Traffic lights either need to be replaced with humans, or manually operated.

I say that traffic lights (you know, those annoying things with the green, yellow and red changing lights on street intersections) need to be replaced, either with the old fashion rent-a-cop in the middle of the street to intelligently direct traffic, or an office were people manually operate the lights. This means my esteemed opponent thinks that street lights need to be kept the way they are: annoying and inefficient, although they'll probably say otherwise. By now, most of us should be able to drive, and if your too young now, don't start, rather invest in a bike, healthier and less expensive. But that's not what this debate is about is it? Its about those colorful posts we drivers have all probably learned to loathe. There are several reasons why they need changing which include: time efficiency, anger management (sub, speeding), saving gasoline, Job opportunities, and screaming. These sources have uses throughout all my argument, I'll allow intelligence to do the association. http://www.sciencedaily.com... http://www.newscientist.com... http://news.bbc.co.uk... 1 - Time Efficiency Look back on your life, and just try to think about all of the time you've ever spent sitting in your car, doing nothing, while having to subject yourself to the rule of those three light bulbs. Supposedly, according to an urban myth I heard one time, about 2-3 years of our life's are spent there. This is not a scientific fact, and should not be used as one. But can you imagine that all time? Wasted by a traffic light? And how many of use have been late to some kind of appointment whether work, school, or otherwise, because we "hit all the bad lights". I say enough is enough. Changing the lighting system would drastically improve the average drivers time management. The programming of lights is inaccurate in many cases. There have been many times, and I know I'm not alone, where rows of cars are forced to sit idle and let nothing but wind pass (aka, no cross traffic). They can't use their common sence because its against the law, and with those new fangled picture taking cameras, its easier for the law to get us for running the lights even without the presence of a cop car. So they wait, burning gas (more in #3) and patience (more in #2), while at the same time wasting time because of semantics. With an actual brain at the helm, either on the road or office, road time could be drastically reduced because there would actually be someone thinking the same thoughts as you: "change dammit". 2 - Anger Management While at the same time being a decent movie, this is an important point. I'm a fairly calm person, but I can't stand waiting at lights, especially when I know that if those lights had a brain, I could still be moving. This causes anger, or in this case road rage, which increases the chances of both speeding and reckless driving, which are hazards to both oneself and everyone else you are sharing the road with. Not to mention that when you get to work (lets just say) you are angry, which decreases productivity and can get you in trouble in some occasions. You speed to make up the lost time from the light you were just forced to sit through, and possibly as a motivator get passed that next one. Problem is, speeding increases the chances of getting into a wreck, not to mention you might be going too fast to safely slow down when that next light does turn red. A better traffic management system would decrease both of these hazards. A monitored intersection would allow better passage so that you are more likely to stream on through, and even if you had to stop, the wait time would be drastically decreased because someone would know exactly when it would be a good time to change and let yours or other lanes through, rather than a computer programmed for inaccurate estimates. 3-Saving gas As mentioned before, when we get stopped at traffic lights, often uselessly, we are simply sitting there idle. With our engines on. This means our motors are running, meaning we are using fuel, meaning money is getting burned by light bulbs. Also, as mentioned before with speeding, jack rabbit starts (hitting the gas to get from 0 to 60 in whatever seconds) burn a lot of fuel, and especially considering that you would do this multiple times with as many lights, that's a lot of gas that's being uselessly burnt along side with the stuff already from sitting idle. My opponent will likely go with the "just slow down" response, in which case I pre-refute that that is easier said then done. Just like world peace, it should happen, and could happen, but won't. We have to think realistically. Thousands of people are unlikely to change their habits all at the same time, so we have to change it for them by developing a more accurate traffic system. By spending so much to fund this programs, we would save the consumer market billions, not to mention the positive effects on the environment by decreasing CO2 emissions. 4 - Creating Jobs This program would create thousands of jobs. It would be easy enough to do without a college education, and would massively increase the productivity of all companies that require employees that have to drive from home and work, aka, all of them. A win-win for everyone. My sources call for better programming, but I don't think that is good enough. A computer will never be able to make the quick decisions and logical choices a biological brain can, or at least not at this stage in the game. They are only programmed to, well, obey their programming, which when put within the context of real life is often inaccurate. They can't compensate for spontaneous changes like a person could, only obey a statistic. A human brain much better suited for this simple job, and as you can see from the reasons above, would benefit us all. 5 - Screaming I scream a lot when I have to sit in traffic, and it hurts my voice. None of us want that. (Not an actual issue) So, a quick summary of this all is that an better trafficking system, either with intersection cops or an office were a physical person manually changes the lights, would save time, money, and manners for the average driver. Side effects include decreased road rage, less speeding, reduced CO2 emissions, and increased cash money. There is no downside, and I very much look forward to my opponent trying to find one. And before you post some smarmy comment, I challenge you to first accept the debate and put your logic were your mouth is. Bring it!!