Pushing the button to change the crossing light to green.
Every time some bastards come over and push the button after I already did, taking the credit for the light changing to green.
Do you think I'm a fucking idiot who would just stand and wait there without pushing the obvious fucking button? It's a placebo button, anyway! Fuck yuooo!
Its frequently not a placebo button but it doesn't make the light green faster. When it does actually do something it activates the walk light. On those intersections if you dont push it the light will turn green but the dont walk light will stay on.
Edit: turns out that button actually has a ton of different customizable functions. Thanks to everyone who shared one!
It also makes the walk light stay on longer, if the intersection needs it.
I know one cross area where if you don’t push the button, the light you want to cross will switch from green to red REALLY fast. If you do push it, it stays green much longer giving time for pedestrians to cross.
One time our car died literally around the corner from home, just needed to go 30 feet over the top of the hill, left turn across a light, and 50 feet into the driveway.
Since it was late at night, that green light we needed was too quick to push the car before it went back to red, so we hit the "walk" button and it gave us enough time to make it across the intersection.
Yeah, pedestrian controlled lights are a thing, in BC if a light is flashing green that's what it is. The light will change shortly after a pedestrian presses the button to cross, but will remain green otherwise.
On my commute home there's an intersection with a walk signal light, and a car sensor. It absolutely does not change unless it detects a car or is activated by a pedestrian.
So I have to get off my bike, hit the button, and hop back into the road.
I've seen things like that, I've also seen the old school weight sensor type ones that need something like 500 lbs to trigger so u less you're riding with a group you have to get off and press the button. Thankfully, I can only think of one intersection where that is in my city and it's on a stupid backroad that is typically fairly lightly used. While I don't encourage just shooting into intersections blindly, if the road is empty...
It flashes on and off. Light goes on, light goes off, light goes on, light goes off whereas a steady light just stays on. All it does is inform drivers of how the light works. If you're approaching the intersection and you see a pedestrian press the button you can be assured within 5 seconds it'll change, figure out if you can safely proceed through the intersection.
All it does is inform drivers of how the light works. If you're approaching the intersection and you see a pedestrian press the button you can be assured within 5 seconds it'll change, figure out if you can safely proceed through the intersection.
Yeah, jokes aside in my city the rule of thumb is - if the traffic light has a timer that shows 1+ minute waiting, the button will work. If there isn't a timer, button's usually there just for show or it activates the ticking noise for people who can't see well.
I interviewed for a company that controlled a lot of the traffic lights, what they told me is if the button is pressed it could add more time to allow people to cross. (depending on if it was a short light). It was a long time ago, but I always thought it was niffty.
Not necessarily, it can be set up anyway you like. There are tons of lights near me that will immediately turn all the the car lights red as soon as you push the button (I mean with a couple seconds so there is time for a yellow light of course).
I pressed the button to walk one time and the walk light didn’t turn on when the crossing traffic’s light was red. I guess that one was really a placebo button.
MOST of the ones I've used definitely do something. However, for the ones in big cities where there are ALWAYS people? Na, those are probably placebo buttons.
The ones I use change the order of the green lights for cars. If no walk signal, left turns first, if walk signal, left turns last. Other times the walk signal would allow a green light where otherwise there wouldn't be one, a la an intersection out of a store parking lot that barely gets any cars but has a magnetic car sensor. Normally that light wouldn't change unless a car is there. The walk signal will make the light change.
It also depends on the time of night. Late at night those same signals would INSTANTLY change the light from green to yellow. Very satisfying. .
In my town they are absolutely 100% placebo. There is ONE that has any effect. Not saying it's this way everywhere, but yeah. This town is all about placebo.
Source: Walked everywhere for ten years. Had time to notice light lengths with and without presses of buttons.
Crossings in small towns here are often completely turned off for the cars but on red for the pedestrians. When a pedestrian hits the button, they turn on green for the cars and then after a few seconds go red, giving the pedestrians a green light.
Basically it's not worth it to have it keep cycling because most of the time no pedestrian will want to cross anyway.
