Too many transportation engineers and planners have a hard time figuring out how to use traffic signals to improve the flow of traffic. More often than not, a green light leads to a red light and then another red light. Yes, the ebb and flow of traffic coming in from the crossing streets has to be considered and made a part of the equation, but there are computers and engineers that should be able to figure all of this out. Traffic lights could be more help than hindrance. That?s the message behind a study, the 2007 Traffic Signal Report Card that was just unveiled by the National Transportation Operations Coalition.

The NTOC report shows that improper traffic signal timing accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all traffic delays. Some of the biggest problems cited are those that each of us experience on a regular basis, including: