Only started noticing this today. In every city I’ve ever lived in (east and west coast US), pedestrian walk signals have this triangular pattern grate over the actual lights that show the walk or wait imagery. Considering the panels use lights that are made to those actual shapes and not a pixelated display, what’s the purpose of the grate?
In: 4
The grate is there to restrict the angle at which they can be seen. You will sometimes see similar grates on traffic lights when they are close enough such that there might be confusion about which lights are supposed to signal drivers in specific places.
Walk signals are not often placed in such a way that pedestrians would be confused about which signal is for them, but they serve another purpose in that they keep drivers from seeing the signals. Walk signals often will have a countdown before they change to a “do not walk” signal, and some drivers waiting at the light may use this to predict when the traffic lights will change. Drivers thinking they know when the light will turn green may “jump the gun” and begin to go before it actually flips, and this can bring them into conflict with those drivers who blow through lights moments after they turn red. Both sets of drivers bleeding into the same buffer period can result in accidents.
Latest Answers