Power Outage and Traffic Lights
With the high winds today, I came home from work to my neighborhood being without power. It wasn't long before I found what might be one of the causes, a large tree limb dangling on some wires. I knew the police and fire were busy, so being a helpful person I called it in directly to the power authority. Shortly there after I came across a hydro crew who seemed to be getting the call as I pulled up to inform them.
I decided to drive around to see if I could spot any more issues in the mean time. I came across many dark traffic signals, which you would expect. On the side streets, the traffic was generally behaving, treating the dark lights as a 4 way stop. I was pleased to see this. However on the main roads, traffic was moving along as if there wasn't any light there to begin with. This generally annoys me, and had I been a little more prepared I would of popped some flares out to remind people that they maybe should stop. But I didn't have my trusty traffic vest with me, and I wasn't about to go running around in traffic without one.
But this brings up a bit of an annoyance for me. I mean, sure, it might be easy to miss a dark traffic signal, if you are unfamiliar with the area. But most people on the roads tend to travel the same route every day, especially during morning rush hour. So you can't say that you didn't know there was a light there... Unless people are complete zombies - which in my experience, many drivers tend to be when you interrupt their normal driving routine.
As an aside, in 2002 while I was assisting with a large power outage at night, I suggested that York Region install yellow reflective borders around their traffic signal heads in order to make them more visible during a power outage. They did! And they are much more visible. Now this method is showing up all over the place. Woooo I suggested something which is improving safety and saving lives everywhere now!
I fully take credit for the idea of reflective rectangles bordering the traffic signals. :P
Anyhow, if there is a dark traffic light, no matter how busy the road is, you are legally supposed to treat it like a stop sign. Don't they teach this in school anymore? Maybe this is one of those strange Buffalo traditions, similar to the problem of people walking on the roads instead of the sidewalks. In any other city people doing that would be ticketed for J-Walking or wrecklessness, or endangerment. But here it is perfectly accepted by the police I guess.