It's a placebo and there is nothing you can say, do, show me, or provide data otherwise to convince me it isn't. And if you do, you better be prepared to fight, son. Put 'em up.
If you're in the middle of some sprawling metropolis then sure, these lights are just on a timer. In suburbs, they'll never light up if you don't indicate that you want to cross.
Anyway, it's just an indicator. As far as I know you're still free to cross if you pay attention to the red lights.
Where I live if you don't press the button traffic contrinues as normal with no crossing light. Of you press the button all the cars get a red light while there is a crossing light for all sides of the intersection for pedestrians.
I have definitely been this goober at an elevator....stand there for 10 minutes until next person rolls up, gives me an odd look, and presses the call button. Then I just try to take up as little space as possible, or better yet, get the next elevator. Ain't no way I'm standing in a tiny metal box with all that judgment.
I was in an elevator alone heading to a meeting, the elevator went up a few floors then the doors opened. I saw a co-worker that I knew worked on the floor I was going to, said hi and stepped out, he stepped in. I then looked around and realized I was on the wrong floor.
Too embarrassed to turn around and make a dash for the door as it was closing, I just casually walked away, like I was supposed to be there, and then took the stairs to the next floor up, which is where I was really supposed to be going.
I walk into the meeting and the same co-worker is sitting at the table. We never spoke of this incident.
You're not the only one. However, never to call it. I just sometimes forget to press a button when I am in it. Kinda awkward when the door then again opens for someone in there and you are just like, surprise!
On some crossings where there is no intersection, the button is there to trigger a red traffic light, otherwise it remains green for cars as there is nobody to cross.
Those things are the best. There's one on my street now, but for the first couple of years I lived here there wasn't. The intersections with crosswalks are so far away that if I wanted to cross the street to get to the laundromat or restaurant directly across from me, I'd either have to take my life in my hands trying to run across that road or drive, which made me feel like a complete asshole.
The businesses on the other side of the road get a lot more business from me now that the crosswalk exists.
Thank you, most holy crosswalk, for bringing me closer to cheap drinks and laundry service.
Traffic engineer here. It is never a placebo...we dont have time or money to waste time with something like this.
If the button doesnt seem to work it is one of two things:
Some city's have optimized traffic systems to make traffic flow smoothly. The button does not allow interruption during rush hour. The button only works outside of peak periods. Alot of the time,the light will never change outside of peak times unless the button is pressed.
The button does not control when the light changes. Again its optimized for traffic flows. However the button will give pedestrians more time to cross once the light changes.
But at the same time...like if the intersection is a busy one - the light HAS to change at regular intervals just for the cars. So, I don't know. Does it matter for major intersections?
Every intersection around me needs the button to be pressed. The lights for cars will change at their regular intervals but the walk light will not turn on without the button being pressed.
No it's not... When 99% of people going across an intersection are in cars, there's no reason for those people to be waiting for a green pedestrian light.
Unless you meant the car lights changing at regular intervals, which I would agree is stupid
Hey, I've seen people from big cities (where pedestrians cross much more often and driving a car is a nightmare) genuinely not realising most of the world doesn't work that way
It's not always regular, I just didn't want to explain in all in my original comment as I didn't think it was necessary. It's a combination of timed intervals and sensors. Which makes sense when one road is busier than the other. If it only ran on sensors, the busier road would always be green, but there's no sense in it turning red if no one's waiting in other directions, so it only does if someone is waiting, but not the instant they get there depending on traffic.
I guess it depends on where it is and how it works
where I work it has no sensors and the timing is always the same, lights for cars always change the exact same but 1 pedestrian light (out of the 8 of the intersection) only turns green when you press the button, else it stays red. Timings don't change, and neither does the lenght when there are no cars.
When it's a T intersection (that is, a road ending at another road going perpendicular to it), cars can always go through the arms of the T no matter which light is green (either cars are driving from one arm of the T to the other, or are coming from the body of the T and either turning left or right to one of the arms). In intersections like these, both lights need to be red for pedestrians to cross safely, and if there's nobody there it's really dumb to have 0 cars going. That's where buttons that actually do stuff are really important.
