Happy Thanksgiving & Pictures from Halloween

Traffic lights in Los Angeles, as seen from a car

Green light

 Lights in Los Angeles seem to work differently from anywhere else in the world.  The green light is deceivingly simple.  Go, it says, go now.  The intersection is yours.  But maybe you want to read on before you do....

The Counter

Next to almost every light is a counter.  Rumor has it the counter was introduced for pedestrians, a probably mythical and certainly now extinct breed of humans that was vastly inferior to drivers.  Drivers have wheels where pedestrians apparently only had legs.  Go figure.

The counter, however, is great for drivers.  It counts down to the point at which the green light will disappear. This gives you, the driver, an accurate estimate of how much you should accelerate:  Numbers over ten, just speed up a bit; number 10 to 5, push down gently but firmly; numbers 4 and 0, come on now -- let the engines roar and floor it!  No speed is too fast on city streets and if you see any creatures that seem to be blocking your way, remember that those pedestrians are probably mythical anyway.   Don't let them get in the way of you making it past what is probably the slowest light in all of LA!

Yellow light

This light was especially created for people wanting to make a left turn.  In the city where traffic never stops, making a left turn is rather complicated.  Only one or two cars will get the privilege of turning left per full cycle of the lights.  The yellow light is the sign for the left turners to say their prayers, cross their fingers, call their loved ones one more time and attempt that daring maneuver of turning left while avoiding high speed drivers making it through the intersection at the last moment. To make it worse, the drivers in the cross street are revving their engines and getting their hands ready to honk hard if you dare to still be anywhere near the intersection once their lights turn green.  One - two - three, go now, or no -- stop, yes , go.  Oh I don't know.

Red light

The agreement is that this light means stop, we all know that.  But that is theory, you see, and how does it really work in practice?    What does stop really mean, and where should you stop?  Stopping is hard, especially if you were already driving fast.  Given that there is always ample time between this light turning red and the lights on the cross streets turning green, it is worth considering whether stopping at the next red light can be counted as an indirect way to obey this light, don't you think?   Furthermore, those drivers trying to make a left turn are sore losers and you have the right of way anyway, so if you drive fast enough it will be clear to them that they will have to wait until you have passed.    That makes it really quite safe and kind of legal, don't you think?

See you next time at an intersection in Los Angeles,
Dirk