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Description

In several cities in China, stoplights depict a countdown until the stoplight changes color. Given the traffic issues in Beijing in particular, i'm not sure what use this provides. In the US, knowing when the light would change would generally result in drivers speeding up to make the light, but in China I noticed that it provided information but did not really change the behavior of drivers who seemed content to sit in traffic.

Comments

Agree the US should adopt

Agree the US should adopt this.  Most major cities have count downs for pedestrians crossing the street, so for now I just look to the left or right to determine how long until the light turns green.

I gotta agree with Christina.

I gotta agree with Christina.  Why has the US not adopted countdowns for lights?  This seems like a no-brainer and could potentially cut down on future accidents.

Countdown on traffic lights

I think this would be a great idea to adopt in the US.  It would certainly reduce frustration on the roads because people would know how long they would have to wait at lights.  Similar to wait times on automated messages, the caller is more likely to accept the situation when they know how long the wait will be and can measure progress.  I can see why this would be especially useful in China with the large amounts of traffic.