What Are the Advantages of Traffic Lights?

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Traffic lights allow maximum vehicle efficiency at intersections. They also provide a safe and easy to understand signal that tells motorists when it is safe for them to proceed through an intersection.

Without some sort of signal to tell them when it is safe to proceed through a traffic lights, motorists would be very confused, especially at busy intersections. There would also be a very large number of traffic accidents as the result of the confusion. Traffic lights are color coded, timed lights that tell motorists when they should stop, slow down or proceed through an intersection. The lights are usually colored red, yellow and green. Sometimes traffic lights also include arrow signals for turn lanes. The timing of the signals on traffic lights helps aid planners in obtaining maximum efficiency at busy intersections, which greatly reduces traffic problems. Since only one car can proceed at a time through a “Stop” sign, they are not ideal for busy intersections when it necessary for multiple cars to be given clearance at one time. It is also not necessary to know how to read to understand a traffic light. It is only necessary to know the significance of the different colored lights.