Horizontal vs. Vertical Traffic Lights

[ORLANDOJBBOY]

Verticle Clearance, and wind resistance if placed on a mast arm, there is less wind resistance when it is placed parallel to the arm as opposed to perpendicular.

[FromCityToRural]

Just got back from a quick trip to San Antonio where it seems most of their lights are that way. Personally, I hated it! It got very confusing - especially when you had several lanes and they had all sorts of arrows and everything on them. Vertical orientation keeps it neater and easier to read, imho.

I can see where you're coming from...Texas has a kind of confusing system with all the protected/unprotected left turns, though, and I think that's where your confusion is coming from.

[DancingQueen]

I still want to see the vertical traffic lights.

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[yankeeblue]

^ do you mean horizontal? Because vertical ones are everywhere.

I like the verts better. You can fit more arrow lights in less space, and it doesnt confuse me as much

[ChrisKok]

One possibility of the benefit of horizontal lights is the increased visibility for the driver. Horizonal lights allow drivers to pull closer to the intersection and still be able to see all lights rather than just the lowest ones.

[UrbanNZ]

I can't help you with the thinking behind horizontal vs vertical...but are you able to help me? I'm publishing a new magazine called Urban next month in New Zealand...is there a chance I can get a high-res copy of the Traffic Light Hell picture? I would need to know that the copyright on the shot is yours (happy to credit the pic and publish a web link if that's helpful) and I would need to know the location of the picture's subject.

Best wishes

UrbanNZ

Quick question.. would someone mind enlightening me as to why some areas of the country hang their traffic lights horizontal and some vertical?

Vertical:

Horizontal:

Funny:

Is it purly aesthetics? Or is there a purpose for this?

[danielmdifranco]

That stoplight thing is hilarious!

[vompy]

IMO, I would go with the vertical one. Just to add distinction and dynamic to street signs that are already horizontal.

[Avro]

Ok people, it's very simple. I'm a Canadian who was born in Montreal, Quebec and I can explain why Quebec uses the horizontal traffic lights. I've found some of your responses humourous saying that it's harder on colour blind people because the very reason the lights are in place is to aid people who are colour blind. Quebec horizontal traffic lights are set up as follows:

Red Square / Yellow Diamond / Green Circle / Red Square

Now as you can see, the double reds light at the same time so that there is no question what colour is lit when the light is red (Let's be honest, it's more important to see a red light than a green one...LOL!). The yellow is a diamond shape and the green is round. The differences in shape and the fact that the reds are on both ends of the light bar help not only R/G colour blind people but also people who are TOTALLY colour blind to see from a distance what the light is showing.

I couldn't get a good picture of a quebec traffic light but here's a similar one from New Brunswick with both its reds on.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...ight_Red_NB.jpg

Here's one from Halifax that shows you the diamond yellow, it's from wikipedia and its caption reads:

"A traffic signal in Halifax, Nova Scotia with specially-shaped lights to assist people with colour blindness."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1...ffic_signal.JPG

So the Quebec light is a cross between those two. It has the double red of the New Brunswick light combined with the Square, Diamond and Circle shapes of the Halifax light. When you consider this, it's a much better design because you can see what the light is from much farther away, colour blindness stops being a handicap and believe it or not, it's very easy to get accustomed to. So there you have it, the answer you've all been looking for!

[macappleteacher]

Almost all of the lights in Lincoln,NE are horizontal. No stories about color blind problems yet

[EmiteE]

I like Horizontal Traffic Lights, simply because it's more pedestrian friendly.(How is that? Just go out and stand on the corner, At the side walk, look you head up, could you see the red and yellow light clearly? Does it get block by the water fence? [the out forward steel similar to the peak of a cap] ) Remember when you are hurry to get somewhere (school, office, etc) and yet the pedestrian traffic lights is always slower then the car traffic light. In that particular moment you did like to be some sec faster, unless be ahead of famous American size slow walker.

Horizontal Light in South American, China, and so on

Vertical Traffic Light of American city

Further more when you driving, do you not have experience that under that strong blowing wind that the vertical traffic light actually swing?

[Icetera]

Further more when you driving, do you not have experience that under that strong blowing wind that the vertical traffic light actually swing?

I had always thought that the horizontal lights were due to wind as I always see them in the Southwest U.S. I noticed in the Tokyo region that all the lights were horizontal and wind is not a huge issue out there, so perhaps it is just simply that some regions developed their lights in different orientations than others without any true reasoning behind it?