High-Tech LED Hourglass Traffic Light Concept

Neat idea but the "Ready" between Red and Green REALLY needs to be removed. I can just imagine idiots starting to move before the light even turns Green or using the countdown for drag racing.
 
Nice idea...

The yellow before go is foolish. People won't know which is which unless they stare at it to figure out
which takes their eyes off the road.

The "hurry up" will make people intentionally break the speed limit much worse than they already are probably causing more accidents.

The "get ready to go" will make people potentially jump the intersection before really looking and then the guy running the "red light" will give them a nice t-bone.

In today's age of texting/talking while driving...just what we need to give the driver, another thing to figure out.
 
MuZI said:
Neat idea but the "Ready" between Red and Green REALLY needs to be removed. I can just imagine idiots starting to move before the light even turns Green or using the countdown for drag racing.
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Definitely agree with the latter, but I bet most people will admit, that once the light turns red and if you know the light rotation then you can be sure those that are next are inching to start moving.
 
Lights in China has nice red and green countdowns. When the green count down gets to 0, the lights turn red and vice versa, the yellow time is included. If you're in the intersection square when the lights turn red, you get a ticket because you know exactly how many seconds you have left. If people want to floor it when the red countdown gets to 0, they should be able to safely.
 
I like it but I guarantee you people will gun it to make the green light since they know how much time is left. Then you'll have people intentionally drive slow up to a red light so it turns green right when they approach it.
 
This is a FANTASTIC IDEA!! However in my shitty crooked state they cook the light timers so you get caught in the middle of the intersection for the red light cameras....I'm wondering how this would work there?

Can it be made to jump instantly from 3 to RED?

I live in AZ, where immigration keeps all other problems from being solved.
 
Yiffy said:
Great way to screw with people that are colour blind.
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MuZI said:
Neat idea but the "Ready" between Red and Green REALLY needs to be removed. I can just imagine idiots starting to move before the light even turns Green or using the countdown for drag racing.
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Exactly what I was thinking. The current system works well. This is a terrible idea, really.
 
Neat idea, an extra yellow cycle would be a bit confusing. I also wonder about the cost per light vs the cost per current traffic lights. How would an "interactive LED traffic light" perform on those East/West roads where the morning/evening sun directly obscures the ability to see the lights. Currently, lights like this also have flashing strobes on the red light so you can see when it's red in these conditions.

It just seems that current traffic lights are more practical and offfer some clear benefits over these in terms of cost and safety.
 
Sounds like a good idea to me... or something similar to it. I would rather have a timer then just random lights. Although a downside is it would probably make my road rage even more extreme.
 
makes something simple and recognizable into a complex and unknown concept....
 
Taiwan also has regular red yellow green lights but they have a seconds timer to the left of the lights that tell you how much longer for the current light. It works extremely well. Example if the light turns red it will have a 90 second countdown. when the 90 reaches 0 you will know the light is turning green. Here in america you have to guess and try to watch the cross lights to see what is gonig to happen next. I wish we had lights like Taiwan does. We dont need the hourglass or any fancy crap. just a countdown timer would be nice. I also like the lights aranged in the horozontal plane rather than vertical.
 
86 5.0L said:
how would you know when its green or red?
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I, along with other color-blind individuals, still see color. We just have trouble differentiating between certain shades of colors. I have trouble with brown/green and blue/purple. The red and green for traffic signals are no issue.

My brother is even more color-blind than I am, and he has no issues either. I believe he sees 0 or 1 of the numbers in the color-blind spot test, whereas I see 2 or 3.
 
I don't see how making the system even more confusing will help. Also: this is great unless you have a turn lane. Then all heck will break loose as people have a sign hanging up there with multiple timers and things moving and... yeah, disaster.
 
I live in a state where half the people don't know how to handle the current 3 light system. this would turn every intersection into a free-for-all.
 
Trepidati0n said:
Nice idea...

1. The yellow before go is foolish. People won't know which is which unless they stare at it to figure out
which takes their eyes off the road.

2. The "hurry up" will make people intentionally break the speed limit much worse than they already are probably causing more accidents.

3. The "get ready to go" will make people potentially jump the intersection before really looking and then the guy running the "red light" will give them a nice t-bone.

4. In today's age of texting/talking while driving...just what we need to give the driver, another thing to figure out.
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1. agreed
2. agreed
3. your still responsible for making sure no cars are in front of you and intersection is clear. It's no different than today when people can see the other light changing, and it's not an issue.
4. See link below for a less confusing solution.
This is a far better solution IMO:
http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/11/30/a-better-understanding-of-stoplights/
 
Giving a number will just be more confusing when the number needs to change, because of smart traffic controllers that do things like:

*) shorten the cycle in response to trains coming through (which may happen in the middle of a long green)
*) sit on green for the major traffic direction until there is traffic coming in the opposing direction

The other design with the countdown circle could work... on the other hand, the traffic controller will be quite a bit more expensive if it's driving all these additional outputs.
 
What is it about Graphic Designers that have the arrogance to redesign perfectly functioning ideas and turn them into something odd and limited? Traffic lights are an internationally recognisable standard which work perfectly well as they are. As posted above, there are just too many things wrong with this new idea that can be spotted by anyone who isn't a designer.

