2024-02-18 06:02:36
Any kindergarten child knows the meaning of the colors red, orange and green on traffic lights… and any driver has already exploded with rage while waiting for an endless red light to decide to turn green. Suffice it to say that traffic lights no longer have any mystery for us… except, perhaps, the choice of the colors that compose them.
Rouge = danger
Is it because it’s the color of blood? Still, we have long associated red with danger. Studies even suggest that exposure to this color increases our blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate. We also know that red is the color that our eye picks up the fastest. Now you understand why so many magazines include red in the graphic charter of their covers. It was therefore logical to associate this color with the message “stop, risk of accident”.
Color circles
Traditionally, blue is considered the opposite of red, but on most color circles, it is actually green. In addition, green is better seen from a distance than blue. This is how, logically, this color was adopted to say “go ahead”. As for orange, it is halfway between red and green (well a little closer to red anyway) on the color wheel: it was therefore natural to use it to warn drivers of a transition.
And the guys?
If motorists have three colors, why are pedestrians only allowed a red man and a green man? Because with the notable exception of the superhero Flash and a few other supermen, a moving pedestrian does not need a braking distance of several tens of meters…
#traffic #lights #red #orange #green