The LED Traffic Light and the Danger of "But Sometimes!"

[@monkeyvittles]

As an engineer, I found the “but sometimes” discussion here so refreshing. There’s such a tendency to squash the new idea because something unexpected happens. If our first reflex is to give up whenever something isn’t perfect, we kill our chances at progress.

[@IAmTheRealBill]

Network and computer security has a similar phenomenon: the well funded and determined hacker. It is often used to justify overreach and usually prevents good enough measures from implementation. “But if someone …”

[@PSOnoni]

Engineer here, was going to say the same thing. So frustrating.

[@justayoutuber1906]

talk to the stupid anti vaxers

[@heedmywarning2792]

Everyone wants a 100% successful solution. 99.9999999% is just foot dragging.

[@GLJosh]

Best is the enemy of better.

[@SamBrickell]

This could be a TED talk: "The Danger of 'But Sometimes'". Honestly, it's better than a lot of TED talks.

[@pavelthefabulous5675]

Not as insightful as 2070 Paradigm Shift

[@DatamasterCorporation]

TED talks are the epitome of classroom boredom. My English teacher would play one every week, and they all were the most dry and irrelevant talking points ever.

[@FernieCanto]

@@DatamasterCorporation "But how can a TED talk be inspirational? [booming reverb] The answer... is simple. [dramatic pause] You have to give old information [index finger raised decisively] ... as if it were new."

[@randymarsh5088]

Too good to be a TardTalk

[@SebastiaanAndeweg]

But it is a LED talk

[@FrederSnorlax]

hi, i'm an electrician. a tiny 40watt heater with a built in thermostat that kicks on at a preset temp, costs about $5. There's your solution. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[@melo0611]

1 star.

[@JaredReabow]

So the heaters turn on any time its cold, not just when it snows?

[@sierra5065]

@@JaredReabow better than always on

[@Mishkafofer]

now you add complexity to system. before that, there was just a light. now a light and heating element.

[@Xedhadeaus]

You could possibly put a sensor in front of it that looks to a reflector somewhere on the hood of the lamp, if it cannot see the sensor, thermostat turns the heat on. One heater, three sensors just in case.

[@erict5234]

On the railroad, we ran into 2 problems with using led modules for railway signals. 1. The snow did obscure the signal indication. 2. The green led was too bright for train crews during night operations. Both problems were quickly resolved. Visor hoods were added to signals to keep snow out (often referred to as Darth Vader signals). Dimmers were added to the green led at night.

[@pfsantos007]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's still a lot of work.

[@lordgarion514]

@@pfsantos007 No more work than having to change bulbs. And the bulb changing has to be done quite often when the number of signals is factored in.

[@tsm688]

@@lordgarion514 Traffic light bulbs don't need to be changed anywhere **NEAR** as often as house ones. That's why they lingered for years and years and years. They just slowly turn kind of dark and crap instead.

[@lordgarion514]

@@tsm688 No, they don't. But they do have to be changed a *LOT* more than traffic LEDs...... Just like they make commercial grade incandescents better than what they make for homeowners, so too are the commercial LEDs.

[@systemsbroken]

@@pfsantos007 Why do you want dolphins to die? Seriously, the perfectly functional bulbs that were removed and the fixtures that were taken down are doing quite well in a landfill...........but, dead seals rejoice?

[@mattpietrzyk1264]

I'm a traffic electrician in Ontario Canada. This guy is spittin straight facts. The Lack of municipalities and local governments wanting to adapt to new technologies and their fear of innovation. Just keeps my on call phone ringing and the double time adding up on my timesheet. I wish they would take our suggestions. It's also crazy to see how crumbling the infrastructure actually is in the US. Always spend a dime to save a nickel.

[@hiscifi2986]

Problem is.… Although he quotes $1.93 for the cost of Incandescant Bulbs, most municipalities have bought them in the 100,000s at a discount price of 2 cents each. They want to use up all this old stock before buying LEDs.

[@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641]

How can you pay for infrastructure and social programs when you're spending 1.4 trillion dollars of taxpayer money to give major corporations large tax breaks? - the conservative mindset in America.

[@anthony9193]

@@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641 or sending hundreds of millions dollars to foreign countries for liberal pet projects like gender studies in Pakistan.....

[@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641]

@@anthony9193 that was trump's budget lmfao

[@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641]

@Frank Silvers ad hominem attacks are a sign of feeble intellect and weak arguments. How embarassing for you.

[@LanceCampeau]

The mark of a good presenter.... talks about something as common as traffic lights for 18 mins.... and I can't stop watching.

[@johncoops6897]

I can stop watching.... I lasted until just under 5 minutes before it became so amazingly boring that I gave up.

[@alainarchambault2331]

I made it halfway, he's made his point by then.

[@boleslawpetroski9681]

Alain daskapitalvolumeone.txt

[@alainarchambault2331]

@@boleslawpetroski9681 Yeah, I tried reading that. Fastest put down ever. Hitler's Mein Kampf was a rambling essay as well. Making most of his main points at the start of his book, the rest was just a diatribe.

[@boleslawpetroski9681]

@@alainarchambault2331 i cant read the second volume its possibly illegal in poland

[@calebbenedict5587]

As soon as the snow building up on lights was mentioned my first thought was “why don’t they just put a car windshield defroster on the lens” and I’m so glad someone actually went and made it

[@gerhardschemel3565]

Your mention of snow reminds me of the issue of road reflectors and snow plows. It is because of snow plow that you will find very few road reflectors where it snows. Why because they can’t standup to being wacked by the plows blade. And yes I have the solution to this problem. It has solar powered LED lighting and via Bluetooth the plow can adjust the light to meet conditions. And some other features. Just the base model (no LED’s) will save more lives and money then all other life/safety items combined. I also have dozens of other items that save time money and grief.

[@tankerkiller125]

@@gerhardschemel3565 where I live we 100% have reflectors on all the roads. They just have pieces of metal on the side of the reflector that guide the plow blade over them, without harming the metal or reflector.

[@gerhardschemel3565]

@@tankerkiller125 where is it you live? And would you please send me a photo of one? Thank you

[@tankerkiller125]

@@gerhardschemel3565 this is what one looks like, I live in northern Ohio where 7-8 inches of snow is regular. blog.stop-painting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Snowplowable-Road-Reflector.jpg

[@gerhardschemel3565]

@@tankerkiller125 thank you for the quick reply. Of course now, I have a lot of questions. I’m sure it looks better in the dark. Do you know how long they have been in service? Or where I can find out more about them? Thank you

[@dbgrfdg]

imagine we would be using LEDs all along and then suddenly a company comes along "Our new lights have the added benifit of heating up all year long, so they can melt ice in the winder and for that added benifit you must maintain them at least every 2 years"

[@Kevin-cf9nl]

If another better solution hadn't been found for ice buildup, I imagine there would be quite a few places that would consider that an upgrade for at least some of their lights...

[@amandamills4410]

But it's not really a benefit with all the added cons?

[@karpabla]

Another benefit for incandescent lamps is it helps to maintain jobs in a doom-ish future with few jobs for humans. High maintenance = sustainable humankind!! It is not surprise that SkyNet used LED lights in its robots.

[@dylanb2990]

@@karpabla humans don’t need jobs to survive, common misconception. No need to invent busy work.

[@ThePixel1983]

@@karpabla If you want to create jobs, ban washing machines.

[@Trashley652]

If we had LED lights first, and then incandescent traffic lights were invented, and they were less efficient, didn't last as long, needed common maintenance, and got dirty and barely visible, you'd have to be crazy to suggest it would be a good idea to use them just because they melt snow.

[@creedendergames5825]

Patrick Demko awesome point. You should have a ton of likes. Lol

[@megliosolichesole]

"Engineering explained" used the same logic to demonstrate the superiority of electrical cars over ICE ones.

[@igiuLoiraM]

You obviously haven't been in Norway, especially the Northern part of Norway.

[@mikescholz6429]

Its not like leds dont produce heat tho? A 3watt led has to be directly mounted to a heatsink.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

That depends on where you are. In Canada (other then where I live on the west coast), we get snow and cold for 2-3 months of the year, longer for the more northern parts, and ice and snow build up is a huge problem, not just something you need to worry about a couple of "snow days" a year. In places like Finland, and Russia, it's even worse. Not saying LEDs are bad, just that there MUST be an engineering solution for cold climates where buildup of ice, snow and frost will be a major problem that would render LED traffic lights completely inoperable for an entire season.

[@listerdave1240]

"But sometimes" - here some twenty or so years ago when seat belts were being made compulsory a disturbingly large number of people were against it because what if a car fell into the sea and one couldn't get out of it because of the seat belt. It would of course be better if a hundred people died in collisions rather than that the one person driving his car into the sea would have some difficulty getting out of his sinking car.

[@stephencovert3307]

Stop having cars. Solves all

[@adde9506]

The reverse is the "but sometimes" argument for seatbelts on school buses. On the regular, they serve no real purpose other than landing a school bus driver with hundreds of dollars in fines for students not wearing them, which they can't really control. "But sometimes" school buses crash. Yes, yes that's true. But they rarely do more than jolt the occupants, which would also happen with seatbelts. Getting hit by a train or speeding trash truck is going to be fatal to those struck by the impact... unless they're thrown out of the way. But my favorite illogical argument is when they simulate buses falling into a ditch, where a seatbelt Might have a positive effect. All the crash test dummies die. Except in real life those crashes produce few if any injuries. In reality, seatbelts would just make it very, very hard to get those kids out of the bus. Hanging there for hours while the weather bakes or freezes them would be the real danger.

[@nom3nnescio]

but sometimes - vaccines

[@davidjones332]

The other argument used to be that it was safer to be thrown out of the car than risk being trapped by the belt. The fact that you'd likely go headlong through the windscreen or be impaled on the steering column didn't seem to weigh in the argument at all!

[@specialopsdave]

@@adde9506 Well consider a rollover and how 100 kids would be crashing into each other, and rollovers are how most fatal bus accidents happen. Conclusion? Damned if you do, damned if you don't, so might as well take the more comfortable solution of no belts.

