Traffic lights are part of our everyday life, you cannot miss them. Road users and pedestrians alike see and obey a traffic light even though there is no physical barrier to them, everyone is taught the meaning of the colours alone and see and behave accordingly to them.
Traffic light systems are well designed and influence our everyday lives so easily that we don’t even think about it. Technology has made this seamless for us; to a user, the system just works. Behind the scenes of course is a bit more technical. Synchronized systems, sensors, camera’s all need to be built in to ensure that all cross traffic, pedestrian buttons, straight ahead, right turns are all in sync and are not all green at the same time – this would cause several very serious collisions!
Without a traffic management system in place, there would be no systemized flow to the traffic. They also ensure all users whether walking, riding a bike or driving pay full attention to the environment around them. Roads can be very dangerous places with so many vehicles and people all trying to use them, traffic light systems ensure the safety of all users, making them an essential part of our everyday lives.
Traffic lights influence us in other aspects of our everyday lives too, not just on using roads. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic lights have been influencing us more and more in keeping a steady flow of people throughout an area and not causing over-crowding. One such example is most supermarkets had a red/green traffic light outside their shop, if on red, no further people could enter. Again, there were no physical barriers in place, but people obeyed the colours and their meaning, and again, waited until green was shown before entering.
See more here: https://beaconlamps.com/products/traffic-management-signals/traffic-lights/