The Reality about Stoplight Size
I drive under traffic lights every day. My eyes have always told me that the signaling device swinging above my head is roughly 20-24 inches high or about 51-61 cm.
I’ve been badly mistaken.
The man in the bucket lift is close enough to easily do repairs; his presence suddenly reveals the traffic light’s true size.
Years ago, when I originally saw this repair work being done, my first thought was that if the cable ever snapped, a traffic signal could seriously damage a car or even kill someone. Since then, I’ve learned a few comforting facts.
- The DOT mandates that traffic lights must be suspended at least 17 feet from the ground.
- Traffic signals are now constructed of lightweight materials;
- Cast aluminum signals weigh between 30 to 50 pounds or 13.6 to 22.67 kg.
- Composite plastic stoplights weigh less, between 15 to 30 pounds or 6.8 to 13.6 kg.
Properly installed, very few traffic lights ever fall. When they do, they can definitely damage a car or punch through a windshield. Engineers are now working to design signals which can even resist hurricane-force winds.
How is Your Perception of Reality?
Most of the time, many of us believers don’t see life very clearly.
- We don’t see the hidden motives of the heart, especially our own.
- Many of us can’t perceive evil intent in other humans.
- We are biased toward the news sources which agree with what we already believe.
- Most of us can’t see demons or detect battles in the spiritual realm.
- We have difficulty sorting vital, life-changing tasks from the unimportant ones.
- Often we can’t detect when another person is lying.
- We blindly believe we’ll each have 70 or 80 years on this earth, ignoring all contrary evidence, such as the early death of close friends and relatives.
- We blind ourselves to the future consequences of our current bad choices.
- We use our logic to justify our emotional decisions.
This isn’t just true of Christians; this is a problem for the whole human race.
The Believer’s Advantage
Fortunately, as Christ-followers, we have a trustworthy leader in our Redeemer.
We may not be able to understand the reason why He asks us to do certain things. But we do know He loves us, in spite of all of our sins and failures. If we follow Him, Jesus will guide us past soul-destroying traps and through life’s most turbulent waters. Our Lord knows what’s true in every situation.
Are you ready to trust the one Guide who sees clearly 100% of the time?
This image was captured with my camera phone, somewhere in the United States. I have purposely blurred out the repairman’s face.
Resources:
Here is a short video entitled, “What’s Inside a Stop Light?”