[@foogod4237]

I would also be curious to know how many times "but sometimes" a burned-out incandescent light was the cause of a traffic accident, too. I would bet you there are many many more injuries and fatalities associated with that than with iced-over LEDs, but nobody talks about that side of the equation either.

[@jirizlamal69]

This is wrong idea. If the incandescent light burns out, it stops taking the current and the control unit can switch the crossing to "Danger" etc. I would bet the LED can be damaged easier and with less control over it.

[@AgentTasmania]

@@jirizlamal69 Consider watching the video at some point

[@foogod4237]

@@jirizlamal69 I think you're assuming a lot. I've seen quite a few traffic lights with burnt out bulbs, and in my experience the control circuitry in most of them is actually not sophisticated enough to do that. They will typically switch to "failure" mode only if the whole thing loses power completely (i.e. a blackout), but not if only a single bulb burns out. (Also, the typical "failure" mode (at least in the US) is to just flash all the red lights on and off, but if it's the red bulb that's burnt out (which would be the most likely to cause accidents), then that doesn't really solve the issue anyway, IMHO.) I'm also not sure why you think that LEDs can be damaged more easily. Modern LED assemblies are more robust than incandescent lights in most ways, and generally far more reliable (which you should really know if you actually watched the video, or, you know, ever actually tried using any LED lights yourself).

[@dbclass4075]

@@jirizlamal69 As demonstrated in 15:22, LED lights fail gradually. An inoperative diode doesn't result to complete light failure as incandescent bulbs do. Plus, a lot of LEDs are designed as a retrofit as shown in 2:43, so replacement procedures do not change at all. In the first place, as explained in 3:13, LEDs have much greater lifespan than their replacements.

[@HYPERPLASMATIER]

@Jiří Zlámal I feel as though you opened the video, paused it about a second in, and then commented so you could share a misinformed opinion without being bothered by the idea that you might not know best. I advise having a wonderful day as you call your therapist and work through whatever causes you to think this way. 🤗🥰💖

[@JBofBrisbane]

Railway signals always used two bulbs in each light, so that when a bulb blew, the light still lit up, but not as brightly. Loco crews were supposed to report this to control, who would pass it on to the signal electricians for remedial action.

[@ppdan]

Railway signals have specific "patterns" so if a bulb is blown it becomes evident right away. Signs are more complicated than a simple green/yellow/red. The train driver not only has to report a irregular signal he also has to ask permission before crossing (depends on the type of irregularity).

[@serenepoppy1408]

Randomly stumbled across this channel - was like “Wow, this guy seems really familiar.” Then it gets to the picture of the intersection and I realize I know that intersection. 🤦‍♀️ Pretty sure I went to the same high school as him, but we never had any classes together or even talked. Welp. Congrats! You know you’ve made it when your ex-peers stumble upon you by accident!

[@TheFaustianMan]

Was he out in school?

[@DestroyerOfAglets]

@@TheFaustianMan what do you mean?

[@jeffbyrd6003]

@@DestroyerOfAglets he was asking if he was openly gay in high school.

[@gurshangill6366]

Noticed that intersection too, I've seen that place

[@bofacee]

@@jeffbyrd6003 wait, is he gay?

[@coredeep3424]

The first year that LED lights were deployed in my area, we had a massive snowstorm. roughly 50% of of the LED lights in the city (in the direction of the wind), were difficult to see, and a good 5% of intersections the snow was so thick as to be impossible to see the lights. It caused quite a bit of ruckus, as change is bad when it negatively affects you. Convenience trumps price when you can't see the cost. Mind you, this was the only year it was an issue. Heaters were installed on the LED light fixtures, and LED lights have been a blessing ever since.

[@Johnyquest1]

They're junk. The holdouts are the ones who won this battle. They can now use screw-in edison style LEDs, which are now cheap and widely available in the classic fixtures, getting all the benefit with none of the cost of the overpriced (and mostly crappy) "replacement" fixtures ... most of which have since been replaced /a second time/.

[@lugoorstar]

@@Johnyquest1 you really think that leaving the design that gets dirty and blocks light *from the inside* and also having a fixture whith no way of warming up is a good idea? you just made the only choice of options in wich now you have the problems (accounting on light delivery) of both devices and say that it's "a good idea" just because you just said so? yeah they could have used Edison style LEDs, but they didn't because it's a foolish idea at best.

[@dakoderii4221]

Those white/blue light LEDs damage eyes at night, temporarily blind people at night, interrupt the circadian rhythm, and emit frequencies of light that can effectively be used as "radar" to track people. These documents and patents are easy to Google. It's not a "conspiracy theory".

[@theoriginalshew]

This is the first time I've seen the folded up stop sign

[@ACDBunnie]

Same, but it doesn't snow where I live so I suspect that's why.

[@perlsackhd3957]

Yeah, i'm from germany and there are just priorities of lights over signs so the signs just stay up.

[@tankerkiller125]

@@ACDBunnie I live in a cold climate and we get snow. We do not have stop signs at stop light intersections. Just batteries and if those fail cops directing traffic.

[@SR-wz2iv]

Timestamp?

[@lsixty30]

@@perlsackhd3957 eruope, where theres a stop sign and a go light at the same time

[@aresye]

Back in 2012 they were in the process of replacing the lights on large antennas with LEDs, and we noticed they were almost impossible to see with night-vision. That posed a considerable threat to us on helicopter crews during night flights, where we'd periodically have to lift up our NVDs to ensure there wasn't some skinny, hidden 1000ft tower directly in front of us.

[@valkyrie_pilot]

though to be fair, this is another thing that is probably better to fix separately then just doing it the old way.

[@slothy89uni]

Solution is surely to include high power IR LEDs mixed with the visible red so the NVG picks up the IR light?

[@WolfSeril107]

wtf is a literal Night Stalker just casually commenting on this youtube video about street lights?

[@lucakrokrowinkel9576]

You can’t see LEDs on nightvision? Why

[@inherentlyflawed]

@@lucakrokrowinkel9576LEDs are so efficient because they produce little waste energy, in the forms of infrared radiation, heat, and ultraviolet. Night vision detects infrared light. No infrared= no see with infrared detector

[@humanperson1898]

Love that he just randomly pulls a red traffic light out of the shelf behind him

[@zapa1pnt]

Also the several lights he set up, behind the cubbies.

[@maxcorrice9499]

Revealing how tiny he really is

[@CrustedCheese]

@@zapa1pnt Those are mostly (or all?) the two TVs behind the shelves

[@Key_Mind]

Thanks for sharing, Human Person. I am so glad I got to see what you loved about this video.

[@humanperson1898]

@@Key_Mind You’re welcome

[@Anonsage3]

I remember my extended family in FLORIDA bitching about the snow vulnerabilities of LED lights years ago. Lol.

[@Jaxmusicgal23]

Hahahahaha....that's hilarious. Some people are such sheeple. Just repeating what they hear on TV or media

[@phil_the_cow]

Kinda funny I’ve never heard anyone complain, I live in an area where this happens in the winter.

[@gmoschetto1]

It's a real winter issue here in upstate NY. I guess that's why we go to Florida to escape this danger?

[@cherrypepsi2815]

And then here's me in Ohio. Big rip.

[@Soitisisit]

I'm from Louisiana, but I was thinking the same thing. This isn't even just a "but sometimes" for us, it's a straight up "never gonna happen". lol.

[@DerTodSoldat]

Dude, I don't mean this in a bad way, you remind me of the educators on PBS when I was growing up in the 70's and early 80's

[@TwatMcGee]

TBH i think thats the best possible compliment you can give a educational channel

[@RichardJohnson-cg2ix]

And????? That's a bad thing?

[@bigbodyboy3585]

@@RichardJohnson-cg2ix he said not in a bad way bro lmao

[@bundr]

Anne Frank Zappa? lol

[@vale.antoni]

The brown suit jacket is definitely adding to the visual

[@ScrambledAndBenedict]

This is actually a very persistent problem where I live. Right now, any traffic light that faces south is completely frozen over and useless. We get high winds and very fine snow this time of year; when I look out the window the snow is practically moving horizontally. The problem too with "treating it as a stop sign", at least here, is it's multi-lane traffic in all directions and only one side of the lights are out: the rest are still functional, leaving half the people trying to obey the lights and the other half trying to treat it as a 4-way stop. People just don't know what to do and it's backed the hell up. There hasn't been any effort from the city to actually take any of the steps to mitigate it (heaters or that shade thing) either so it basically boils down to "hope you don't crash". It definitely depends where you live, since that "but sometimes" is a "very common all winter" kind of issue here.

[@sachadee.6104]

It definitely depends where you live, since that "but sometimes" is a "very common all winter" kind of issue here. --> I would have said the same, as well as the problem of only part of the lights not being visible, hence STOP-sign rules are confusing. But.... If it is that very common, well.... come on city !!!!!! There are solutions out there.

[@seredachan]

Sounds like a temporary force-majeure -- and that's actually when a traffic policeperson is supposed to get out of the cruiser, put on a warm coat, pull out the staff & whistle, and regulate traffic by hand signals. At least that's how a temporary severe weather hindrance is solved here in the 'developing world'.

[@ScrambledAndBenedict]

@@seredachan Yeah, good luck with that. Canada has sky-high taxes but next to nothing to show for it: our infrastructure and public services are horrid.

[@RunicSigils]

Indeed. I don't know why he's pretending snow only happens for 2 months a year. Snow often starts here in October and can easily keep happening until June. When they upgraded everything in our intersections a couple years ago they simply changed out for different incandescents.

[@RunicSigils]

@@seredachan and that's different from sending out a maintenance guy because...? Oh right, it's not, they're probably getting paid about the same only the maintenance guy isn't going to try and rip you off if you screw up.

[@aswallace88]

"But people are stupid, and accidents happen" I need that on a bumper sticker.

[@eartecathy7378]

"Never underestimate the stupidity of humans" ( to answer your question: I am quoting myself and since I worked in civil engineering I guess it is a quote from an Engineering technician)

[@NeilRashbrook]

90% of people are caused by accidents.

