I suppose it's because I am younger (and thus have memories of being a kid) and was rather short as a kid, so I know what sorts of limited visibility you can have as a kid, and more recently I'm also used to driving at confusing intersections where it's not clear which light applies.
... turns out it's a localization problem. If you're sitting too low at the front of the queue, you'd see the overhead traffic light often better than the drivers do. I didn't think that this must, of course, be another USA-localization story and the traffic lights are elsewhere over there (across the crossing I guess).
> used to driving at confusing intersections where it's not clear which light applies
and I guess that explains why there are different systems. Why not change them around in the USA as well? It's not as if people could be confused and look at the wrong lights, as the others' lights are simply not visible when the lights are all on the side nearest to the lane(s) they apply to.
I think the issue is that in the US, all children below some age must be in a car seat, and in some US states, that car seat must be in the back of the car. The author presumed that by mentioning her son was 3 at the time, that her audience would automatically understand that he was in the rear of the car. Even as an American, I didn't.
I think it would make a better story if this was made explicit.
As a fun anecdote, my father grew up prior to the time that most cars even came with factory seat belts. Before taking a family trip to Alaska in the 50's, his mother read about them and demanded that her husband install them in the station wagon before the trip. So he bought straps and buckles of some sort from a hardware store, and bolted them on so that all 6 kids would have "seatbelts" for the trip.
Child Passenger Safety Laws in the United States, 1978–2010: Policy Diffusion in the Absence of Strong Federal Intervention
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3899584/#!po=1....
As a German in the US, I find the positioning of traffic lights to be one of the very few traffic-related this that are better in the US. In Europe I find myself frequently leaned forward and looking up at the traffic light to see it at all. I never have an issue seeing the traffic light in the US. Figuring out which light is yours very rarely is a problem. At least not on the west coast where you usually have grid patterns.
Yeah that's exactly the issue I meant. I've never seen anything else though, so I don't know if it's better or worse. Just that the person I was replying to said they were sometimes confused by the US system.
I guess my approach to all this is to not drive as much and especially not much while in cities where there are traffic lights .. and public transport options. But if you've moved to the USA I suppose that's probably just not an option for you :/
Also worth baring in mind that the story happened roughly 20 years ago and I certainly can't remember every conversation I had with my family 20 years ago.