It's obvious why traffic lights are always located at intersections. There is always a small building at the corner of the intersection (about the size of a gas station food store) in which the two little men live who control the traffic lights for that particular intersection. When they see the traffic is letting up, they can safely turn the light red without any accidents. After an allotted portion of time, they would turn the light green again.
A childhood belief about traffic lights

you weren't the only one
254 of you believed this
- I thought traffic lights were controlled by little men who lived inside them. Anon
- "Traffic lights are operated by monkies inside of them" or so a very reliable source informed me.— guuy
- when i was about 5-8 i used to believe that oompa loompas lived in traffic lights and controlled the lights!!— ~wierd ~
- i used to beleive that elves controlled traffic lights.— Jessica
- I thought that little tiny people changed the color of the stop lights.Anon
- When I was little, I was thought that little elves controlled the traffic lights..— Rosie