[@legoman8960]

@@NeilRashbrook lol

[@trevordoesrandom3409]

@Americannovice Twocentnovice :o

[@Davidsama]

Ahhhh you beat me to it by 7 months.. hahaha

[@UselessDuckCompany]

It is indeed a nice jacket

[@CHMernerner]

Useless Duck Company Ph.D jackets.

[@marksmod]

Only when its snowing, dingus!

[@robertfranklin7040]

I personally love the shirt worn by Mr "modernize NOW" even better. Railing on about how we need to get all modern & save the planet with these wondrous LED signals, while his shirt extols the virtues of a mid/Late 80's 4 door most likely *CARBURETED* Import (86 Tercel, I'm thinking). FWIW, I love those 80s Toyotas. Got an 86 Tercel 3 door hatch of my own, wouldn't trade her for all the gold in the world. But I don't run around pushing against obsolete tech while simultaneously promoting it.

[@MJ-uk6lu]

My previous scool required to wear very similar ones

[@MJ-uk6lu]

I think you should go to it a bit longer. I had no problems with jacket. It was very convenient too, because there were lots of pockets. We also had last day of the month, when we could go without official uniform. I only sometimes used that privilege.

[@adamkendall997]

This reminds me of when I modify a machine at work. My modification will fix a major issue but might cause a minor issue. As soon as a minor issue appears the mechanics will rip off the modification and go back to dealing with major issues.

[@Supermanohman]

Are the mechanics older? I notice older people don't like their tools being fixed even if it's for the better because of fears

[@Cheepchipsable]

For many people it's better the devil you, (they), know. I find a lot of people do the same with smart phones. They have trouble not incidentally touching the screen when they handle it and get flustered. They still use paper maps to to find their way around, since "It just works..."

[@spamviking]

@@Cheepchipsable I mean paper maps are a good thing to have as a backup in case your phone dies.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

@@Cheepchipsable No paper map ever showed a house in the middle of a river, but google maps did for a long damn time. Also, Google maps does a shitty job on Roads in US National Forests, ignoring the FS designation "13N01", etc. in favor of some "name" that no one's ever heard of and that doesn't appear on any sign, anywhere, ever. Having said that, in town, I use electronic navigation, because it does work. Sometimes...

[@poudink5791]

@@thekinginyellow1744 Showing a house in the middle of a river is totally inconsequential tho. You see it and you know immediately that it's a mistake. The other thing might be a problem indeed, tho. Regardless, paper maps don't have any routing algorithms and generally don't give a fuck about public transportation, so I don't think I'll ever be using them really.

[@raderadumilo7899]

In my country it is like this: There is an order of authority on crossroads and intersections: - If present, a policeman (or an authorised person, i.e. I was doing that couple of times in the military) regulating traffic has the highest authority, regardless of other signs and signals. - If a set of traffic lights is present and working in order, than it has authority over everything else except an actual person regulating traffic. - Every set of traffic lights has also traffic signs on them, that are to be obeyed if the traffic lights are malfunctioning. - If there are no signs, traffic lights or a person present at an intersection, then a rule of the right hand is observed. That means that a driver has to yield all vehicles that come from his/hers right hand side. Vehicles on rails (street cars) take precedence, and are to be let to pass first. Police, ambulance, firefighters and official escorted motorcades are another matter altogether, but that is another topic. On the theoretical part of the drivers exam, the highest number of points carry sketches of the crossroads "to solve," meaning you have to write the exact sequence of the passage of vehicles pictured in them. Basically, if you fail any one of them you fail the exam. Often they depict malfunctioning traffic lights.

[@MarkBTomlinson]

Sunday morning in Germany watching a video from a enthusiastic guy in IL about traffic lights and finding it fascinating. Got to love youtube.

[@Sillimant_]

It truly is a wonderful thing, when creators aren't screwed over

[@supercunthunt7756]

So muss das sein! :D

[@nicolasbusse]

Same but on friday

[@purpleezah5382]

Nur dass die Ampeln in DE alle Müll sind

[@SucculentSpaz]

@@purpleezah5382 OP's comment is in english, you know.

[@TheKingWerwer]

9:25 "a snowstorm severe enough to cause buildup on the traffic lights"... should be reason enough to just drive slower and more careful anyways. But this is what happens when self-aware apes handle 1.5t death machines for transport.

[@mfk12340]

What about in the days after the storm? It may take days for the snow to melt, or weeks if it's a really bad ice storm ( though then you probably won't have power for weeks or months then ) In my area they use the same heaters use for melting snow off roofs to melt the snow on the LEDs.

[@Strill_]

You described every other day in Alaska.

[@vukpsodorov5446]

@@mfk12340 if the weather conditions are potentially hazardous, you adapt to them. regardless of whether it's during a snow storm or after it, if there's still ice/snow everywhere, you're going to drive slower and more carefully. this would also significantly boost your chances of not getting into a wreck if the lights are out/covered up. of course, in practice, not everyone uses their brain, and they're going to speed around on icy roads. at that point though, it's questionable if a traffic light is all that useful at stopping them.

[@michaellindgren9653]

@@vukpsodorov5446 it's also about bringing the right tool to the job and your car/truck is exactly that... a tool. If it's not properly equipped with AWD/4X4 or a locking differential and/or snow tires, you shouldn't be out on the road in the first place. My truck is capable of going through at least 6 inches of snow at 50 mph SAFELY because it has the proper equipment installed, now I almost never do that because my own personal driving rule is if I don't feel safe driving at 40 mph I ain't driving unless it's an emergency.

[@Thedisastermaster9]

@@mfk12340 imagining it was a solid blizzard and the light was covered. Treat it like a stop sign. Like your supposed to.

[@romusz]

"People are stupid, so accidents happen." *THIS.*

[@OfficialCrashnet]

I had to get through too many comments to see this. This is so true.

[@phoenixj5785]

I saw it just as he said it lol

[@DeimosSaturn]

It's been proven that traffic lights cause more accidents than intersections without traffic lights.

[@phoenixj5785]

@@DeimosSaturn holy cow...

[@OfficialCrashnet]

​@@DeimosSaturn can you point me to this study? There was a pretty large study done by the State of Massachusetts and they found that intersections with lights are more fatal 9 to 1 than those without. But this was due to the high rate of speed not due to the light itself as intersections with stop or yield signs were 5 to 1 more likely to have an accident than one with a traffic light.

[@autiebleSam]

I had always thought the reason for the delayed green right arrow was to account for left-turners in opposing traffic who are either trying to race the yellow light or clear the middle of the intersection where they've waited the full light cycle to turn left.

[@danburch9989]

A right turn green arrow isn't always necessary in right turn only lanes. They will only come up when other "green movements" won't conflit with the turn arrow. For instance, you can have a north-east right turn arrow that can come up with a west-south turn movement. It cannot come up with any other movemenbt as it would conflist with other traffic. A green arrow is a protected movement - no vehicle or pedestiran traffic should be in your way- but it's not guaranteed. People are stupid as he said..

[@graysongdl]

"Really bad snowstorms can block the lights!" Yeah but imagine that same snow storm knocks out the power (which it could totally do if it's THAT bad) and now the LED lights are the only ones that still have power because of the battery backups.

[@inund8]

unless the snowstorm blocked the lights?

[@cryptfire3158]

snow doesn't directly take out power. Indirectly it can happen, rare but it does. Snow can clump together and get really heavy. Then tree branches fall, wires get hit, then power goes out. Recent winter, i took a picture of a skinny wire, like 1mm thick, that got like 12mm of ice formed on it.

[@Philippesdad1]

If the power lines are collapsing and there's that much snow falling, it's unlikely that there will be much traffic.

[@jmackinjersey1]

@@cryptfire3158 Ice storms are what you have to worry about.

[@jmackinjersey1]

Where are these elusive battery back ups?

[@markallen3293]

As a Civil Engineering professional I find this video fascinating, great job.

[@Soitisisit]

Good luck on the job, it sounds really hard to a non-engineer. ( Even when I was going for engineering it was a totally different kind of engineering. Civil just sounds like a PITA because of all this kind of stuff. )

[@shawbros]

I knew a guy that would use the following as part of his argument against wearing seat belts: "There have been people that have worn their seat belts, and crashed into a canal and drowned, because they couldn't unbuckle their seat belt."

[@gearsofwar3xXx]

That person never heard the argument, when the car is going 50mph, so are YOU. If you hit a brick wall, the car stops. If you aren't wearing a seat belt, you don't stop.

[@shawbros]

@@gearsofwar3xXx He never will hear that argument. He was a smoker, and he died a few years ago from lung cancer.

[@RWBHere]

@@shawbros So he reasoned that he would not be one of the 50%+ of smokers who will die because of their addiction? Sounds about right.

[@shawbros]

@@RWBHere I don't think he was thinking that. I think he just liked smoking, and didn't take the potential consequences seriously. He was a hard headed person.

[@johnmorgan4368]

I bet he lived in Arizona too.

[@Xxspaceman85xX]

I worked in signalization for years. I promise you you would be shocked at how big a traffic light is up close. The main thing I miss about the old school signals is that you could use the lenses like a giant magnifying glass. We would focus sunlight and burn our names into pieces of wood while we waited for concrete trucks and what not.

[@jan-lukas]

Where I live in Germany, many traffic lights are on the side of the road, not above it, and when you walk around you know how big they are, and I wouldn't call that size "big" But I don't know what traffic lights in the US look like, so duh

[@sparkpenguin]

i have been to a tgi fridays in the 90s. i learned how big they are from there 🤣

[@Helios8170]

I watched some work done on a light near me, and the damn thing was as big as one of the workers if memory serves.

[@exyzt9877]

​@@jan-lukas in the US a three-light traffic signal is a 3 and a half feet, or for the rest of the world, around 1.06 meters tall.

[@the_undead]

When the complaint is very minor and incredibly niche you know the thing being complained about is just better than what it's replacing

[@ghostshadow9046]

Lived in Alaska for 34 years, never saw traffic light light covered with snow/ice, have seen snow high enough to cover stop signs.

[@gpssax7318]

I live in Colorado. "Sometimes" the wind will blow snow and cover the lights. Usually it only affects one direction (i.e. the direction the wind is blowing). Rare occurrance, but it does happen.

