Countdown timers for traffic lights.

[randomness]

I'm sure you've seen those countdown timers for walk signals. There are a number of them around in the States. I'm not sure how places decide where to install them.

Here in Bangkok, they've installed countdown timers for the traffic lights at some major intersections. I'm not entirely sure why. On the one hand, I suppose having a bright red "15" next to the red light, counting down to "14", "13", etc. might get one to wait more patiently. On the other hand, seeing a red "89" counting down might encourage one to run the light. And I'm not sure which a yellow "3" encourages.

Comments

[bookly.livejournal.com]

I had seen a few before, but I think the majority of them appeared while the APEC gentrification was going on. On the other hand, I can't imagine that they put them up so that Bush will know how many minutes he has to wait at each traffic light. (Oh, how I wish it were true...)

Oh, yeah. Unless you actually see the light turn red, you don't know how many seconds it's been since it turned red. I've noticed, and Carrie has pointed out, that the same traffic light seems to be red for different periods, depending on the time of day, the amount of traffic, Thaksin's mood, the price of the stock market, and the amount of precipitation. Go figure....

[colinmac.livejournal.com]

I thought it was for the pedestrians, allowing each citizen to make an informed decision about whether they have time to cross the street. Y'know, "I'm young and healthy. 6 lanes, 10 seconds, no problem." Prior to which, we just had the big flashing red hand, which meant, "If you are in a wheelchair, and it's icy out, you better not chance it." If you were neither old nor infirmed, and it was dry and sunny out, you'd spend a while cursing and saying, "Damn, I totally could have made that, " after which you'd just start ignoring the big flashy red hand. Then sooner or later, you get caught in the intersection, and you have to either do that awkward, apologetic scamper to the other side; or the surly, self-important, not-making-eye-contact, taking-my-own-goddamned-time stroll. Having the countdown timer means that you don't waste time standing around, and you don't have any excuse for not making it across the street.
Of course, I'm now seeing them where they've missed the entire goddamn point, and the end of the countdown is when the big red hand starts flashing; and we're all back at square one. Dumbasses.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure, I completely agree with you about the countdown meters for the walk/don't walk signals.

The ones that confuse me are for the overhead traffic lights controlling *vehicle* traffic.

What's really wacky is the way two consecutive light cycles can vary radically. I saw one that was twenty-five seconds green, then the other side got fifteen, then the first side got twelve seconds. Phase of the moon and Taksin's mood, indeed.