History Main / HackTheTrafficLights

* In the ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' episode "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E5GirlInTheFlowerDress Girl in the Flower Dress]]", Miles (a Rising Tide hacker) reveals he set up this kind of hack ahead of time in his city's traffic computers and he makes all the lights of an intersection green during a chase to get away from Coulson. [[DeniedMomentOfAwesome Unfortunately]], the very second he pulls over to catch his breath, Coulson is there to arrest him.

%%* In the ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' episode "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E5GirlInTheFlowerDress Girl in the Flower Dress]]", Miles does this to get away from Coulson. It works, temporarily.

%%* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "D.P.O.", the title character does this telekinetically, because he enjoys watching cars smash into each other.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022'': This is Ms. Tarantula is introduced in the opening sequence -- hacking the traffic control system to turn the lights green, clearing the road for Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake to escape in the getaway car, then changing the lights back to red to cause pileups at each intersection, hindering the pursuing cops.

* The [[{{Technopath}} technopath]] Satsuki Yatoji from ''Manga/{{X1999}}'' is introduced hacking a street light from her cellphone while riding a bicycle.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'': This is Ms. Tarantula is introduced in the opening sequence -- hacking the traffic control system to turn the lights green, clearing the road for Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake to escape in the getaway car, then changing the lights back to red to cause pileups at each intersection, hindering the pursuing cops.

* Played with in ''Masked Dog'' by Raymond Obstfeld. The assassin doesn't hack into the traffic lights, but uses his super memory skills to memorize their patterns, then manipulate his target into position by acting as a road rage hoodlum.

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* The killer in Literature/MrMercedes has a home-built device that can change lights, although he later muses to himself that he didn't actually need it to make a getaway after his initial crime.

%%* Fujimaru of ''Manga/BloodyMonday'' did this from his laptop to stop the terrorists from escaping with his kidnapped sister (Chapter 12).
* Done at the start of the ''Manga/YoureUnderArrest'' movie [[spoiler:as part of a terrorist plot created by an ex-Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer in order to prove his work on how to cause a terror attack on a country with first world standards.]]
* The [[{{Technopath}} technopath]] Satsuki Yatoji from ''Manga/{{X1999}}'' is introduced hacking a street light from her cellphone while riding a bicycle.

* In a ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' short story, Fantasio equips an old car with a device allowing him to remotely control the traffic lights so that they are always green for him. He later gives it to an oil magnate who, being colourblind, misuses it and turns all lights red for him.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

%%* Used by the titular ''Film/{{Hackers}}'' to run away from the police and FBI taskforce out to get them.
* In ''Film/GhostInTheMachine'', one of the DigitizedHacker's attempted murders involves hacking traffic lights to cause accidents.
* One of the first things we see in ''Film/TheDungeonmaster'' [[note]] [=AKA=] ''Ragewar'' and ''Digital Knights'')[[/note]] is the techie protagonist jogging while his computer changes the traffic lights in his favor.
* Once they are given the HandyRemoteControl, the trucker brothers in ''Film/ThinkBig'' try to do this while they rush to their destination before the deadline closes, but it takes a third try before they get it right.

* In ''Film/SpeedZone'', Lea and Margaret do this as they're leaving Washington. After coming to a red light, Margaret uses her computer to turn it green, then turns it back to red as the other racers reach the intersection.
%%* In ''Film/RoboCop3'' , one of the rebels Murphy would later team-up with does this with a remote device to evade the cops chasing after them, including Murphy's partner Lewis, when they're on the run after robbing the police armory.

* Played with in ''Masked Dog'' by Raymond Obstfeld. The assassin doesn't hack into the traffic lights, but uses his super memory skills to memorize their patterns, then manipulate his target into position by acting as a road rage hoodlum.

%% * Shows up in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''.
* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'': Aiden Pearce is able to do this, as seen in the page image. It's used to cause pileups to help escape from pursuers - although it does also get used against him later on in the game to block him.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Part of the "subtle" option for the Union Depository heist involves your hacker manipulating Los Santos's traffic light grid to keep Merryweather away from Michael and Trevor. Notably, you can't just set the lights to whatever you want; you can only toggle which street has the green/red light at each intersection.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpidermanTheAnimatedSeries'', the Hobgoblin gains access to the Kingpin's computer console, and raves about the information he'll be able to control. The first thing he does is create traffic chaos.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In a ''ComicBooks/SpirouAndFantasio'' short story, Fantasio equips an old car with a device allowing him to remotely control the traffic lights so that they are always green for him. He later gives it to an oil magnate who, being colourblind, misuses it and turns all lights red for him.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': in Colorman.EXE's scenario, he hacks into the traffic lights--causing them to turn green in all directions, which in turn causes the automated self-driving vehicles in the city to collide with each other. Lan and [=MegaMan.EXE=] have to counter-hack the traffic lights (putting them into an all-red failsafe mode) in order to stop this.

* Traffic lights are occasionally hooked up to the internet as a [[http://www.networkworld.com/article/2466551/microsoft-subnet/hacking-traffic-lights-with-a-laptop-is-easy.html few]] [[http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/technology/security/shodan/index.html articles]] show. Some cities’ lights can sort of be hacked via other means besides the internet. A lot of cities have set it up so that emergency vehicles broadcast a signal which turns the light red; people other than emergency workers have done so.

* Played with in ''Masked Dog'' by Raymond Obstfeld. The assassin doesn't hack into the traffic lights, but uses his super skills to memorize their patterns, then manipulate his target into position by acting as a road rage hoodlum.

