The Traffic Light Stayed Red. Guess How The Drivers Reacted?
It finally happened.
Have you ever stood at a red light wondering what would happen if it never turned green? Especially on a busy street with unrelenting traffic?
Half past twelve I left my house. I needed to pick up a prescription and coffee. I drove north on a major three lane street. Soon I ran into gridlock. I momentarily veered between lanes to see what the problem was ahead. The distant traffic light was red. No sign of an accident. Of course it doesn’t mean there wasn’t one out of view. Perhaps a car was stuck?
Every few minutes I veered in between. Nothing. I started to watch the distant light to assess how much movement occurs per light cycle. And here is the strange thing. The light wasn’t turning green!
But how could that be?
Every few minutes the traffic moved a few meters. Movement, but no green light?
Sometimes when there is a problem the light flashes red. This indicates that you should treat the intersection like a four way stop. This is also the case if all lights are out. But the light was not flashing. It was simply on.
After another 15 minutes I moved far enough ahead to see the intersection. The light seemed to be cycling for the East/West traffic, but not for us, the…
