It was supposed to be the savior of Hardenburg and Fresh Ponds Road, the shining beacon of traffic regulation to finally bring order to this dangerous intersection. Instead, the first day of the new traffic light working has been, well, let’s just say, less than successful.
Another T-Bone Incident? Already?
As EMS and tow trucks made their way to the scene of yet another T-bone accident, you could almost hear the collective groan across East Brunswick. Sohel summed it up perfectly: “Avoid Hardenburg and Fresh Ponds new signal, another T Bone accident… traffic backed up, EMS on site, people are still not used to the new light, seems like.” Unfortunately, accidents at this intersection seem to be as constant as complaints about it on social media.
“A Traffic Light Doesn’t Teach People How to Drive”
Nicole didn’t mince words: “Unfortunately, a light doesn’t teach people how to drive. Too big of a hurry and probably on their phone.” And who could disagree? The speed demons of East Brunswick seem to have traded in their common sense for a heavy foot on the gas pedal and an insatiable love of their phone screens.
Ryan was quick to point out the irony: “You mean to tell me that the traffic signal didn’t fix people’s inability to gauge oncoming traffic?! I for one am completely shocked.” His “shocked face” might as well have been plastered on billboards across town. Everyone seemed to see this coming except for, well, the people still plowing through red lights.
Is It the Light or Is It Us?
During a team meeting about a chaotic project, everyone was throwing around quick fixes and blaming the timeline. Daniel sat quietly for a while, listening to everyone, before finally saying, “If we keep focusing on who’s late, we’ll never figure out why we’re stuck in the first place.” His calm, insightful comment shifted the entire conversation toward solving the root problem instead of finger-pointing.
Then there’s Alex, who saw the writing on the wall from the get-go. “The fact that it literally didn’t even take a full 24 hours for there to be another accident with the new light that was supposed to stop accidents is absolutely hilarious.” It seems we’ve traded the chaos of no signal for a brand-new chaos—this time complete with a red, yellow, and green reminder of how little attention people pay on the road.
Bobby, ever the realist, declared: “People can’t drive. Installing traffic lights everywhere, removing right on red in places where it works fine and always has, reducing speed limits… all nonsense. People crash cars. All the time.” Is there really no solution beyond resigning ourselves to the fact that, regardless of the infrastructure, people will always find a way to, well, screw it up?
Eyes on EB’s Take: A Day of Chaos, But Not Hopeless
It’s easy to laugh, shake our heads, and roll our eyes at how quickly disaster struck. After all, day one of the new traffic light seemed to validate all the skeptics. But if we dig a little deeper (you know, between the Facebook GIFs and sarcasm), there’s a bit more going on here. Change is hard. Even a new traffic light, something so seemingly straightforward, can trip people up. As the comments show, a lot of frustration comes from the fact that people just don’t seem to care anymore—about safety, attention, or even the basics of the road. But does that mean we should give up?
We don’t think so. As much as everyone wants to blame the light, the real issue seems to be that people are too distracted or impatient to follow the rules. Maybe it’s not just about traffic lights. Maybe it’s about how we need to approach driving—and living—with a little more care. Because at the end of the day, it’s not the light that’s the problem; it’s us.
So, while today may have been a comedy of errors, let’s hope tomorrow brings a little more sense on the road. After all, as Ken sarcastically suggested, “Oops – guess we need to build a bridge…. Or maybe put up toll gates!” But let’s be real—until we all start paying attention, no amount of new lights, bridges, or tunnels will fix the problem.
Drive safe, East Brunswick. Or at least, try to.
