I think they are meant for people to believe they do something so they’ll feel better and wait. I used to walk a lot and encounter lots of crosswalk with buttons and I got used to how fast I should go in order to catch green every time and I could predict when the next crosswalk was going to turn green. If they truly worked then they should have been out of sync. I never pushed the buttons and I saw the light turning green even though no one pushed the button, if the buttons worked then why would the light turn green?

I also asked gemini about this and he said I’m not going insane, strange because I never mentioned if I was insane or not, but good to know I’m not.

Maybe some buttons work and other don’t depending on where it is?

  • TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works
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    20 hours ago

    Aren’t they for blind people, as there’s a thing under that spins until the light turns green, so they can touch it to know when to go?

    • davad@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      No. Look at the textured ground at the cutout from the sidewalk to the road. That warns blind people that there’s a surface transition. And the crosswalk noises let them know which direction is safe to cross.

      • TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works
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        20 hours ago

        Maybe the touchy spinny thing is for deaf and blind people then? They have them at traffic lights where I live, plus the beeping and ground texture

        • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          20 hours ago

          That’s interesting! I’ve only seen ones that speak, I’ll have to keep an eye out to see if there are any with tactile indicators near me.