On Thu, 16 Nov 1995, Jay Tilton wrote:
> >You really have to scrunch down to see the light change.
> (I'll display my ignorance. Do stoplights in other countries use the same
> colors as in the US?)
Well, the british use the same colours as we do, but because tradition is
extremely important to the brits, their lights never change. Thus the
low windshield header of the MGB isn't a problem in its home country.
In Austria, birthplace of Sigmund Freud, the lights do change, but it
takes years of therapy.
The French have decided that it would unacceptably Americanize their
culture to use the same colors we do for traffic lights. In any case, the
primary colors of red, green, and yellow are offensive to the fashion
minded French. They use harmonizing shades of blue for stop, mauve for
go, and a very subtle lilac for caution.
Lights in Scotland are plaid. Other than that, I think most countries use
the same colors as we do. In preparation for the switchover to driving on
the right, planned for 1967, Sweden began in 1947 to install lights
backwards at all intersections. While this made a costly changeover
unnecessary in 67, the accident rate did show a spurt for the 20 years
preceding the change. A beneficial side effect was that this eliminated
most of the old right hand drive cars in a timely fashion. It is not
simply a coincidence that the 140 series Volvo was built to withstand
almost any collision.
You want frivolous, I can give you frivolous.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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