traffic light is a traffic sign that works as a vehicle and pedestrian traffic control instrument on the roads.
The traffic lights are used to help drivers and pedestrians to move around with caution in the city's traffic lanes.
Normally, traffic lights are formed by three circles of different colors: red, yellow and green. Each of the traffic lights colors has a distinct meaning, which serves as an instruction
O Red sign means that the driver must stop immediately, the yellow represents that one must be aware of the brief change in the signal that will follow, and the green it means the traffic is clear and the vehicle can go on its way.
The choice of these colors for the traffic light was not a random decision, but based on the principles of Color Theory.
The color red is known in nature (by many animals, including humans) as the "danger color", so it is used to represent the sign that impedes the movement of automobiles.
To indicate its opposite, the color green was used as it presents the greatest contrast in the color spectrum. Yellow was chosen because it is the color with the longest wavelength, right after red and orange, becoming more visually easy for humans to assimilate the information that one state will transition to another (green to red, for example).
Learn more about meaning of color theory.
In addition to the traffic lights for cars, there is also the pedestrian traffic lights, which controls the movement of people on crosswalks. This traffic sign usually has only two colors: red and green.
The red sign is symbolized by the figure of a static human being, which represents danger crossing the street. The green light means it is safe to make the crossing, which is usually represented by the figure of a human being in motion.
As a rule, pedestrian traffic lights are installed next to vehicle traffic lights. When the traffic light is red for cars, the pedestrian traffic light turns green and indicates that it is safe to cross the road.
Many people confuse the correct spelling of this word. As we have seen, the correct mode is semaphore, the form traffic light is wrong and does not exist in the Portuguese language.
