Frizzen, I in no way have taken offense to your post, I liked it. It's just that I've gotten some grief over the years whenever this subject comes up and I just wanted to make a point that there is a use for these standards even in 1/14 scale. Like I said, I want what I make to look, and act, like it's real world counterparts.
Yes, the signal lights function just like the real ones. There is a radio link between them and the 'master' unit does all the timing and controls the 'slave'.
Keep up your work on your "toy" conversions, I like watching how you find solutions.
Oh, and by the way, the link you had to the MUTCD is for the 2003 edition and is way out of date. The current edition was just release in July and is referred to as the 2009, 3rd revision and can be found at
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/kno_2009r1r2r3.htm