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Traffic Light Turned Green in All Directions for 30 Years

by Terrence O'Brien on July 22, 2009 at 09:14 AM


Let's say that a new traffic light is installed at an intersection. On one side of the light is a car dealership, and the light in front of the dealership leads onto a highway. Now, let's say that when the light was programmed, a mistake was made -- and every time the light changes, it is actually green in all directions for seven seconds. How long do you think such a mistake would go unnoticed? A few days? A few months at most? How about 29 years? According to Japan's Daily Yomiuri, that's how long it took authorities in Fukushima, Japan to notice that a traffic light installed on National Route 49 was improperly programmed.

Amazingly, until June 19, the two-way green light had never caused an accident. The light's luck ran out, however, when a driver tried to exit the car dealership at the same time that another driver was following the green light onto the road, and the two cars collided.

Both drivers told local police they had a green light, which prompted an investigation. The error in programming was quickly realized, the traffic light replaced, and the drivers compensated by the police for the damages.

Things may have worked out in the end, but it's still a little disturbing that a traffic light with such a dangerous operational error has been in service longer than some of us here at Switched have been alive. Hey, at least no one died. [From: Daily Yomiuri Online]

Wacky Sign Hacks and Mistakes

    In 2008, a group of students at MIT pasted funny "DANGER" signs all around campus. Even the school's Visual Arts Center can't escape the ubiquitous Rickroll.

    Hackers, seemingly pushing a pro-green agenda, figured out how to change the messages displayed on signs at the University of Toronto in Canada.

    On first glance, this sign appears to offer up a normal set of bilingual directions. If you read Welsh, you may notice the problem -- the bottom translates to "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated." Looks like someone was slacking on the job, and the e-mail away message ended up pasted onto a sign.

    This construction sign on the MIT campus was hacked in 2007 to alert drivers first that the sign had been hacked. The sequence was followed with, "Mass ave bridge closed," "Sunday 04/22/07 6am-3pm," and "to appease Godzilla."

    This street sign in Reno City, Nevada was modded by the Glenn Group, an advertising company. While at first it doesn't seem to have anything to do with traffic, it may have helped combat road rage.

Tags: japan, top, traffic, traffic light, TrafficLight

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