Some European Traffic Light Sequences Are Better Than America’s Because Of One Little Change

Recently, I was in Germany, and even though my trip was unfortunately cut short because of some stupid fever, I still managed to spend some time out on the streets among my automotive peers, and while there, I was reminded of something. A detail sort of something, but one of those small but important details that has the potential to change how we go about our lives. This was a detail about traffic lights, and how ones in many places in Europe – including Germany – work, I think, better than ones in America. I should explain.

What I’m talking about are the nearly-global standard three-light traffic signals, which are (almost everywhere), a red light up top, a yellow/amber one in the middle, and a green one below. These colors and their meanings are universally understood to be red=stop, yellow=caution, green=go. If this is news to anyone reading this, then allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your recent birth! You’re going to love it here on Earth! Be sure and try the scampi.

More specifically, I want to talk about the sequence of lights, because the straightforward way we tend to do it in America is not how it’s done everywhere else in the world. There’s some subtle but important variations, and I want to discuss two of them. First, let’s recap how American traffic lights work. Here’s the basic sequence:

I think most of us know this: on green/go, it eventually goes to yellow/caution, then red/stop. So, before green goes to red, you do get a bit of a warning.

[NOTE: I had this backwards before! Because I’m an idiot. But, it doesn’t change the overall point of the article, so please read on, and accept my addle-brained apology. Well, it changes some of it, I suppose. But not all of it. – JT]

Here’s some video evidence:

This generally works fine, but I think some European lights add some useful things. For example, here’s how the lights work in Germany (where I noticed this and started thinking about it all) and in the UK, and a number of other European countries:

…and, if you’d like video evidence, here you go:

…and, what the hell, here’s another, from Copenhagen, though you’ll have to watch a lot to see the full sequence:

[Ed note: I made a GIF – Pete]

Look, they even have a handy rhyming mnemonic to remember it!

Okay, the big thing here is that when the light is changing from red/stop to amber/caution, both the red and amber lights illuminate! Now, at first you may not see what the big deal is, because how is that any different, really, than the American single yellow light? It just shows that the red period is ending and the green/go period is about to start.

So, we have the transition from stop to go marked with red and amber lights, and the transition from go to stop marked with the single amber. This gives you a lot more information when you approach the light; in America, if you approach a green light, you do get the yellow warning before red, but I like that they have the red-and-amber warning as well. It’s just more information.

There’s even one more, even better sequence that seems to be used in Austria and Russia and a number of other countries: in this sequence, the green light blinks before going to amber, giving you even more information about when the mode will change. This seems really helpful, as you can be hauling ass to a green light and get even more warning that you should slow down – or if you’re close and daring enough, speed up.

Here it is in action – this video makes the amber/yellow light look a bit reddish, but it’s amber:

Why don’t we do it this way here in America? It would seem that light sequences that warn of the specific mode change coming next would be a good thing, right? Well, for whatever reason, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 2009 edition, states in Part 4, section 16:

“Except for warning beacons mounted on advance warning signs on the approach to a signalized location (see Section 2C.36), signal displays that are intended to provide a “pre-yellow warning” interval, such as flashing green signal indications, vehicular countdown displays, or other similar displays, shall not be used at a signalized location.”

This and other references to warning indications for transitions of states all seem to be banned from use, though it’s not entirely clear why. I suppose the thinking may be that giving a specific indicator that a change is coming could trigger reactionary behaviors in drivers, though I would argue those already happen, anyway, and at least with the extra signals, more information can be conveyed to the driver, which should help them make better decisions.

Is it just me, or do other Americans feel that European sequence makes more sense? European readers, what can you tell us about living with these traffic lights? Let’s discuss this, because I’m genuinely curious!

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