In the UK a lot of taxi drivers seem to believe this, the superstition is reinforced whenever they happen to flash when the lights were about to change anyway.

In the UK a lot of taxi drivers seem to believe this, the superstition is reinforced whenever they happen to flash when the lights were about to change anyway. It's also a comfort thing, similar to a placebo button[0] - people want to believe that they have some control over the mundane parts of their lives. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_button http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_button