[@brendancross2767]

8:51 "The other 300 days when it doesn't snow" You mean you only see 65 days of snow annually? _confused in Canadian_

[@nocturnal0072]

Right! Also frost is an issue as well. Not just snow.

[@Richard-jm3um]

@@nocturnal0072 Would the heater not fix that too?

[@nocturnal0072]

@@Richard-jm3um It might not be enough in cold climate situations, like Russia, Alaska and Canada. Yes, this is very situational.

[@Richard-jm3um]

@@nocturnal0072 Yeah, well I'm still with the guy from the video, It's a problem worth looking into and trying to fix for when it happens, specially if it happens most of the time, that of course would mean that it would no longer be a "But sometimes" but a "But most of the time".

[@nocturnal0072]

@@Richard-jm3um I like new tech, but sometimes changing for the sake of new is pointless. For example all the interior lights in my car are LED, all the exterior lights are still bulbs. Different scenario but LED lights are useful and reliable.

[@moistbread86]

An interesting note on old incandescent lights - Many railroads still use old searchlight signals. Rather than a simple array of LED bulbs, a searchlight signal has an incandescent lamp with a reflector behind it and a motor that moves a colored lens in front of it to change the signal color. Each signal head can cost up to $20,000 apiece, and when you have 3 of them on a single aspect, its price racks up quickly. These signals are starting to phase out; 10 years from now you'd be lucky to ever see one.

[@roamerick]

I just want you to know that I've started using this video to educate people in the process of user testing, user experience design, and product innovation. "But Sometimes" is one of the biggest recurring frustrations in my field.

[@jeffreyblack666]

Australia has nice signs for that: "Stop if signals blacked out or flashing" The sign is typically a simply STOP sign with 3 black dots to represent the blacked out traffic lights.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Never seen that. Usually it's just chaos as no one knows who has priority.

[@alanbeagley5529]

@@Cheepchipsable No. The give-way-to-the right rule kicks in.

[@masheroz]

@@alanbeagley5529 or if your car is bigger.

[@Macca81]

Never seen those signs here, it's just a standard uncontrolled intersection

[@vukkulvar9769]

My country we have regular stop sign below

[@NixillShadowFox]

6:30 There's a problem with assuming a snow-covered traffic light is an all-way stop: It may not be unviewable from all angles. A driver that can still see a green may not know that traffic from their side (whom can see nothing) would expect them to stop. If you can't see your signal's indication, treat it as if *you alone* have a stop sign.

[@jankoodziej877]

Lol, no. It's stop only for the direction where the lights are not visible. Meaning cars in that direction should stop and let cars from other direction drive. So if those other cars have green light, is not a problem at all.

[@marveloussoftware4914]

Well if you cant see your traffic light and you stop you are supposed to procede when traffic is clear, i.e. wait if you see a car coming. You are NOT supposed to assume a car is going to stop and procede through the intersection. You are right that can cause an accident, bad driving can always cause an accident, with or without snow covered lights.

[@joecope9935]

I was going to point out the same thing!

[@NixillShadowFox]

@@jankoodziej877 What you said is pretty much exactly the same as what I was *trying* to say.

[@cavanleichtman6170]

You were perfectly understandable. Jan just misread you or something.

[@dan-sc7fm]

I saw the snow build-up on LED traffic lights in Chicago. I was a police officer and going to work when I nearly got hit by southbound traffic on a major Avenue. A South wind blew snow, covering all traffic lights. When I arrived at work I informed the Supervisors about hazard. By the time I got in my squad car there was already two accidents on the avenue's intersections. We had to place a squad car at every intersection for several blocks(miles). It was quite a mess.

[@dan-sc7fm]

Correction, it was a northern wind (north to south) covering all southbound LED traffic lights. It didn't take much wind for the snow to build-up on the LED lights.

[@lollolgameslp]

Kinda messed up that people doesnt understand that there are rules if something like that is happening. I never could imagine ignoring a traffic light, if I cant see it.

[@kadenielsen210]

@@lollolgameslp people in Chicago don’t seem particularly bright, especially ones the police deal with lol. They don’t seem aware of “rules” even when nothing bad is going on

[@new0news]

​@@lollolgameslp I think the snow would be tricky. The rule is that the intersection turns into a 4-way stop but how would that would work if only one light is covered with snow (which would always be the case becuase the wind only blows one direction). You follow "the rule" and stop and then rightfully take your right of way but get hit by someone else who rightfully is taking their green light.

[@GunsOfSteel67]

Sometimes led lights get covered in snow but all the time the incandescent light burn out and also don’t show the proper signal

[@thomashuang5053]

"but sometimes they don't"

[@mpmansell]

When working on traffic light control systems a decade or so ago, another advantage of LED was the lower voltage posing less of a threat to life in the event of an impact with the unit since it didn't expose potentially lethal mains voltage.

[@MrKelra]

It's not the voltage that kills...

[@mpmansell]

@@MrKelra unlike boring and mindless comments.

[@enbee_ash6740]

@@MrKelra but if I stick a fork in my outlet (here in Aus 240v 10a) I die, but if I lick some jumper leads connected to a car battery, let's say 13.8v and 800a, I don't feel it. Technically it is the current that kills you, but you need the high voltage for the current to flow through your body which is very high resistance.

[@mpmansell]

@@enbee_ash6740 Sadly, some people are just incapable of understanding the implications of Ohm's law and the melting point of conductors :)

[@enbee_ash6740]

@@mpmansell she'll be right. We'll just shock them with 240kv at 0.5A and say hey it's low current you'll be fine 😂

[@dirkturrell6460]

"People are stupid". When it comes to drivers these days that is an understatement lol

[@TheBamaChad-W4CHD]

That's the world in general. People are just stupid period

[@dirkturrell6460]

Chad W4CHD Suggs yea you'd think with all the access to information we have and such people would get smarter! Doesn't seem the case though lol

[@Kingbaylei]

I love how everyone thinks everyone BUT them is stupid. We’re all stupid

[@williamnichols2067]

In todays world, the exception swallows the whole.

[@peterf.229]

well, he's expecting them to know A. traffic lights that are out are like 4 way stops, but no one knows how to do those either.

[@chaotus]

Here in Germany every traffic light has backup signs if the lights are out. Normally 2 sides have a dedicated „Vorfahrtsstraße” sign that would mean you can blast right trough while the other 2 sides have a give way sign. Would be really dangerous if only the side with the give way sign fails.

[@philipwilliams7947]

In America if a power loss happens, all four way intersections are four way stops.

[@new0news]

ya i agree with the video but I think he missed on a couple points. The reason the ice would be dangerous is one side would be covered and the other's wouldn't. When there's a power failure it's easy to tell and everyone stops but if only one direction was covered in ice and they stopped and then took their right of way (as is the traffic rule) they could get smoked by someone on the other side who has a green light that is not covered. That and "just don't drive if it's a blizzard" would be great if cities would close their roads but your employers and kids schools still expect them to be there.

[@chaotus]

@@new0news that’s right. Also just noticed I mixed up the sides in my original comment

[@NathanieI87]

06:20 Here in Germany on every intersection each traffic light has a traffic sign mounted on its pole. In case the lights fail the right of way is still regulated. But it would not be Germany If there was a backup without a backup. If there are no traffic signs the rule 'right has right of way' applies. Exceptions to this rule are traffic regulation by the Police even when the traffic lights work. So it's Police > Traffic Lights > Traffic Signs > Right has Way of right

[@l.1574]

That’s True but if not all traffic lights fail at ones (due to snow coming from just one direction) this can still case an accident. If the person with the Give Way sign has a green light and the person on the road with the right of way signs red light is cowered with snow or not working anyway both drivers think they can cross the other road now and might end up crashing

[@darth0tator]

but it's germany, we really don't have that kind of blizzard here...this is again a very "but sometimes" problem and if there ever is that much snow, you propably have to drive so slowly, you can avoid most accidents

[@ahobimo732]

I love the way that Germans overthink everything.

[@mayorsnorkum4005]

@@ahobimo732 Not everything, mate. My BMW Z4 was caught with the top down in a quick rainstorm. Not a crazy amount of rain, but enough to get the dashboard wet. However, enough to compromise a large amount of the electronics, and yield a nice big repair bill. Apparently, the German engineers didn't think that perhaps a convertible might sometimes get caught in the rain? Ultimate driving machine, my ass.

[@ahobimo732]

@@mayorsnorkum4005 Sorry about your car. I have no experience with BMWs but I've heard that repairs and maintenance can be ridiculousoly expensive. There are a lot of considerations that go into engineering a consumer product, and making things more complex doesn't always make them better. It seems like in the case of your car, they overlooked a problem that should have been both obvious and easy to solve. But my statement was more a comment about the overall nature of German culture. There are bound to be exceptions.

[@someguyO2W]

I really like this channel. Long ass videos about obscure subjects with what's clearly a very brilliant guy. Great researcher, amazing delivery and well structured.

[@TcsDomain]

>Some still have the written text "WALK" and "DON'T WALK" in their pedestrian signals >a few use the old 8 inch lenses for their green and yellow lights Wow, sounds like where I live!

[@johnnycash5858]

As an Alaskan, I can tell from personal experience this was an issue far more often than “sometimes.” The first winter after the municipality began switching to LED signals without accounting for snow buildup was also one of the worst in the last couple of decades. While the average taxpayer was excited about the energy savings, they were equally shocked that no one in the local government, the company contracted to help facilitate the switchover from old to new nor the manufacturer providing the new requirement involved stopped for a moment to think about this very issue at any point during the planning or rollout stages. After a sobering increase in vehicular accidents occurring at or near signaled intersections, people were floored when the city manager in charge of the program unashamedly admitted the issue never occurred to him. The danger here, and the real issue at hand, is not new technology but a failure to account for how that new technology will function differently than that which it is replacing, both for better AND worse. Far too often this level headed way of thinking is abandoned in the rush to adopt new technologies that on the face are cheaper, more efficient and “earth friendly.” In my example and personal experience, we weren’t shaking our fist in anger at the almighty LED, rather shaking our heads at how once again the people who are both expected and paid to know better once again failed miserably to do just that. And if you’re being honest, THAT is what those articles you mentioned were aimed at, not LED’s.