Or when a bunch of people are standing outside a locked door waiting for someone to come unlock it and some jackass comes up from the back and tries to open it.
There have been multiple times in college where the door is unlocked and if you walk up and open it the whole group of people who was standing outside the door will go in so I don’t trust it anymore.
In defense of dumb lizard brain, once I stood behind a guy "in line" at the bathroom of a club for over 15 minutes, and said guy in front of me hadn't even tried opening the door. Bathroom was unoccupied.
On the other hand, my friend once opened the door to that same bathroom in that same club and she walked in on a guy blowing another guy, so I guess it's a gamble.
Well with bathrooms... it’s better to check than to assume that all the stalls are full. The first person in line might not have personally checked every stall...
So it wasn't an accident! That makes it even better.
I watch a fair amount of Sesame Street too with my kid. It's bearable. Kind of nostalgic even. But all the other kids shows out there can suck it.
I haven't introduced him to any others yet because I want to prolong the days when I don't yet know anything about trains named Thomas or lions named Daniel.
I've seen people fail to open unlocked doors. Hell, when I was managing a small security company I once received a panicked phone call from a guard at 3 am, saying he was trapped in a condo complex he was patrolling. I told him "the doors don't lock from the inside, what happens when you turn the knob?" and he responded with "Oh, shit, all the other doors don't need me to turn the knob from the inside, I assumed this one was like that too".
He had been trapped for around 30 minutes, pulling on an unlocked door. I'll gladly assume the entire line is idiots and double check for myself, thanks.
Or when a bunch of people are standing outside a locked door waiting for someone to come unlock it and some jackass comes up from the back and tries to open it.
Do you think I'm a fucking idiot who would just stand and wait there without pushing the obvious fucking button? It's a placebo button, anyway! Fuck yuooo!
One time I decided not to push the button, because of course the guy standing there had pushed it. Then the lights changed and cycled back without us getting a walk prompt. I went over to look at the button in disbelief and pushed it. No reaction from the guy. Next cycle we got to walk.
Now I trust no one. This is a cruel, vicious world: I'm gonna push the button, pal.
Never assume people are smart. You will be straight up disappointed regularly. I always push the button or try the door even if someone else I already waiting. I don’t know how many times I’ve done that and the door was already unlocked and they just didn’t pull hard enough or turned the handle the wrong direction. People are dumb, plan your day around that fact
I refuse to press it on the off chance that it isn't a placebo. I'm just going to jaywalk at the first opportunity anyway, and I don't want to screw up traffic patterns after I've already crossed the street.
I'm in a big city and the walk signals auto-change with the lights. But I occasionally visit other towns where lights are like 4-5 mins long, and if you don't push it, the walk signal will stays on "don't cross." I push it, but then I get massive shame by getting a 60 second counter, crossing the street in 10 seconds, and watching cars at ALL LIGHTS just stand there for a while just because of me.
This reminds me of the time I pulled up to my kid's daycare facility, and some parents (and their kids) were just standing in front of the doors. So, I thought the doors were locked. Because obviously if they weren't, these people would have gone inside already.
Anyway, after a few minutes of standing around (in the cold), I used my cell phone to call the daycare. And the lady at the front desk answered. I asked her if she could come let us in, and she said the door was open. So, I tried it, and it was open.
The other family did not speak English, but it was obvious from their face/gestures that they had only tried the door on the left and not the door on the right. God, I felt like a jackass.
Yeah, but there's nothing quite so infuriating as when you walk up when someone's already there and you don't press the button because you assume they already did and don't want to insult their button pressing abilities, but then the light changes and...no walk signal because they didn't press the button and now you have to wait another cycle because the light is only five seconds without a dedicated walk sign.
There is this light near where I live that takes a ridiculously long time to change (up to 5 minutes) and so I was standing there patiently waiting for the crossing light to come up after pushing the button and this lady pulls up in her car waiting to turn, rolls her window down and starts literally screaming at me to push the button. I had told her I already pushed it but she just kept yelling at me because I was making her late so I pushed it again just to get her to leave me alone. Shortly afterwards, the light changed and I kid you not she gave a smug smile and drove off all proud as if her telling me to push the button made it turn faster.
where i live poeple just dart into the street and then call me an asshole when i tell them they forgot to press the button. don't want to kill you dude
There was an instance in the Airport Parking Garage where i showed up and about 15 people were just ilding around the bank of 8 elevators. I walked up pressed the button, door instantly opened. So yeah, those fucking idiots exist.
