I had the same thought - but I think perhaps its because it's focussing on less-developed nations. Here in Thailand, they definitely don't have detection wirin

I had the same thought - but I think perhaps its because it's focussing on less-developed nations. Here in Thailand, they definitely don't have detection wiring in the road surface, and lights are definitely just on timers. The difference here is, a) a good chunk of people ignore red lights anyway, and b) at night or other apparently less busy periods, they just turn the traffic lights off and it's a free-for-all of chicken. Nothing that relies on the driver following an indicator (i.e. an in-car red light) will work here - most people would just put tape over it because it's annoying.