[@deletoblue1109]

I’ve never heard him sound so aggressive. It feels like he’s saying “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed”

[@mersilvaureus1525]

We could just use all his salt from this episode to prevent snow and ice build up on all the traffic lights everywhere forever

[@Datsun7705]

Zachary Allen then the whole light will rust like crazy

[@marinadavies1917]

Or we could make all traffic lights be made out of salt

[@valhar2000]

You think _this guy_ is salty? Are you new to the Internet?

[@NUKELEDGE]

@@valhar2000 issa joke, calm down lol

[@luckyblockyoshi]

@@NUKELEDGE terrible joke, makes 0 sense AT ALL

[@moenchii]

In Germany, every traffic light on a crossing has a road sign always visible to indicate the right of way if the traffic light is out. We also have a much more in depth and harder procedure to get a drivers license so that you really know what to do in every situation.

[@Phili406]

Not EVERY intersection tho… if the traffic light fails or is turned off and no signs are there the rule „rechts vor links“, in english „right before left“ has to be used.

[@cpiippidpipipip7030]

@@Phili406 Es ist echt selten dass man Ampeln ohne Verkehrsschilder sieht, selbst in den ländlichsten Gegenden habe ich keine Ampel ohne Verkehrsschild gesehen.

[@archkull]

Only downside being I have to pay 2k for my driver's license.

[@moenchii]

@@archkull That's true unfortunately. But at least we can get some excellent raining for it.

[@Shadowfalls89]

If we raised the difficulty level to that of Germany or Japan 3/4 of the US populace wouldn’t be able to drive. IMO that would be a good thing. 30k a year die in traffic, and that doesn’t even touch the number of lives permanently harmed from injury.

[@SeanPat1001]

I appreciate this video. I am an engineer and I teach a course on safety management and this kind of thing comes up a lot. When incident I remember from my own experience was when I was at another university waiting at an intersection for the “don’t walk“ red light to turn off. (There was no “walk“ light). When the light turned off I started across and I heard a loud honk so I backed up and the driver was pointing up at the light. So I walked over to where I could see his signal and saw that it was green. Wonderful! As soon as I got to my office I called up the traffic department and reported the situation. To my surprise they said oh we know all about that. They also said that they’ve known about it for years and they don’t plan on fixing it. The reason they gave was it would cost $20,000 to address the issue at that intersection and loss prevention calculated that their legal exposure in the event of an accident would be less. I suggested that they reevaluate their estimated loss because the fact that they know about this and didn’t address it would expose them to a higher liability. I left that university two years later and the intersection was still not working right.😑

[@PantherMom512]

THIS ⬆️ made me sooo ANGRY‼️ 😠 The SOB who told you that also told you what human life is worth to him and the University! 😠 I want it FIXED. Suing is expensive... Could you report a violation? To OSHA, the Dept of Transportation, local TV stations, all of the above?

[@matthewbanta3240]

Another problem with incandescent bulbs is that if the sun is at just the right place in the sky then the sunlight can shine into the reflector and make it look like the bulb is on even though it is not. This is very rare but it does happen and there have been deaths. LED bulbs do not have this problem.

[@flybobbie1449]

I worked for traffic light manufacturer in development. In the UK we had what was called anti phantom lenses. The front lenses was covered in very small lenses through which the light is projected through a matt black mask, to stop sun light reflecting off the reflector. Going led eliminated the problem.

[@torlumnitor8230]

It's not rare if you frequently drive at those times of the day.

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

A problem that doesn't just affect cars, but trains too, and drivers avoiding running red lights.

[@MrWolfSnack]

What you are talking about has nothing to do with incandescent bulbs. It is the lens on the traffic light, they are called "programmed visibility signals" and are used in situations where there is another intersection within range of another intersection, and the risk of confusing the signals is increased. So the signal is arranged and directed to only be visible from a certain distance away from the signal and from that specific lane directly in front of the signal. 3M made these from the early 1970's into the beginning of the 1980's.

[@TheRealCreepinogie]

The same thing happens with LED lights. the solution is to go with a clear lens and colored LEDS, not white LEDS with a colored lens. In Fargo, Phantom Signals usually in south facing signals in January when the Sun is at it's lowest.

[@nozra_z]

"People are stupid, so accidents happen" My new favorite quote.

[@iamtheoffenderofall]

There is no such thing as an accident. Accident implies no one is at fault.

[@rosss7007]

@@iamtheoffenderofall Please tell me you are referring to Hot Fuzz

[@Alexander-bp2ht]

Reminds me of the sign THIS SITE HAS BEEN ACCIDENT FREE SINCE: [handwriting] Joe left.

[@miramari732]

I need that on t-shirt ^^

[@cal30m1]

When I was a boy the gates at railroad crossings has red kerosene lanterns on them. A man was employed who raised and lowered them when a train was coming. There were also tiny little shelters that the men could escape from the snow, rain, cold...

[@SirCavemaninthewest]

Illinois is so cheap they won't build a pedestrian crossing bridge for our MidAmerican workers. They have a cross walking guy that just jumps into the road and wails a strobing baton like a light saber.

[@jamiemackie3994]

@@SirCavemaninthewest Bet that guy has a fat gov union pension too.

[@Cheepchipsable]

So quaint!

[@masterofreality926]

@@SirCavemaninthewest I must see this LMAO

[@paulchamberlain3359]

Run the red

[@ProtonFilms_Mark]

I live in Moscow, as you can imagine when it snows it snows here. We've had LED lights for close to 15 years now, I have been driving for 12 of those and I have never seen a traffic light obstructed by snow. My only gripe with LED lights is they're obscenely bright at night, but that's a minor trade off for being able to see them consistently during the day when, you know, most people actually drive.

[@wheresvr6]

Same. Never seen one obstructed by snow/ice either in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Also I feel like the new hoodless design also helps - without the hood less snow could even potentially accumulate and leds have plenty of light output to be seen through the snow/ice that can build up

[@ProtonFilms_Mark]

@FreymanArt you know, the might actually dim with lower light levels, but if you've stared at LEDs long enough, then you probably noticed that they sort of always find a way to irritate your gaze no matter how dim or at what angle you look at them. I still maintain that that's not such a big problem seeing as you may actually not see classic bulbs during the day at all.

[@SteveAkaDarktimes]

another wonderful, modern example of "But Sometimes!" thinking is Electric motor driven vehicles. "but pedestrians cant hear them coming!"

[@PongoXBongo]

And the potential solution to that is really cool too: choose your own exhaust sound.

[@carlangelo653]

@@PongoXBongo Or you can drive slower where pedestrians cross. Or looking both ways before crossing.

[@PongoXBongo]

@@carlangelo653 Of course, but that doesn't absolve pedestrians from their responsibilities. We all share the road and all need to look out for each other.

[@carlangelo653]

@@PongoXBongo Yep, I mean in general pedestrians and drivers should just be more aware of what's around them on the road. Makes it safer for everyone.

[@shannondove96]

PongoXBongo i want to get a recording of a harley davidson and play it really loud while driving, that way i can drive a gay electric car without looking gay

[@normalhuman5603]

*Cure for cancer appears Idiots: But Sometimes *Cure taken off market

[@Tahngarthor]

that's how it is for vaccines already. "Vaccines save lives!" "But sometimes..." ANTI VAXX!

[@Tahngarthor]

@@bootlegscarce0844 vaccines aren't flawless. Some may be dangerous for a small number of people. But one's doctor can generally tell you if you aren't a candidate, and as you said, the autism thing is totally bogus.

[@tysontitus3332]

Hey my mom didn't vaccinate me yes I may have polio but at least I don't have autism y'all are dumb😷😷😷😷🤒🤒🤒🤮🤮🤮🤮🤧🤧🤧🤧. 😂

[@bradandmawm3630]

Look up thalidomide for cancer treatment

[@Ka9radio_Mobile9]

Nasty stuff!@@bradandmawm3630

[@mjsvitek]

Came for my favourite "guy who talks about lame things with a burning passion rarely seen in today's world" talk about LED traffic lights... Got a motivational speech about solving problems. Thanks 👍😊

[@KeithCavey]

Regarding the green arrow for right turns appearing immediately at the start of the yellow phase: that's appropriate... sometimes. 🙂 If opposing traffic has a permissive left turn signal (e.g. solid green or flashing yellow arrow), there may be cars in the intersection that need to clear it when the light turns yellow. It would not be appropriate to give drivers a protected right turn in that scenario, because it introduces a "yellow trap" scenario in which the left-turning driver is expecting all opposing traffic to get a red signal, and that they can thus clear the intersection as the light turns red. By giving the opposing right turn a green arrow, you're allowing that traffic to conflict with the vehicles trying to clear the intersection, thus introducing the risk of a collision. In that scenario, it's appropriate to have the light turn red for the right-turn lane before giving that traffic a green arrow. If the opposing traffic has a protected left turn, there should be no problem illuminating the green right turn arrow as through traffic gets the yellow, since the opposite-direction left turners should have a red arrow at that time.

[@ninjamonkey2251]

For stories like this my dad and I have a saying. "But that would make sense."

[@sadmac356]

Yeah that's one I use too

[@angelocrespo5523]

Hey me too😂

[@JTA1961]

Not dollars just sense...

[@jetstream454]

Yes 😂 "Aw but that makes sense"

[@LucasMp]

My personal favorite is "that is what smart people would do".

[@josephgilliand4]

Incandescent traffic lights usually melt snow, BUT SOMETIMES, when they're BURNED OUT, THEY FAIL TO MELT THE SNOW! :)

[@davidbenner2289]

I was the traffic control/emergency response route expert in my county, covering 6,000 streets or proposed streets. One of my many duties in the fire department. I took an uncertified traffic control engineer course to better learn my job. This is a good course. A+!!

[@njjeff201]

Perhaps you can explain why these 'experts' have LONG red for the roads with heavy traffic & the empty flow road with the long green? COMMON sense! Not 'training' classes.

