created to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
There exists a huge difference between each region regarding how they mount or position traffic lights for the visibility of drivers and pedestrians. Some prefer to have traffic lights that are wire-mounted or have them installed in long gantries. The most common way is probably the traffic light which is mounted vertically or horizontally.
Some people are of the opinion that these lights do as much harm as good. It’s understandable as to why someone would be saying that. Quite a few engineers expressed their opinion and said that the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians is influenced by traffic lights but they can often be a reason for traffic delays. Moreover, some stoplights have detectors and these often do not function when a motorcycle, scooter, or a bicycle passes by. Since these types of vehicles do not have the same mass as a car, the sensors fail to detect them. This problem might cause a very serious traffic accident.
It is rather common among drivers to speed through red lights. Often, the penalty for this illegal action is quite harsh. It varies, depending on the country or state, but those who do not have the patience to wait will be fined or put in jail.
These lights have been developed to match the needs of the modern world, and it seems that the system we have now prevents accidents, and ensures the safety of people. However, some people still claim that there is room for improvement, and plan to push their ideas to improve the traffic system in the future.
BY by GAHZLY
#Advantages #Disadvantages #Installing #Traffic #Lights
