Traffic Light

Above: The Way to Heaven


Malaysia has some traffic lights which work in a ‘non-standard’ way. That is: the green light flashes a few times before the yellow light comes on.

Once upon a time, in the city of Ipoh, the abusive police officers issued tickets to motorists who crossed a junction when the yellow light was lit. The obedient Malaysians accepted this as a valid traffic offence. Or they got off lightly by bribing the men in uniform. To help motorists escape fine, the Public Works Department of Malaysia devised a new traffic light system with flashing green light.

In ‘standard’ system, green light means ‘go’, yellow light means ‘prepare to stop’, and red light means ‘stop’. In the non-standard system, however, flashing green light takes on the role of yellow light, while yellow light gives the same message as red light.

Actually, the Public Works Department can install two-set lights without the yellow lamp. That would lower the cost as well as reduce maintenance works. Isn’t that a brilliant idea?