[@PopeInnocentXIV]

Regarding the right turn arrow: Not sure if someone else mentioned this (12,353 comments here as of now), but here's my guess. Say you're going north and want to turn right. If there's a car in the southbound lane waiting to make a left to go east, he's going to sit there until the northbound traffic clears and he can make a left. If you're turning right, he'll wait for you to finish your turn before he makes his. But if while he's waiting his light turns red, he's going to need to make his turn to clear the intersection for the next cycle. You, waiting to turn right, will yield to him now that your light is red and you have no green arrow. But if you get a right arrow immediately as the main signal turns yellow, it's telling you that you have the right of way to make your right turn, in which case you're not going to yield to him: Either he will assume you are yielding and there will be a crash, or, especially if there are other cars behind you also wanting to turn right, he's going to be stuck in the intersection with nowhere to go. So I think it's all to let any oncoming left-turners clear the intersection before the light moves to the next cycle. Now if it's set up this way where opposing traffic can't turn left, well, then you might be onto something.

[@chitlitlah]

That makes sense. I had a related situation happen while driving in California. I was waiting in the intersection to turn left and somehow, my light turned red but pedestrians started crossing where I wanted to go and I couldn't clear the intersection for a few more seconds. It left me wondering how the engineers managed to screw that up so bad or if California laws didn't allow pulling into the intersection without a protected arrow like in most states. Little differences like that can make driving in other states confusing at times.

[@philsmith2444]

The southbound car shouldn’t be IN the intersection.

[@indianasb59]

TC: “People are stupid” Me: I am a nurse... you have no idea how correct you are.

[@dakoderii4221]

And people who read your comment have no idea of the depth of it. Stupid runs deep but their personalities are shallow mud puddles they copied from pop culture. They can change for the better but they let stereotypes, victimhood mentality, and peer pressure keep them from becoming who they could have been.

[@jimpemberton]

People are indeed stupid. It's good to recognize that. I've never found it helpful to roll my eyes at all those other stupid people when I have limitations myself. It's far better to recognize our own limitations before we point out the limitations of others.

[@cameronalexander359]

I couldn't imagine all nurses are stupid but.

[@BloodstarDE]

Why should beeing a nurse be stupid?

[@BlindingLight]

true, i am a complete moron

[@SylviusTheMad]

I do have one complaint about LED stoplights that would be easy to fix. They're too bright at night. Incandescent traffic lights are dim enough that they don't screw up my night vision. LED are way brighter, so they do. I'd like LED traffic lights to have sensors on them (like street lamps do) to detect the level of ambient light, and dim the traffic signals when it's dark.

[@flybobbie1449]

Standard to fit dimmers in the UK.

[@ibainesy]

Could save more energy by adding an automatic dimmer that dims the LED's based on either time or light levels, more energy savings in one place means they can spend energy in other places, such as a heating module for the lights. Good idea.

[@abc123number1america]

You need to have your eyes checked lmao (or maybe you’re just very old)

[@michaellin4553]

This is also dangerous, that simple solution won't work on its own. If it's foggy and nighttime, it would be much harder to see. A hygrometer should be added as well.

[@stardustreverie6880]

@@abc123number1america good argument

[@thebravegallade731]

'but sometines' is why ppl aren't using nuclear power as much as they should

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

But sometimes: Chernobyl (poor safety due to incomplete espionage), 3 mile island (don't know enough about it to state the cause), Fukushima (GE not remedying containment defects that were known about for 35+ years, plus skimping on sea wall construction: because money). It's depressing how mismanagement is responsible for the only two full meltdowns we've had, and yet instead of simply going "oh, nuclear plants should have tighter safety regulations", people seem to go with "Aaah, nuclear is the devil! Shut it down! Don't suffer the nuclear engineer to live!" Hopefully they change their minds sooner rather than later, after all we'll need it in case we get miss "kill the cows" Cortez in in 2024 (only 3 presidents have had one term since WWII when they ran for a second, so we can probably assume that 2020 is all but a foregone conclusion), when all coal, gas, and diesel power will be shut off without sufficient renewables for the whole grid...

[@ccandrew111]

TheBraveGallade NIMBY (not in my back yard) doesn’t help either; no one wants to have nuclear waste buried near them after all

[@thebravegallade731]

@@ccandrew111 to be fair the ppl SHOULD get decent compensation (make electricity half price and watch industry flock to the area) but just flat out saying no is just irresponsible. And the US doesn't even HAVE THAT EXCUSE. They have a FUCKTON of mostly uninhabited land that would bother nearly NO ONE. South Korea and Japan shoulder high nuclear generation even when most of it is actually dangerously close to cities (especially our first site) because fossel fuel's expensive. The reason the US doesn't is because they have PLENTY of cheap fuel...

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@@thebravegallade731 yeah, and seeing's as we've made progress in recycling the highly radioactive waste to enrich fuel or even be used as fuels in some types of reactors, leaving us with stuff that is pretty safe (half life of a few centuries to a few millennia, so barely radioactive), it's even more ridiculous to keep complaining about waste storage.

[@HoudiniFontmeister]

@@theapexsurvivor9538You had me up to Kill the cows Which is simply just a Made up lie. That plan forces Major corporations to change their resources and slowly invests into alternate power solutions for our Power grids. Nobody is saying ban cows. I just thought I'd point out the ignorance in a comment that otherwise began in a smart argument. Renewables are capable within a 15 year period of taking up the mantle fully. But that plan is only expected to begin by 2030. the expected date is 2045 roughly to be off of Fossil Fuels for the majority of energy consumption. This does not entirely include vehicles, etc. But Focuses on Factories, The Power grid and other less intrusive means. Regardless but sometimes is an issue I see a lot. Ironic how on a video that is ranting against the But sometimes of energy efficiency standards that a known slander is tossed in the comments. LED's are truly a Godsend though if we are being honest. Those things are amazing lol

[@doucetteandy]

There was a situation near my work that was similar to the "protected left/right turn" scenario described and people kept getting into accidents because the protected left people would take U-turns while the right-turners also had a green light.

[@danburch9989]

We had an intersection with that same problem. A "No U-Turn" sign was installed.

[@BuckFudweiser]

I've never noticed a white flashing light for emergency vehicles. I do live in California, in a little town called Redding. That probably has a lot to do with it. Not that "I" would need one. I am always very in tune with what a siren sounds like even with my music at a decent level. The second I hear a siren (and I usually hear them before I see the vehicle), my music goes down to 0 volume, and my windows go down so I can begin investigating where the emergency vehicle is coming from, and where it's headed so I can plan my path of escape.

[@3v068]

I live in a smaller town outside of austin texas. In austin, houston, san marcos, and even in my towns nearby bigger cities, we dont have those either. Thats something new to me

[@BigbearSM-IL]

Chicagoland area has had them for 40 years. Just about every new stop light gets them. The white flashing light isn’t for the driving public, it lets the driver of the emergency vehicle know they have captured the light and it will turn green in their favor. Cross traffic gets a solid white light so you know another emergency vehicle has captured the stop light in a different direction.

[@spixy16]

in EU we just put mobile devices into emergency vehicles, but also into public transport vehicles so also public transport gets preference on intersections

[@shizbisquit]

Wait until you find out about deaf people

[@BuckFudweiser]

@@shizbisquit wait until you find out about license restrictions

[@refoliation]

I remember a friend of mine that claimed to hear of a case where a bicyclist died in an accident and that it was determined that the death was caused by him wearing a helmet and wouldn't have occurred otherwise. That to me sounds like an extremely difficult determination to make, but whatever. I just said to him yeah that's one case and then told him about two cases where somebody died without a helmet. Even if his story is true (I'm sure it's possible as some kind of fluke) it still has to be weighed against the alternative. It's like he was afraid of dying in an ironic oh-henry way more than he was afraid of dying in a very mundane way. Or really he was probably insecure about wearing safety gear and found what he thought was a solid excuse to forgo the helmet.

[@Liggliluff]

Same when people try to argue for not wearing seatbelts.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Who still wears a helmet on the bicycle when they're older than 3?

[@Patchuchan]

All you'd need to control the heater is just a simple thermostat that turns it on whenever it's below freezing.

[@DarthAwar]

Yes and maybe a anti-ice lens basically they work just like an anti-fog lens on a cameras basically they are just to slippery for ice or water to stick to so slide off just like the Oleophobic coating on your smartphones screen!

[@MattMcConaha]

Simple temperature sensing is a solution, though a suboptimal one. Even if it is freezing outside that doesn't mean there is snow anywhere to be seen. I wonder if they could put a photo sensor somewhere on the visor which can see if the lamp is shining an appropriate amount of light. If it's not and it is also below freezing temperature, then turn the heater on. I don't know if this is a cost effective solution in terms of cost of retrofitting.

[@user-lq1dk6gr3p]

Matt McConaha that seems reasonable. The thing is, led shouldn’t need retrofitted it should’ve worked to begin with. There went saving money though paying someone to retrofit all of those

[@SMGJohn]

+Patchuchan There sensors that detect snow and turn on heaters, we have them in Norway, on certain parking lots....

[@tookitogo]

Patchuchan The product mentioned in the video specifically measures temperature and humidity to determine when snow is possible.

[@jimrobin]

I remember back when LEDs were first being considered for traffic lights they had a problem with getting a green LED! The red and the amber were easy but for some technical reason the green was a problem. I think that's why the "green" as actually closer to blue in LED traffic lights. 🙂

[@shakehandswithdanger7882]

I remember the yellow being the last color to be available, but that was 20 years ago and I partied hard back then. We were just phasing in the 18 led units that directly replaced the bulb. The sealed units with lots of small LEDs sucked to replace in the field.

[@Deathbird_Mitch]

The lens is Blue on the incandescent traffic lights for the Green light.

[@ledoynier3694]

@@shakehandswithdanger7882 actually, yellow and amber were available very early along with red (granted the first yellows were red dies with yellow casing ^^') Green arrived late, but i think it was blue that was the hardest to get "in the die". Other colors use III-V materials for the die, while blue required to develop SiC semiconductors to get that color. But these were somewhat short lived anyway since near UV LEDS with colored phosphors became the norm shortly afterwards which is what we have now.

