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Midwest Seeing Red Over 'Green' Traffic Lights
theodp writes "Many municipalities have switched to LED traffic signals because they burn brighter, last longer and use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs. But they also emit less heat, meaning they sometimes have trouble melting snow, causing problems across the Midwest. In Wisconsin, snow blanketed LED traffic lights in some towns, leading to crashes at intersections where drivers weren't sure whether to stop or go. The unintended consequences of the green technology were also identified as a 'contributing factor' in the death of an Illinois woman hit by a driver who blamed the snow-covered energy-efficient signal for giving the appearance of a normal green light instead of a left-turn signal. 'We can remove the snow with heat, but the cost of doing that in terms of energy use has not brought any enthusiasm from cities and states that buy these signals,' said the CEO of an LED traffic-signal manufacturer. 'They'd like to be able to take away this issue, but they don't want to spend the money and lose the savings.' In the meantime, some towns are addressing sporadic problems by dispatching crews to remove snow or ice from signals using poles, brooms, and heating devices." We were discussing these recently at the office — several folks in the building are red/green color blind and different street lights are differently distinguishable.
Eat my shorts slashdot !!
Being stupid is a right in the US of A.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
is dying. Fact: *BSD is dead. llok at your soft, before playing to around return it what they think is for successful Baby take my includes where you 'Yes' to any
The greenie-weenies just hope this further bit of evidence of their fecklessness will go away if it's ignored and the adults understand no further comment is necessary.
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
Amazing, the real world isn't like the lab. And, surprise, all of the theoretical results expected aren't going to be achieved in the real world. This is a great example of theory meeting the real world and should make us pause and reduce our expectations for benefits of going green. Yes, it is a good idea to reduce our energy consumption and carbon footprint. Bu no, we won't get the results in terms of energy savings, reduced emissions and job creation that the ardent proponents are telling us will be achieved and it will take longer than expected. Still worth doing, but don't believe the press releases and promises.
How would so called "nongreen" traffic lights help colorblind people versus "green" traffic lights which use exactly the same color scheme? Open mouth and insert cock you stupid son of a bitch.
I was once kiolled by a drunk driver that was having a lot of booze and he told me that he was not quite impaired by i believed him anyway and knew better but whent in his car with him and then he started driving everywhere like a crazy man ( like ozzy osborn) but was really more impaired than i originally thought in the first place and well he ended up driving real fast and their were some people flashing their lights at him but that made him only want to speed up and i told him to slow down but he didnt like me critizicng his type of driving and therefore sped up a little more and then we encountered this other drunk driver or driver on some sorts of drugs and he started weaving in front of us and we lost him but later came back in contact with him later on in the night when he hit us at an intersection after everyone in the town had sobered up and killed me resulting in the picture above which just goes to show that not every traffic fatality involves alcohol but in reality it can involve a lot of factors such as safety and precautions that must be met like treating trarffic lights like four way stops when there is snow going everywhere as is in the case with the midwest at this point with their led's lights and all but I do not think I will be driving this year so for me this is a non issue and for you too it shoudl also be a non issue as well.
At intersections that are not brightly lit by street lighting, the LED traffic signals are completely blinding to drivers at night. I actually find myself closing my eyes because of the glare so that my eyes won't have to readjust for the pitch black road on the other side of the light.
I guess it won't be a problem if the sucker is covered by snow and ice.
Just another stupid greenie wacko thing to piss us off and get us killed.
Highs in the 20's F in Nashville, Tennessee in a few days (home of Al Gore). Average high temp: 46F
Eat me, you Global Warming morons.
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