How a Fourth Traffic Light Color Could Help Ease Our Transition to Self-Driving Cars

The tricolor electronic traffic light has existed since 1914, and the color scheme is used the world over. So get ready for every old-timer to absolutely lose it over the IEEE’s latest idea: A “white light,” phase on traffic lights that would serve both to help direct self-driving cars and let human drivers know where those cars are going. Traffic lights would enter a “white phase” when coordinating AVs through traffic. The lack of traffic light color would also indicate to human drivers that autonomous vehicles are being controlled. “The white phase concept also incorporates a new traffic signal, so that human drivers know what they are supposed to do.