What people should do by law and what they are inclined to do when so told by a green light is not going to change anything. People are trained to react to traffic lights - and green means go. The lights need to reflect human reactive tendencies. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
It seems the problem is more no-brain driving rather than designing to prevent such drivers from receiving their Darwin award.
The green light only grants permission to enter the intersection, provided it is clear of traffic and pedestrians, no emergency vehicle is coming, etc.. It does not grant permission to pass the next "control point", the railroad's flashing warning lights and crossing arms. Failing to heed these simple and commonsense rules of the road has caused many an incompetent motorist to stupidly make it safely through the street intersection and right into a train. So if your going to drive on the Hiawatha corridor and similar routes treat both the street and rail crossing as separate intersections. If you can't manage those simple precautions, park it and ride the light rail service that has been provided for your safety and convenience.
BTW, the roadway signal system is based on the railroads- that's why on both the roads and rails red means stop and yellow means caution. Except on the rails red really means stop- run a red light on the rails and you'll probably get a month's unpaid suspension, and second offense usually results in termination!
from North Side Station in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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