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I have been told that I am a very patient person, but there have been times I have found myself cussing at a *stupid* traffic light for being red when there was no vehicle a mile away. While this other time, I got hit, possibly, by a drunk driver who turned a blind-eye to the red light and came crashing to my car. Both these events have made me question the very usefulness of traffic lights in our communities.

One of the things that I found strange when I first landed at my scenic college several years ago was how everyone on campus greeted each other. I was surprised by the number of people that cared enough about me to ask me if I was doing well. Better yet, I was equally taken aback when a cute blonde at the check-out line in Wal-Mart asked me how I was doing. Little did I know then that nobody wanted to hear what I had to say; they just weren’t interested to know *how* I was doing. All this makes me question the purpose of greetings.

So, are traffic lights really serving their purposes—reducing congestion and reducing accidents? Statistics shows that there is no significant difference in the number of accidents before and after the introduction of traffic light. In some places, it takes 5 to 10 times more to reach from A to B in presence of traffic light than in its absence. If it hasn’t helped us in any way then why do we need traffic light at those places?

Why do greetings do not really connotate what the words mean? If you didn’t want to know how I was doing, then don’t ask me how I am doing; ask only if you *really* want to know. Also, if I ask you how you are doing, I want you to at least stop for a while and tell me little more than *alright.* Why do you care to ask someone how the person is doing if you have already made up your mind that you are not going to listen to that person for more than few seconds? Don’t waste your time, and mine too.

Some European countries, including Belgium and Germany, have already scraped traffic lights and signs in some of their small towns. The idea has worked remarkably well. No doubt, it puts more responsibility on drivers, and also pedestrians, but this also makes you not look stupid for having to wait at an intersection for some freaking light to tell you when to go when there is no vehicle a mile away.

Ironically, it didn’t take me that long to get used to this greeting system. Before I even realized, I was greeting others without expecting an answer. If I did receive an answer, then I would even go as far as to make fun of that moron who made an attempt to give his full life story about how he was doing. Hell, I don’t want to know how you are doing if I don’t invite you for a dinner at my house or go to movies with you. Then why do I even greet you? Tradition.

I stop at red traffic lights consciously, and I greet you, without expecting a detailed response, sub-coconsciously. Both stopping at red traffic light and asking how you are doing, without really expecting an answer, have not have served their intended purpose, so why should I take steps to fulfill its intended objective. That’s why I continue to pass through yellow traffic light, and I continue to greet others without really meaning it.

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