DRIVE anywhere in the United States and the rules of traffic lights are identical. The red light is always on top and the green is always on the bottom.
From Texas to Maine, the lights look the same so that drivers can react instantly without thinking.
But head to Syracuse, New York and you will spot a glaring exception. Here, one specific intersection has ignored the rulebook since the Roaring Twenties.
Federal guidelines strictly dictate this color order to prevent accidents. It is not a design choice; it is a safety mandate to keep traffic flowing smoothly across state lines…