[@steveparker1466]

Interesting aside... Here in the UK the railways still have some semaphore signals which also have illuminated lenses that can be seen in the dark. On these what is always referred to as green is actually blue. This is a hangover from when they were originally lit by oil lamps where the yellow flame combined with the blue lens gave a green indication and even though they are now all lit by electric light they carried on fitting the blue lens.

[@CyberSlugGump]

A friend told me a blue tint can be helpful to people with red-green colorblindness so affected folks don't have to rely on the position of the light (red is always topmost for vertical lights).

[@littlewickhamtrolleys]

I find the incandescent fade is helpful in spotting that a light has changed. As the LED is an instant switch, all be it between two slightly different positions is it just my eyes that don't always spot this change. In the UK of course we have red amber rather than just red to green which is when it is most difficult to spot.

[@christopherg2347]

You have foldable stopsigns? Wierd. We germans just have signs deployed with each and every Traffic Light, and a simple order of priority if multiple might be present: 1. Police officer coordinating Traffic 2. Opeartional Traffic Lights 3. Signs 4. Any remaining right of way rules

[@TheNoim]

And I never saw an defect traffic light as a problem. Some are off by default after a certain time and this was also never a problem.

[@mehrunez4838]

I've almost never seen a fold able stop sign. I've seen yield signs that are fold able tho lol.

[@christopherg2347]

@@TheNoim We germans do that too in some places. At least one near where I life is turned off when it becomes darker. As we have fallback signs and rules, it is never a problem.

[@gregoryyoung1141]

Ah, but that requires THINKING. We don't like that over here in the states.

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

In Australia they have "stop when light blacked out" STOP signs on nearly every traffic light.

[@georgplaz]

"but sometimes" always comes up when people are afraid of change. My advice for these situations: imagine it was the otherwise around. Would anyone argue for the change?

[@felixbeutin9530]

example ?

[@TheodenEdnewDoesDnD]

Seems like nobody knows how to conduct simple cost-benefit analysis.

[@rasterbate87]

If people made judgments based on logical analysis, we wouldn’t have half of the problems we do. That’s just not how our brains work, tho.

[@PotatotheTroll]

@Straight Razor Daddy If you think men are so much better at logical analysis then I've got a bridge to sell you.

[@stickiedmin6508]

@Straight Razor Daddy Your 'feels' have led you wrong buddy. Start paying attention to the evidence, not your prejudices.

[@stickiedmin6508]

@Straight Razor Daddy It's all that's needed homie.

[@AndyZach]

There is little incentive in the government to continually improve. Private enterprise requires it because of survival.

[@SAJe_53]

Snow on the traffic lights doesn't leave drivers confused. Not knowing how to drive is what did it.

[@JohnsonTheSecond]

"Do you take an umbrella to school?" "No" "What if it rained" "I might wear a hood, it works and it's less expensive" "What if you DIED"

[@jimmyspliff88]

so true

[@SchwartzSchnee]

there was an umbrella in my backpack. I paid too much for those damn textbooks

[@enotsnavdier6867]

@jocaguz18 If you already own something with a hood, like pretty much everyone does

[@Karreth]

@@SchwartzSchnee I've had an umbrella in my backpack for the last 15 years. I think I've used it twice. I just tend to dress well for the weather. Still, the peace of mind has been worth it.

[@godsinbox]

Also wear a belt and braces, in case your pants fall down

[@zuttoaragi8349]

Oh damn, TC getting brutal. There's something great about such a mild-mannered, softspoken man bluntly saying "people are stupid".

[@gotnoshoes99]

I noticed where I live that some traffic signals have both incandescent and LED lights leading me to believe they are just retrofitting them as the incandescent lights burn out instead of taking on the enormous task of replacing all at once.

[@tsm688]

I think that's what usually happens. And that takes a long time since there's no way the incandescents are burning out every year, house ones do that because they're crap, industrial ones can be much better exactly because they're a pain in the ass to replace

[@kikixchannel]

@@tsm688 It's not about them being 'crap' or anything. If you put in the same bulbs as the ones in traffic lights into your regular house network, they would burn out somewhat similarly to other bulbs in your house (which depends on your houses wiring, not the bulbs itself). The reason why bulbs in homes blow so often is because they are being fed more electricity compared to the thickness of the wolfram wire. As it heats up (from electricity passing through it), there is a structural change to it and eventually it just becomes too fragile and breaks under smallest shock or its own weight. If you went and lowered the power output of your light (for example, running the 100W one at 50W with a dimming controller), then it would last you many years (unless your houses electric system just sucks). The reason why the wire is so thin is because...it's more efficient as a light. If it was thicker, then you would need more power to have the same brightness of light, and as a result, at some point, you would even have a light bulb that barely gives light but heats like a heater. Proof of the above? There are light bulbs that have been constantly on for over a 100 years. And I mean it, constantly on. But they give almost no light due to their wolfram wire being thicker and the current reaching them being lower.

[@Airpaycheck]

Good video! One must remember what the different colors mean. Green = GO, Yellow = GO Faster, Red = You Didn't Go Fast Enough.

[@JimFortune]

You forget to mention one reason incandescent bulbs are still in use. Warehouses full of incandescent bulbs.

[@gantmj]

Another is that the unions don't like the LED fixtures "takin er jerbs", so they won't allow the conversion. How nice of them.

[@RocketCatDK]

Must be a US thing - all light sources that aren't LED are being or are already phased put here in Europe. Also. Our LED stoplights seems a lot brighter but smaller.

[@carleynorthcoast1915]

that's why you see bulbs in hotels too

[@JimFortune]

RazzoGatto From what I've seen, the lights in Europe are hung on the near side of the intersection, where in the US they are hung in the center or on the far side of the intersection. I guess if they're closer they can be smaller?

[@marks4374]

Led damages your retinas.

[@ajmeyer66]

I remember in Quebec Canada the signal lights were mounted horizontal with different shapes for the red, amber and green lights. The red was square, the amber a triangle and the green a circle. Much better for colour blind people.

[@unseenentity326]

I've never actually seen a white flashing light on an intersection to indicate an approaching emergency vehicle. I've never noticed any strobe detectors either. I think we're still "back hills" enough to not have them.

[@livelongandprospermary8796]

UnseenEntity I’m in a medium sized city and we don’t have that. That would be cool!

[@chriscohlmeyer4735]

Locally the fire department uses a short range radio signal to trigger a sensor on the lights that turn all directions red for about 30 seconds, local police and ambulance opted out. Works well for fire department as majority of calls are two to four vehicles. A number of LED traffic lights - the "but sometimes" happens about a dozen times per year but typically it affects only some of the redundant lights in one direction... So, see what opposing traffic is doing and short hoods on side street lights allow first two vehicles to see the side traffic lights. At night you get a whitish glow. This area also gets high winds, gave up repairing/replacing one fixture and once a year or so the some of the overhead fixtures hang and swing by their cables.

[@sicfrynut]

@@livelongandprospermary8796 used to have them in my home town. relco lights or something was the name.

[@jac4YouTube]

Now they have devices that they can flip a switch and make their route light green and everyone else's red

[@JamesLamb-tvjames]

In the tiny town I grew up in, they had actually wired control to all the lights in town. They had a 911 facility from which they could route emergency vehicles through the town and turn all the lights red. It was pretty elaborate, especially for a few decades ago. (So none of those little fixtures on the lights, but they loved giving tours to us cub scouts where we could stand in a big soundproofed viewing area overlooking everything.) The town had no business being that advanced considering all the other ways it wasn't, but it was built around a Naval base, so I guess it was easy to get grants for crazy stuff like that even if the roads themselves needed more pothole repair.

[@DarthWoodrack]

The funniest thing to me about all of this is that roundabouts without any lights are just better in general. Traffic flows smoother, there are fewer accidents, and they are faster to get through.

[@Foxhood]

"But Sometimes!". Oof that can be applied to so many things. Nuclear Energy, Led lights, Wearing a mask during the Corona Virus Pandemic. I see it pretty much daily in electrical engineering where a few have opted to do things in a downright teeth grinding way. Like expecting me to hand-solder a complex circuit without thermal relief as they never use reliefs cause "but sometimes parasitics get in the way!!". Here in europe/netherlands every direction has its own set. So instead of a 4 light sign with the bottom signalling a left/right you may go into. We got 2*3. One for forward and one for going to say the right. Weirdly enough the emergency service system does not exist for us. We are just trained to make way and stop the moment an approaching Siren is heard. HOWEVER in the netherlands the Public transit (busses) do have a form of communication to the system to allow an intersection to respond to an approaching bus. having a special small traffic-light with a Dice like pattern and often prioritizing them over regular traffic.

[@napoleon950]

and don't forget that emergency services have this system in their vehicles that controls the lights at the intersection and gives these vehicles green, though it needs to be a real huge priority to activate this system.

[@IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

Nuclear energy (fission, at least) isn't really a good example of "but sometimes"ism. Even ignoring accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, they still produce radioactive waste that's going to be deadly for thousands of years. That's reason enough to want to find alternatives.

[@Foxhood]

@@IBeforeAExceptAfterK I'm talking in the context of nuclear energy in relation to fossil fuels as a interim stopgap. For as ideal alternatives would be, they ain't feasible at the scale required for a while yet. In that context i find it a pretty good example. At least with radioactive waste we know the risks and how to manage it effectively. Carbon: apparently not...

[@Penoatle]

@@Foxhood Did you use ain't? I like the cut of your jib.

[@ianrasmussen5380]

@@IBeforeAExceptAfterK The more dangerous the waste, the faster it decays away. And since it's just a rock sitting in a tube, if you shove it in a cave it's not going anywhere. Unlike all the CO2, SO2, and other stuff other power plants just throw into the air with gay abandon. Plus we can just take the used fuel, clean it up a bit, and burn it again. The goal with even newer reactors is that you wouldn't even have to reprocess it, you can just chuck it right back in. The whole "but waste" thing is a prime example of "but sometimes". Everything has waste, even solar and wind. You just need to make sure it doesn't end up in a river or a lake and you're good to go really. Unrelated, over 100k people have died from dam collapses, multiple multiple times greater than any other power source, and yet people aren't screaming about dams killing us all.

