No. 12 · 17 Oct 2026 · 0:29
The Red Light Before the Motorway
Some motorway ramps have a traffic light that turns green for one car in each lane, then red again.
From the video's description
Some motorway ramps have a traffic light that turns green for one car in each lane, then red again. Without it, a whole group of cars would push onto the motorway at once, the traffic there would have to brake, and the braking can run back into a jam. With the light, each driver has room to speed up and find a gap. Wire loops cut into the motorway count the cars, and the light switches on by itself when traffic gets busy.
The traffic in this video is a computer simulation (car-following model), not filmed traffic. The ramp is a 3D reconstruction based on ramp lights in the Netherlands.
Sources: Rijkswaterstaat, "toeritdosering"; Wikipedia (de), "Zuflussregelungsanlage"; FHWA, "Alternative Designs to Alleviate Freeway Bottlenecks at Merging, Diverging, and Weaving Areas" (FHWA-HRT-20-008, 2020); ADAC, "Einfädelungsstreifen".
Credits
• 3D models (CC BY 4.0, Sketchfab): "2023 bmw 3 series" and "Mercedes Vito Utility Car" by solid3ddd; "Volkswagen Golf 8. GTI (A8)" by GT Cars: Hyperspeed; "2016 Volkswagen Polo" and "Ford Focus Sedan" by BHP3D; "James Scania R440" by zairiq-123; "Semi Trailer" by NoblecatSoft; "Mighty Oak Trees" and "High Detail Elm Tree Collection" by Jagobo; "Five Birch trees pack" by lolipop_1707;
"Wind Turbine" by Sket_h; "Power Transmission Tower" by gisexpert; "Residences of Rothenburg ob der Tauber" by Shotkey;
"Rural Brick House with Barn and Chicken Coop" by Vitalii.Sandula
• Plants and textures: Poly Haven (CC0)
• Sound effects: kyles and JPBILLINGSLEYJR on Freesound (CC0); other sounds and music original
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