Yellow Traffic Lights Could Soon Last Longer Worldwide

Here in Wichita Falls we often joke that we have the longest red lights and the shortest yellow lights in the world. While that may not be true it certainly does seem that way, but what's a frustrated driver to do?

One man in Beaverton, Oregon, Mats Jarlstrom, got upset when his wife got a ticket for running a red light 0.12 seconds after it changed from yellow to red. Zero point one two seconds. And it was an automated ticket from the red light camera. (Fortunately we don't have those in Wichita Falls.)

This was back in 2013 and when Mats Jarlstrom pleaded his case to the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying they not only told him to go away, they also fined him for not having a current engineer's license.

Well, a federal judge has overturned that fine and Mats is back at it trying to get the duration of the standard yellow light changed from its current 3.2 seconds to 4.5 seconds. The proposal is being considered by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, an organization that sets the official traffic light standards for 90 countries. Hopefully they'll see the light of his argument and we'll all get a couple more seconds of advance warning that the light is about to change to red. We should have a ruling by sometime in early 2020. You can read the whole story here.

Now, if we could just get the light to turn green a little sooner and stay green a little longer when we're trying to turn left onto Kemp as we leave Parker Square our lives would be perfect.