[@SeanBZA]

One reason they have not replaced them with LED is that they are old controllers, and thus also have old conflict monitors, which are there to monitor all the lights, so that no fault can cause the light to show go on cross directions at all, any fault that might do that will cause the conflict monitor to disconnect the controller and go to a flashing red all round as a safe indication of it being a 4 way stop. Old controllers are there till they run out of spare parts or the pile of others removed from service, and will only be replaced with new controllers when the old ones are out of stock completely. Newer controllers can have LED drive as standard, but are difficult to retrofit to the old controller, as they probably are from the 1980's, where the controller also had current sensing that allowed remote monitoring of lamp failure, allowing non reported lamp failures to be repaired without having to have a monthly check on all lamps by a crew, and also this showed the relays were working correctly, giving a backup for the conflict monitor. Had this happen here, where the last 2 Automotor mechanical controllers were replaced eventually with Siemens controllers, hope the old controllers were kept for the transport museum though. On some of the controllers they had to add "cheater" lamps in the controller case to provide enough load to make the controller and conflict monitor happy with LED loads, but as almost all the controllers also had lamp soft start built in the lamp life of 8k hours was more like 20k hours as they were either kept slightly powered by a low current or had soft start resistors to keep inrush current low. If the municipality wanted to save money they could also just get by replacing the red and green lights with LED, leaving the orange as incandescent, as the 5 second on time per cycle is really low power overall, but red and green are the major power draw. Plus the burst of heat in amber helps to keep the snow off, though here, where the last time snow fell was millions of years ago, extra heat is not exactly needed. Have seen LED clusters showing 2 colours on the same pole, then a 30 second flash as conflict tripped and made it all flash red, before cycling back again to normal for the rest of the timing cycle, and then rinse and repeat.

[@harleyme3163]

so easy.. put them in series, and a voltage detector before each light.. one goes out the rest behind it go out... easy to find the no power for you in the middle... easy convertion. just time consuming. Wired our entire house in dc lighting.... took about 3 days for this 3 bedroom lot

[@Giskard_Reventlov]

In Japan there are more simple solutions to the snow accumulation problem in the traffic lights than heated covers. Where I live we get an average of 380cm of snow an year (12ft), and double of that a little further from the city. Most traffic lights in intersections subject to wind and heavy snow have a simple plastic cover in a cone shape that makes impossible for snow to accumulate on it. Sometimes they just get rid of the visor completely and leave only the lights, which can still be seen when those are very bright LED's (which are dimmed at night). Also almost every traffic light and signage here is tilted so that the snow will not stick to it, specially important since although the snowfall is very heavy, the temperatures are rarely negative, so the snow is wet and sticks to every surface easily. Examples: otakei.otakuma.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/0_denzai_kyosan_06.jpg ilovedemio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ae85cb43a5e71351b0adcc8a9c6c8863_m.jpg

[@Skyhawk1998]

Those are honestly really darned smart solutions and so simple they seem obvious now.

[@mspenrice]

Well of course, Japan. You guys are living 15 years into the future after all.

[@evilkillerwhale7078]

He literally went over those in the video. And they were invented in the US, lol

[@Tarototh]

the cone visor was not in the video. The down tilt was not either.

[@ominous-omnipresent-they]

Japan has a really good infrastructure. Been to Japan once and I was quite amazed at how efficient it was.

[@dkilgu82]

“But people are stupid”. And you’ve summed up nearly every problem.

[@-northeastohiosirensandtra5641]

A local town near me just screwed LED bulbs into the incandescent sockets!Boom problem solved and no retrofit kits! Clean the lenses once and that’s it! And those retrofit kits are the exact same for railroad crossing lights!

[@bridgetthewench]

I'm fairly certain that's what my city's done, because I never see functional traffic lights during a power outage. I'm in Des Moines, IA, and after the derecho this summer, even the busiest intersections were 4-way stops, it took forever to get across town.

[@Cory182]

15:08 The LED replacement walk signs with the countdown timer don't actually need an upgraded controller because the logic is contained in the unit itself. In fact, there is no data sent to or from the controller at all. The sign is simply connected to two distinct AC power circuits, one for when the "walk" sign should be displayed and the other for when the "don't walk" sign should be displayed. The controller just strobes the second circuit on and off when it wants the hand to flash. The amount of time the hand should flash for a specific crosswalk is determined by a traffic engineer and configured in the controller. That time never changes, even if other parts of the light cycle are variable. The retrofit signs takes advantage of this by simply counting that time the first couple of cycles after being powered on and then uses the remembered time to start counting down every other time the hand starts to flash. It uses a super capacitor to keep the countdown clock powered between those strobes. ;)

[@EIGYRO]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the more instant, or sudden, operation of LEDs over incandescent bulbs. I find them much more eye-catching, (read attention-getting). Would be interesting to know if this leads to reduction in accidents.

[@jscott1000]

I find that very disturbing

[@1815dmitriy]

Wow, here in Russia we have almost all the incandescent traffic lights already replaced by the LED traffic lights long ago, and they work just fine in any weather, even the harshest snowfalls and blizzards - and, you know, here in Russia snow lasts approx. half a year. The LED traffic lights even don't need these covers against the sun because they are exeptionally bright/ And no cover means there are no places for snow to stuck on while bright light is still seen through 1-2 cm of snow, if snow actually manages to stick to the LED surface. And no additional heaters needed.

[@SETX_Sirens_and_Rail_02]

It's amazing that the intersection shown at 4:07 (and others in the area) appear to have been upgraded within months of this video being uploaded. I guess the city listened. They still won't upgrade their tornado siren system even though some of the units in their system are dying.

[@AveryatTwoohFive]

Are these newer units or older units?

[@misterspike]

Almost everything you said is perfectly sensible. But as someone with a couple of year's experience in the Human Factors of traffic and roadway design, I just want to point out that the problem with snow-occluded traffic lights can be quite different from other problems with the lights, because it is entirely possible that only one direction is experiencing the occlusion. Because of the shielding, drivers with the working lights will have no reason to expect the affected drivers to change their behaviour. While it is certainly true that the affected drivers should always know to come to complete stop and only proceed when it is safe to do so, there are several factors that can cause problems: 1. We frequently rely on cues from other vehicles to infer the status the lights without actually checking them. We do this automatically and unconsciously. If you are at the front of a row of cars waiting a red light, you can see that behaviour in action by accelerating before the light turns green. Many cars will lurch forward and then stop, because they inferred the change in the light from your behaviour, and only look to verify afterwards, if they have the spare attention to do so. When oncoming traffic accelerates, we often see the same thing in regions where there may be an advanced turn signal. Drivers will take their feet of the brakes before checking the status of the lights. 2. People in power failure situations, especially when this occurs during periods of heavy traffic, frequently don't follow the rules of treating the disabled lights as stop signs, but instead try to race forward with a clump of other vehicles, being willing to risk their lives and those of total strangers in the hopes of saving a few seconds. This annoys people in the other direction, sometimes provoking them into similarly aggressive and foolhardy behaviour. Humans are rarely rational. It is simple too energy inefficient and difficult to really be rational. We are instead emotional machines with a layer of "rationality" laid on top. And evolution has put more energy into making sure that our brains protect the illusion of rationality rather than actually being rational.

[@dhj-i8g]

Even the closed captions have parentheses on them... THAT'S attention to detail...

[@mikuenjoyerXD]

@@foureyedchick thats an awful a lot of assumptions taken as fact

[@sambradley9091]

@@foureyedchick You're jumping to conclusions faster than a frog

[@palibakufun]

@@sambradley9091 I'm terribly curious, considering the comment is gone

[@humanbeing4870]

@@palibakufun so am i

[@phoenixj5785]

@@palibakufun ditto

[@jaschabull2365]

I remember a video from a channel like Not Just Bikes, or something like that, which was proposing that crosswalks should be at the level of the sidewalk, instead of at the level of the street, so that they'd act as natural speedbumps, which would solve the issue of drivers travelling too fast to react to pedestrians, which could reduce instances of people being run over. A reply I'd heard to this was that this would make it very hard for elderly people in cars, as driving over speedbumps are hard on their joints. I wonder if this falls under a simple principal. I mean, maybe elderly drivers/passengers are more common than snowfall, but then again, there are places where snowfall is likely much more frequent than it is in Illinois, and where the "sometimes" is closer to "a lot".

In some parts of Europe (in Belgium, my country for instance) the "stop" sign is not even folded. The driving code just teaches us to consider : 1 : the cop in the middle of the crossroad 2 : if there is no cop, the traffic light 3 : if there is no traffic light (or if it is not working) the signs (which is not always a "stop" sign...) 4 : if there is no sign, priority to the right. That way, you alway have a solution presented to you.

[@EndOfLineTech]

Thats literally how things are supposed to work here (minus signs) but people are not required to take drivers ed so no one know

[@eliadbu]

this is clear but the main issue is people don't get that law does not automatically *give* them right of way. it instructs them how in certain situations the priority is to be *given* , but if the other driver did not *give* you the priority how it was instructed to, you can't proceed since you did not *receive* the right of way. a big part of the driver responsibility is to take notice if his right of way was *given* or not and if it was not *given* to him, he shall not precede forward.

[@ZappForThat]

This is an Incredibly important takeaway for anyone doing prototyping work. Thanks for making this

[@Sauspreme]

The most interesting thing from this video was discovering traffic lights are larger than a persons head. (not to say it wasn't an interest video, just that that was pretty mind blowing)

[@anonymousguy1188]

Ricky's Beets you should see how big the sun and the moon are.

[@TehComs]

about the size of a dinner plate or a giant squid's eye

[@flaetsbnort]

It blows my mind every time I remember the sun and the moon appear to be the exact size in the sky, because the sun is ~400 times larger than the moon but also happens to be ~400 times further away.

[@ObviouslyASMR]

I was surprised too, I live in the Netherlands and the traffic lights here are about the size of my stretched hand, they're a lot closer to the ground though

[@wiiztec]

Th sun is much much much larger than 400 times the size of the moon