How a white traffic light would actually work as North Carolina tests a fourth signal that could change driving forever

North Carolina has been testing a white traffic light that could become a fourth signal that may change driving forever, and it’s all thanks to autonomous vehicles.

For as long as we can remember, road users have followed three signals when they approach lights, which are, of course, red, amber/orange, and green.

However, North Carolina has been testing out a new, fourth, white signal that might sound unusual, yet in many ways actually makes a lot of sense.

Should this new light become commonplace in America and around the world, it would be a game-changer for all of us.

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Why is North Carolina considering a white traffic light?

This new light, which we have explored previously, is related to the introduction of self-driving cars.

Transportation engineers from North Carolina State University are the ones who have proposed the light.

The white light would notify drivers that they should follow the car in front of them.

It is all about embracing autonomous cars and how they can act as a ‘hive-mind.’

The fourth signal would let other road users know that autonomous vehicles are currently controlling the road.

As these vehicles can communicate with each other, the light suddenly makes a lot of sense.

The white light would turn on whenever there was a reasonable number of these cars at an intersection.

Cars with real people driving them would then only need to follow the car ahead.

The light does not have to be white

White is the current color being tested in North Carolina.

But it could actually be any color, such as purple, blue, like in Japan, or even pink.

Microscopic traffic simulators have tested out the new idea, recreating traffic conditions in exact detail.

The simulations showed that traffic delays improved by three percent when 10 percent of cars were autonomous.

When there were at least 30 percent autonomous vehicles (AVs), the number jumped up to 10.7 percent.

In a nutshell, the more AVs at the intersection, the less traffic there is.

Adding a new light to all intersections and junctions isn’t going to be an easy feat.

But the more you delve into the arguments for it, the more it begins to make a lot of sense.