If a timer is really needed for the impatient, then attach a clock on the side like mentioned above. Then watch the racers pulling away from the lights when it still reads 1 second to go...

As well as the obvious colour blind issues, if I was on holiday and saw that silly thing I would not realise it was a traffic light. It looks like billboard advert.

Also LEDs have other problems when used as Road Signs. LEDs do not generate heat - so when the snow and ice comes, all your signs end up unreadable. (Ah - just noticed PISquared beat me to this comment...)

The only sensible conclusion I can get from this idea is it is just advertising to draw people to their website. But with ideas like this, who on earth would employ them on a contract?
 
I also love the way the examples are shown as shiny. Are the really designed to reflect the sun that much and make them unreadable at certain times of day?

Maybe the designers actually run an insurance company and car repair shop?
 
griffinhart said:
Neat idea, an extra yellow cycle would be a bit confusing.
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MuZI said:
Neat idea but the "Ready" between Red and Green REALLY needs to be removed. I can just imagine idiots starting to move before the light even turns Green or using the countdown for drag racing.
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The extra yellow cycle after red & before green is already a standard in most of Europe.

The reason it exists stems from the fact that most vehicles outside of North America have Manual Transmissions... the extra yellow is to let you know its time to find clutch contact/friction point and get ready to go. More recently it helps accommodate some country's laws that motorists must shut off their engines when waiting at prolonged red lights.
 
In the UK, the lights run in the order GREEN, YELLOW, RED, RED+YELLOW, GREEN.

This gives you some warning as you are approaching a set of lights that they are about to change to STOP. At this point, an optimist accelerates to beat the red, the pessimist brakes. :D

Note the RED+YELLOW is used as the warning to "get ready to move". It also lets you spot the difference between a light that is about to change to Stop, and a light that is about to change to Go.


Having that Yellow stage in the middle then makes it easy to add cameras to catch people jumping red lights.
 
Terrible idea. You have mutliple issues with this as everyone else has already stated, such as LEDs not melting snow, color blindness, the smart traffic controllers, etc. No need to change the thing that works already.
 
Yeah, I think that is the wave of the future. That's why I like the pedestrian countdown so I know when the light is due to change.
 
The best idea is a TIMER in big LED numbers next to the traffic color.

Malaysia has had this for years apparently

20070714_-_KL_Day_Two_013_Traffic_Light.JPG


I like numbers, you can see them a long ways away too.... and you can speed up to miss a red light (I always catch the damn yellow because its unknown times)
 
Yeah the best change for lights is the pedestrian countdown... because the "don't walk" lights always switch to don't walk when there is still at least 10,000 years left to cross. I frequently START crossing when it is changing from flashing to solid don't walk and I still easily make it across. Timers in that case ftw.

Every other form of countdown on a red light would lead to more collisions. The only useful countdown would be information as to when a green light is about to end, or a yellow which is actually the right length of time.. and not 2 seconds long and deliberately trying to make red light runners out of normal drivers.
 
3.2.1 Pedal to the metal.

It would turn every stop light into a drag start. Not a good idea...
 
It looks neat but isn't very functional. What we really need are less bad drivers or any "actual" driving education program in the US. Seriously, all you need to get a driver's license is a pulse.
 
aweful idea
enforce the laws increase the fines, lights worked for many years as they were.

in my area we had a new light installed with a hidden 3 second red to green delay. people stopped at the red lights until they learned the delay, now they push the yellows,often running the reds.

strict enforcement with heavier penalties might change things.

i speed because the chances of me getting a ticket are slim( 1 in 14 years) along with the penalty being small enough ~$100 that tied with traffic class ~$50 to keep it off my record means the penalty is laughable.
cops in my area do jack for traffic enforcement except the occasional predictable speed traps. people in my area run red lights ~2 seconds post red because the cops dont enforce them, even when present.

enforce the laws, hit them with a $500-$1000 fine i bet you would get peoples attention.
using gimmicky traffic lights will just allow people to get more information about how much further they are about to push the laws they already break,not alleviate the problem.

its just a placebo to get people to think they are actually doing something
 
The timer is a good idea for safe drivers because they never have to worry about getting that yellow light at the wrong time. They can slow down before it turns yellow if they are too far away, or speed up a tad to get through completely before the red.
 
MuZI said:
Neat idea but the "Ready" between Red and Green REALLY needs to be removed. I can just imagine idiots starting to move before the light even turns Green or using the countdown for drag racing.
Click to expand...

I agree. There's already a countdown as the red is flowing out, you konw its about to turn green. No need for a yellow, as it may confuse people. Not sure if its about to turn green or red.

And for the GO! WHy not keep the green down in the bottom and just have it flow up in to the top ? Laws of gravity need not apply to LED lights!!
 
the hallmark of a good safety system is redundancy.
the reason even color blind drivers can respond correctly to traffic lights is that they can use the positional information of the light.
hell, my eyesight is perfect, and even i can't tell the color easily when lightning conditions are bad (think sun glare!). however, since i know green is bottom on all lights in my country - i can't make a 60MPH mistake...

There's a reason why NO mission critical display relies solely on color to display do-or-die information, especially in adverse lighting condition. it's just not reliable enough on its own - you ALWAYS design additional mediums (ie, alarms, flickering, position, icon, text)
 
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