OK, welcome to another blog entry. Today’s is going to be a little different. Normally I wouldn’t dedicate an entire blog to a topic so specific as this one (and one I have already discussed, check out my previous blogs), but I feel as if I need to cover it. As any other colour blind person can tell you, we get a lot of questions about traffic lights and driving. And now with the expansion of my social media operation (follow me on instagram) I still get lots and lots of questions about traffic lights.
So let's settle this once and for all: The Saga of the Colour Blind and Traffic Lights!
Can Colour Blind people see traffic lights?
If you are talking about the physical pole that sticks out of the ground and flashes lights every couple of seconds, then 'yes' - we can all see them clear as day. The colours the lights are flashing, however, are a different story. It does depend on your type of colour blindness, but if you are red/green colour blind (like me), then the colours can be quite tricky.
We all know that red means stop, green means go, and yellow means speed up and make the light, but what happens when you can’t see the colours? Well, let me tell you, when you're colour blind the actual colour is meaningless. I see the colour of the traffic lights as the red and yellow one being identical and the green one being white; but that's irrelevant, as all the lights flash in an order. Top light means stop, bottom light means go. I know in some places the lights can only flash one at a time, but in the UK when the middle light and top light flash at the same time, it means get ready to go.
Yep… that's the big secret. We just look for the order of the lights and go from there. It is actually quite easy to figure out and I imagine most colour blind people work this out when they are young.
What about tail lights?
Now you are asking the right questions! A couple of years ago I did a driving experience at Mercedes-Benz World, where I could go in a hatchback (a shame, I know) and drive around a course with an instructor. There came a point when we stopped and he asked me questions on the different colours of tail light, things like the brake light and indicators. Let me tell you, I got all those questions wrong, I didn’t even know they all had different colours! I just knew that the indicators were the ones that blinked! I think we can all see how this can go wrong. So if you ever have the misfortune of driving in front of me, just watch out.
Improvements on the traffic light
Since I am nearly at the age where I am able to drive, my parents express concerns about me driving at night. Not because it's dangerous and I could get kidnapped, but instead because at night I won’t be able to tell between the different lights. I supposed they have a point. If it was pitch black, then maybe I won’t be able to tell the positions of the lights. That being said, when doing research for this blog I stumbled across this traffic light that has different shapes for each of the lights so it's easier to tell when to stop and when to go.
In my case I don’t feel that this is so useful, but to those who have very severe cases of colour blindness this can be so beneficial as they can finally go out without any restrictions.
Anyway, I hope this clears things up more for all of you who had this question. Any of you colour blind readers out there who get this question (I know you will) refer them to this blog. Again please follow me on Facebook and my new Instagram. You will get updated on my blog posts. Thanks.
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