Jaywalking on the edge of time

I’m not sure if this is going on in the majority of towns, but most crosswalk signs I’ve seen around here have timers on them. I’ve seen them start from as high up as thirty seconds. Now, I know that this is supposed to be useful for pedestrians: so they know how much time they have left to cross.

But for a guy who’s had 2 citations for running red lights ($396 ouch!), I don’t think it can get any better. I now can anticipate the oncoming red light and can make adjustments to my speed accordingly. If I see that it’s at 25 seconds from far away, I can speed up and know that I won’t have to slam on my brakes on account of a pesky light change. Eh? What do you think about that?
A word of advice, though: be careful with the single digits. 9′s can look like 4′s, so if you’re further away, you may want to start slowing down, even if you think you have a 9 on your hands. It’s not worth it, sugar. It’s just not worth it. I wonder if there will be any consequence as a result of drivers using–or abusing–these timers. Will this result in safer roads because drivers will now be aware of the futility of trying to beat the clock? Tickets are expensive…and I have to take the driver improvement course soon. They have a comedy driver improvement course. I hope it’s taught by Larry David.