Re: [FWP] Traffic Signals Should be Rationalized

[Daniel Chetlin <daniel@chetlin.com>]

As I see it, there are several problems with this proposal:

a) This is a major shift in paradigm; people have been used to the red,
yellow, and green for over 80 years, and trains have been using this system
for even longer. Surely you don't wish to repeat the fiasco witnessed in New
York City from 1916-1924 when red meant "all stop", amber meant "east-west
stop, north-south go", and green meant "north-south stop, east-west go"? This
is the sort of total change in interface that will make people not want to use
automobiles in corporate settings.

b) It's not general enough. First of all, there are many other sets of three
colors that would serve just as well as blue, teal, and orange. If you're
going to make a change, why marry us to an arbitrary choice for the next 80
years? Consider a man who is color-blind to blue. He has been driving happily
for his entire life; now, with this change, he will be unable to safely
navigate the streets. Whereas those who are color-blind to red or yellow have
always been unable to drive and might not be able to make the adjustment.
Secondly, you failed to consider the other traffic control devices which are
innately linked with the traffic signal. Whither the red stop sign? Will you
make it blue as well? You may as well change it from an octagon to a
dodecahedron. And the yellow caution signs with the silhouettes of deer and
men on tractors and women holding children's hands? The man on the tractor
doesn't want to be on a teal sign.

c) You can do this today by simply wearing tinted glasses; in fact, you can
make it more general and configurable that way. Those who wish to see blue,
teal, and orange can do so; those who are satisfied with red, yellow, and
green can stick with the defaults.

On the whole, I guess I just don't understand the incentive to make this
change.

-dlc

-- 
Despite the grand plans
of community rewrite
we're still not truck-proof


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