Lower lamp is "-", or stop. The upper lamp is "|", or proceed.
They really should have had the safety campaign mention this (and push it a little harder toward the media) before powering them up. That being said, a big red light still means stop, and a big green one still means go! The reason for going with a "white" "bar" is because neither of those things are colours or shapes that a driver encounters in any other condition, with the idea that a state change won't trigger a false "Go" in the mind of a motorist. Anyone who has ever sat at a stoplight and watched cars around instinctively lift their foot off the brake when an adjacent lane gets an advanced green knows exactly what I'm talking about.
They really should have had the safety campaign mention this (and push it a little harder toward the media) before powering them up. That being said, a big red light still means stop, and a big green one still means go! The reason for going with a "white" "bar" is because neither of those things are colours or shapes that a driver encounters in any other condition, with the idea that a state change won't trigger a false "Go" in the mind of a motorist. Anyone who has ever sat at a stoplight and watched cars around instinctively lift their foot off the brake when an adjacent lane gets an advanced green knows exactly what I'm talking about.