28: Improving traffic lights
Problem 1: All west- or east facing traffic lights are placed against a rising or setting sun. To actually be able to see the color of a light (or the pedestrians crossing the street underneath it!) in such a situation is often a problem which causes accidents.
Problem 2: Another issue is that, even when using the yellow light, drivers often have a very slow reaction time leaving a traffic light. This is especially true when they are entered into other activities. This slows the flow of traffic.
Solution1: In some cities in eastern Europe the whole front of the traffic light pole is covered with LED lights. It is physically impossible to ever miss the shown color.
A welcome side-effect is that pedestrians or cyclists crossing the road at night are also well lit.
Solution 2: in many European countries, count down timers are used so anybody waiting for a traffic light knows when it will turn yellow and then green. Traffic flow is sped up considerably.
Another advantage is that for instance pedestrians will also know exactly how much time they have to cross a street. They will never risk their lives by stepping onto the street when there are only a couple of seconds still left on the clock.
In short; better lightning and the installation of timers will save lives and speed up traffic.