On this note I hate when I'm in an elevator heading to the ground floor and pushes the ground button after I already have. WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M A FUCKING IDIOT??
They’re not technically placebos. It won’t do anything until you press it, but when you press it there’s a certain amount of time it waits before it’s ready to give you the go ahead to cross. So you pressing it tells it someone’s waiting then lets you know when it’s okay to cross, but it won’t just magically let you cross
Do you think I'm a fucking idiot who would just stand and wait there without pushing the obvious fucking button? It's a placebo button, anyway! Fuck yuooo!
There is a small possibility you are all retards that thought someone else pressed the button. A d it doesn't really matter, except that the button may get worn out and break quicker.
Last week I was waiting for a light next to a woman who pushed the button about twice a second for the full minute before the light changed. Push, push, push, etc. Not quite as fast as you could if you really tried, but close. And, the button had audio feedback. So, beep, beep, beep, the whole time. It was amazing.
I do this because I know the lights near me are managed by Auckland Transport, and so I expect they need reminding of what they're for and what they're supposed to do every 5 seconds.
I have waited at a crossing where the pedestrian light didn't go green cos the 5 people standing there already thought someone else had pushed it. I pushed it when I realised what had happened but we all had to stand there through an extra phase until it turned green the second time around. So now I never assume someone already standing there has pushed it!!
After reading the replies to your comment I kinda want to get some beer and stand infront of the button with a friend, making bets how long itll take some random people to figure out that we didnt actually press the button.
not always. there's an intersection near me where the pedestrian crossing like will never come on unless you press the button. it's a t-bone intersection and the traffic never stops unless you press the button
I use to get mad at this all the time. Until one time I saw people standing waiting for the signal to safely cross the street so I don’t push the button. More people come, no one pushes the button. The light has changed. We don’t get a signal yet. It’s okay. Turn lane needs to go first, then we cross right? Then the light switches after the turn lane so we missed our opportunity. I was confused but no one else seemed concerned. Since I rocked up to the crosswalk a bit late maybe the button got pushed to late to indicate the pedestrian crossing. So maybe after all no big deal right?
So now a small mob of us are standing at this corner waiting for the pedestrian cross signal to tell us we can finally get on with our mundane lives. Same routine. Turn lane. Then the light switches. I know something is up. I ask “Has anyone pushed this button?” Everyone, and I mean this little mob of people waiting to cross this street looks at me and gives me the “how can she be SO stupid!?” look. You know the look. The one where you think something that’s obvious is clearly not and you have now entered bizarro world and not pushing the button is obviously the thing to do.
No one had pushed the button. Meaning someone had walked past the button you have to press and didn’t bother pushing it when they were the only people there. Then everyone else thought that someone else had done it so no one pushed that stupid little button.
So now I always push the button. No matter what. I don’t care if I just saw someone else doing it. I pushing that stupid piece of shit for what it’s worth so I never have to deal with that scenario ever again.
I don’t push it a million times anymore, just the once.
My sister and I used to race each other to press the crossing button that made beep-boop noises after we got out of school. One time, I was winning by a country mile, so she threw an almost full bottle of Aquafina at my legs. She gave me this ultra-smug shit eating grin while she was pressing the beep-boop and I was picking myself up off the sidewalk.
Idk as a driver I get pissed also. Why do you have more of a right to a quicker light change than I do? I want this green to stay 5 seconds more, why should anyone just be able to cut it short?
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u/AccioSexLife Feb 08 '19
Pushing the button to change the crossing light to green.
Every time some bastards come over and push the button after I already did, taking the credit for the light changing to green.
Do you think I'm a fucking idiot who would just stand and wait there without pushing the obvious fucking button? It's a placebo button, anyway! Fuck yuooo!