THREE Bahraini teenagers have recreated traffic signal countdown timers as part of their graduation project to raise awareness about road safety.
The devices tell motorists how much time they have left before the lights turn red or green.
The ambitious students from Shaikh Abdullah Bin Isa Al Khalifa Technical Secondary School worked on the project for an entire semester.
According to their teacher and team leader Essa Abdulhassan, the 18-year-olds chose the project in a bid to further develop the traffic light system and reduce accidents.
Statistics from the General Directorate of Traffic show that 63 fatal crashes were registered in Bahrain in 2019, compared with 44 in 2018 and 52 in 2017. The 63 crashes resulted in 65 deaths – 25 drivers, 12 passengers and 28 pedestrians; the 44 incidents in 2018 resulted in 48 fatalities while 55 people were killed in 52 accidents in 2017.
The GDN had earlier quoted a senior official as saying that 90 per cent of road accidents in Bahrain were caused by human error.
“The three students studied the traffic lights system in Bahrain and according to their observation, most drivers cannot determine how many seconds were left before the traffic lights changed colours. And this, despite the lights flashing before the change,” Mr Abdulhassan said.
“Some of them take risks to cross the light at an incorrect moment, which leads to fatal accidents.”
According to him, the device will allow drivers to understand how much time they had to switch lanes or cross a traffic light, leading to safer road usage.
The students had an elaborate plan before embarking on their project. They first identified the necessary resources, which were provided by the school. They then constructed a wooden prototype before moving on to an electronic model with active connections and wiring.
“We have faced several challenges in programming the traffic lights, but our professors from the technical department helped us,” said 18-year-old Fahad Saud.
“In the future we may be able to connect the timers to a sensor that determines the number of cars running in each lane at any given point of time.”
Team member Hussain Abdulameer said the toughest part of the project was transforming the design into reality.
“We wanted to alert people about the time available between lights to reduce accidents and traffic congestion,” said 18-year-old Haidar Hassan.
“One of the challenges we faced and overcame was ensuring that the timer was synchronised with the traffic light.
“We hope to develop a system that includes a sensor that detects the number of cars in each direction and connects it to the timer to customise timings for the most congested roads.”
The GDN previously reported that Bahrain spends BD8.8 million annually on maintenance of its highways as it has an estimated 4,000km of road network.
Flashing green lights have so far been operated at 173 traffic signals since the launch of the initiative in May 2019, with work underway to install an additional 32 blinking green lights as part of a plan to enhance safety in collaboration between the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry and the General Traffic Directorate.
The system works by adding a flashing green light for three seconds at the end of the actual green light to warn drivers before turning amber and then red.
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