New traffic light concept design – genius or unsafe?

We just stumbled upon the concept designs below of a new kind of traffic light by Thanva Tivawong called “The Sand Glass”. On the post about it by Yanko Design, a number of commenters pointed out a number of ways why this design could be unsafe, but we’d certainly like to hear your thoughts in the comments – what do you think? Genius or unsafe concept that will never be a reality?