Traffic lights

 

April 27, 2018



The parking meter was invented in Oklahoma City in 1935 but another American icon, the traffic light, came to be years before.

Four thousand Americans were killed in traffic accidents in 1913, an indicator of the poor roads, top-heavy cars and lack of traffic rules. Something had to be done. The crowding at intersections was to blame, too, as cities grew and automobiles competed with pedestrians, carriages, bicycles and trolleys.

So, to prevent confusion leading to collision, police officers stood in the center of intersections, blowing whistles, making arm gestures and dodging vehicles. Typically, few drivers paid attention.

It became an issue addressed by a Cleveland, Ohio, engineer named James Hoge. Playing on the red and green signals long used by railroads, Hoge tapped into the electricity in the trolley lines and created “the municipal traffic control system.” A policeman sitting in a booth on the sidewalk controlled suspended lights with a flip of a switch.

The first patent for a caution signal was in 1923 by Garrett Morgan. It had three arms on the pole. One green, one red, and the third stopped traffic in all directions awaiting change. He sold the patent to GE for $40,000 and William Potts, a Detroit police officer, added the yellow light.

Traffic deaths fell by 50 percent between 1914 and 1930 and the stoplight became a sign of progress in every little town. Self-driving cars will lead to autonomous intersections and a new sign of progress: “the no stoplight town.” Funny how things change!

 

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