An interesting corollary: removing traffic lights in busy intersections might reduce accidents and improve traffic flow. Some small pilot studies have been car

An interesting corollary: removing traffic lights in busy intersections might reduce accidents and improve traffic flow. Some small pilot studies have been carried out in Europe, often with successful results. Basically, the idea is that we become more alert when a situation requires us to be. An intersection that appears riskier forces us to give it more conscious and subconscious attention. http://knowledge.allianz.com/mobility/transportation_safety/?1841/risker-streets-reduce-accidents http://knowledge.allianz.com/mobility/transportation_safety/... Anecdotally, I can certainly testify to the effects of traffic lights on traffic. I grew up and worked for a lot of my life in LA, a city as famous for its traffic as for its movies and weather. There are certain parts of the city in which every damned block has a traffic light, and blocks are very short in the denser areas. These areas are traffic hellholes. Beverly Hills in rush hour would have made a cameo appearance in Dante's Inferno, had he been around to experience it.