Wed 21 Jan 2009
Well today some people got sick and tired of waiting too much in traffic jams. As the matter of fact, the city authorities now strike the imagination by exposing crazy and unique traffic lights in the streets.
Let’s have a look at them.
1) Here’s the unusual smiley traffic light. Waiting so long? Smile and have a nice day! You can see and smile at the lights in the streets of Cambridge.
2) The Germans have always been known as the lovers of fairy fair sex. The next traffic lights prove this opinion. The traffic lights are located in Dresden, Germany.
3) So for those who think positive Berlin’s authorities, Germany, installed the extra-positive traffic lights. So “love†or “being a star�
4) Probably you have seen Pisa’s tower. And observing the next curved traffic lights in Rome one can conclude: the Italians are mad about such bizarre forms.
5) The Australian old traffic lights were extremely popular. Everyone can understand why it is true. You know how much time you have to wait! These comfortable lights were used till the seventies. But unfortunately now you can see them in Australian museum…
Do you think the idea of intuitive LED died? You guessed wrong. Now you can see the new modernized traffic lights in the streets of Toronto as well as in the streets of Japan.
6) Sometimes Germany street traffic lights try to explain how to cross the street. But the lay figure is dressed in national hat. That’s amusing!
7) Well this is the really crazy traffic light indeed. It’s named a 14 “lanterns” and you can find them in the Central Business District in Melbourne, Australia.
But if you discover these traffic lights in your car try not to grow crazy for the quantity of lights can drive you mad!
8) The Germans aren’t afraid of “13†magic. So they simplified the Australian traffic lights and shortened the quantity of lights from 14 to 13.
9) This is the typical Copenhagen Bike Traffic Light. It shows “ Red /yellow /green/ bikeâ€
10) So here is once more special cyclist traffic lights now… came from Sweden.
11) Amsterdam likes the cyclists more than car drivers. Maybe that’s why its authorities set the next traffic lights.
12) Have a nice day! Rasta is cool. Some bizarre people set these traffic lights near their crossroads.
13) If you have good eyesight maybe then you can see what the next tower-traffic-lights show. If you want to check this, visit Berlin.
14) How do you like the next “transferring†traffic lights? Actually the road officers are mad about such an idea because they can take the traffic lights anywhere and prove you are moving when the lights are red.
15) And some old traffic lights used to be green as well as used to teach you reading. The problem of such out-of date traffic lights is that while reading all the letters above your head you forget about true traffic in the street.
16) It’s a memorial to heavy traffic near trees and houses located in London. How do you find an idea of cactus-like traffic lights? Many people mistake this sculpture for a true traffic light cluster!
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January 22nd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
The “dial” lights are listed both as Australian (until the 70′s) and then later as Swedish… which is it?
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Loved your post! It’s amazing how some of the designs make waiting at a light pleasurable!
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
#13 is a replica of Berlin´s first traffic light from 1924. (:
Regards from Berlin
Thomas
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Awesome. Wish we had some more interesting street lights here in Indy.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 pm
No. 2 are lights from eastern Germany, when Germany was still divided in two parts. They were went to changed, but the people loved them so they are still there until they break.
Rockin’ regards,
Marco
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:05 am
I have walked past the last one several times. The lights constantly change. The thing is, the statue is in the middle of a roundabout so traffic approaching see it and have a coronary!
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:26 am
“The Germans have always been known as the lovers of fairy sex.”
…what?
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:13 am
I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life and we do NOT have those LED lights. I don’t know where this person is getting their information.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:16 am
I’m fairly certain that it could be both, very rarely are things ever developed in a vacuum. I wouldn’t be surprised if a person in one of the countries saw it and thought “I like that idea, lets do it!”.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:48 am
And most of the German stoplights (with the exception of the 13 one) aren’t stoplights but they’re for when people should walk/not walk
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Don’t quote me on this, but if I recall they were originally found in quite a few places, but were phased out. They were last in Australia in the 70′s, but there is a group or movement or something in Sweden to bring them back. But again, that could be totally wrong, its half remembered anecdotal stories.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Indeed, you are right. The picture of sweden traffic lighs was incorrect. I apologize for my mistake. I’ve just attached correct image.
January 24th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Bullshit. The dial traffic signals were NEVER used in Australia. And the 14 signal lights in La Trobe Street? Not there, dude. I live in Melbourne, believe me! This is crap. Utter crap.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
“The Germans have always been known as the lovers of fairy sex. The next traffic lights prove this opinion. The traffic lights are located in Dresden, Germany.”
I don’t see the relation between fairy sex and a little girl on a streetlight…
January 24th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
The Germans have always been known as the lovers of fairy sex. The next traffic lights prove this opinion. The traffic lights are located in Dresden, Germany.
I don’t see the relation between fairy sex and a little girl on a streetlight…
January 25th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Toronto doesn’t have weird lights like that. I’d even guess that the picture is not even a traffic light at all… maybe just a sign in a Japanese store?
January 25th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
The “timed” lights in Japan may be real, but the ones in Toronto are nothing like that. There’s an extra light on the bottom of the stack which counts down the number of seconds until the light turns yellow. It’s supposed to be for pedestrians to gauge if they have time to cross, but drivers find them useful too, as they approach the light.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:11 am
The Amsterdam ‘bike’ traffic lights are mounted underneath the regular (high-up) trafficlights. On eye level for bikers. That way, bikers don’t have to crane their necks to see the normal lights.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Taiwan has timed traffic lights too.
The best thing though is that the ‘green man’ light for pedestrians is animated. Until it gets to ten the man is walking. Once it starts counting from ten, he runs for it!
January 30th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Perhaps the famed “upside down” light should be included:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill
January 30th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
The Australian “Dial” Lights did indeed exist. They were decommissioned because drivers, seeing the amount of time left on yellow/green, would rush the lights.
I last saw these in the 80′s around Elsternwick, but they were just for decoration by then.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Somebody’s gonna get killed.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
@ Aussie Expert:
Either you’re blind or don’t live in Melbourne at all. The lights are on Swanston street heading into the city when you cross La Trobe street. On the corner of the Library. Opposite Melbourne Central and RMIT.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
“Actually the road officers are mad about such an idea because they can take the traffic lights anywhere and prove you are moving when the lights are red.”
What are you talking about those lights are to control traffic when there are temporary road works going on, not for police to tow around and catch people running red lights…!
October 19th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I remember seeing those Australian “dial” traffic lights in operation in Melbourne around late 1950s / early 1960s. I recall a set on Bridge Road in Richmond (at Church Street, if I recall correctly), and another set at Chelsea railway station.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Another comment — That set of 14 lanterns on the corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets in the Melbourne CBD isn’t as complicated as it looks. The triplet of lights second from the left gives general directions; there are triplets specifically for left and right turns; and there are stop and go lights specifically for bicycles. That’s all self-explanatory and clear in intent.
The triplet of lights second from the right (with the white arrow) is for trams. The red and amber lights in that triplet will have a ‘T’ instead of an arrow — so it will be quite clear that they don’t apply to general traffic. A general go direction specifically for trams is given by a white ‘T’ (there is no green ‘T’). Similar rules apply to ‘B’ signals for buses.