* Fujimaru of ''Manga/BloodyMonday'' did this from his laptop to stop the terrorists from escaping with his kidnapped sister (Chapter 12).

* Used by the titular ''Film/{{Hackers}}'' to run away from the police and FBI taskforce out to get them.

* In ''Film/RoboCop3'' , one of the rebels Murphy would later team-up with does this with a remote device to evade the cops chasing after them, including Murphy's partner Lewis, when they're on the run after robbing the police armory.

* In the furry sci-fi novel ''Literature/AFoxTail'' [[PlayfulHacker Vulpie]] does this with his phone for fun the day before unleashing a viral AI on the world.

* In the ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' episode "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E5GirlInTheFlowerDress Girl in the Flower Dress]]", Miles does this to get away from Coulson. It works, temporarily.

* ''Series/HumanTarget'': Done near the end of "Marshall Pucci" in the 2010 version.

* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "D.P.O.", the title character does this telekinetically, because he enjoys watching cars smash into each other.

** or it does work, but they get so worked up that the pizza guy actually makes it to the tower that they forget it's free if he's delayed.

* Traffic lights are occasionally hooked up to the internet as a [[http://www.networkworld.com/article/2466551/microsoft-subnet/hacking-traffic-lights-with-a-laptop-is-easy.html few]] [[http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/technology/security/shodan/index.html articles]] show. Some cities lights can sort of be hacked via other means besides the internet. For example a lot of cities have set it up so that emergency vehicles broadcast a signal which turns the light red and people other than emergency workers have done so.

* In ''Speed Zone'', Lea and Margaret do this as they're leaving Washington. After coming to a red light, Margaret uses her computer to turn it green, then turns it back to red as the other racers reach the intersection.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' episode, "Go Fish", Kowalski hacks the city's traffic lights in order to stop a fish delivery truck so that the other penguins can steal fish from it. Unfortunately, he accidentally licks one of the wires when he thinks about fish, causing the light to turn green and the fish truck to get away.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': in Colorman.EXE's scenario, he hacks into the traffic lights and causing them to turn green in all directions, causing the automated self-driving vehicles in the city to collide with each other. Lan and [=MegaMan.EXE=] have to counter-hack the traffic lights (putting them into an all-red failsafe mode) in order to stop this.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': in Colorman.EXE's scenario, he hacks into the traffic lights and causing them to flash many colors, confusing the traffic.

* ''{{Series/Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogic Computer Logic]]": An unknown force causes the traffic lights to malfunction, causing the death of David Hofstadter because the intersection showed green for all lanes and a truck hit him.

* Done near the end of "Marshall Pucci" in the 2010 version of ''Series/HumanTarget''.

* In a ''Series/MacGyver1985'' ("Thief of Budapest") episode, Mac "hacks" the stoplights in a town in Europe to help him make his getaway, by putting fragments of a credit card in a timing gear.
* ''Series/LieToMe'': the episode "Saved" has an interesting variation of this trope. Cal Lightman finds that a particularly heroic paramedic saves so many lives because she knows where the accidents will be. That's because her brother hacks into traffic lights and purposely causes deadly accidents.

* One episode of ''[[Series/{{Intelligence2014}} Intelligence]]'' has Gabriel use [[BrainComputerInterface his chip]] to change the traffic lights to allow him and Riley to catch up to a suspect.
* ''Series/{{Spooks}}''. In the episode "Outsiders" the VillainOfTheWeek has invented an algorithm that enables him to hack into any computer system, and one point changing traffic lights to cause a traffic accident among those investigating him.
* Occurs in at least one episode of ''Series/{{Alias}}''. Marshall is nearly foiled by the fact that the website is in German, but Jack is there to lean over his shoulder and tell him which button means "red."
* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': In "The Sound and the Fury", Cisco does to slow down the Royal Flush Gang by turning the lights red during their getaway.
* The pilot episode of ''Series/{{Probe}}'' has a somewhat sentient supercomputer do this. It not only changes lights from red to green and vice versa, it flashes one of the lights to communicate with the protagonist in Morse Code.
* One VictimOfTheWeek on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' does this from the chamber where he's imprisoned, using the traffic lights to send an S.O.S. He dies before he's found, though.
* An episode of ''Series/UltramanAce'' featured a MonsterOfTheWeek called Signalion whose power was to make traffic lights go haywire, which the alien controlling it used to cause mass chaos in Tokyo.

* OlderThanYouThink. This was part of the ploy in the ''original'' version of ''Film/TheItalianJob'' (in 1969!) — by switching the computer's big tape reel with a phony one made by the crew's computer genius, Professor Peach (played by a young Creator/BennyHill), they make Turin's traffic system go haywire, creating a massive traffic jam which the gold-heisting crew can then escape in their small and super-maneuverable Mini Coopers.

!Examples

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* In ''Flim/RoboCop3'' , one of the rebels Murphy would later team-up with does this with a remote device to evade the cops chasing after them, including Murphy's partner Lewis, when they're on the run after robbing the police armory.

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[[AC:RealLife]]
* Traffic lights are occasionally hooked up to the internet as a [[http://www.networkworld.com/article/2466551/microsoft-subnet/hacking-traffic-lights-with-a-laptop-is-easy.html few]] [[http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/technology/security/shodan/index.html articles]] show. Some cities lights can sort of be hacked via other means besides the internet. For example a lot of cities have set it up so that emergency vehicles broadcast a signal which turns the light red and people other than emergency workers have done so.

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