Traffic signal we all know about it especially Bangalore traffic is biggest issues,but do we know how this traffic signal were invented ,how many people worked behind it. there is a interesting story behind it.
Who Invented Traffic Lights? A Brief History of Traffic Lights
Who invented traffic lights? What would have been the situation if there were no traffic lights? What’s the story behind it? Traffic lights are indications that create long queues and help manage vehicles, and the crowd too. Traffic lights too have a story to narrate.
The Story Behind ‘Who Invented Traffic Lights’?
John Peak Knight was the man who invented traffic lights in 1860. As a railway manager, he came up with the idea of using colored gas lights to make vehicles move. He used red and green gas lights to make the vehicles start and stop. However, his invention did not last for more than a month
In 1868, a man named William Potts came up with the idea of traffic lights. When roads get flooded with vehicles, not knowing which vehicles are going in what direction, there was a need for crowd management. This traffic management aimed allow cars to move freely without affecting pedestrians or other vehicles. While planning for such a technology, the aim in Potts’ mind was to ensure that there are no time delays or crowding on the road.
By 1900, a semaphore design with moving arms was introduced. It proved to be a great help to people in terms of traffic management. In the same year, yellow lights came into the picture when traffic management became a problem. A policeman named William Potts gave the design to a better version of traffic lights. In the 1920s people began placing these lights at intersections in the USA and Europe. As a result, roads faced blocks at the intersection and visibility became a major problem.
By 1923, Garret Morgan gave a new design to traffic lights. It was given the design of T-poles which helped in getting better visibility.
As years passed, automatic lights entered the picture. The main aim of these lights was to monitor the traffic with the help of automated settings. These lights changed in about ten seconds and helped vehicles move effortlessly.
Who Invented Traffic Lights- The Story of Present
In 1923, Garret Morgan was the one who invented traffic lights in the shape of the T-poles that we see today. These aimed for better visibility and management of traffic.
The First Convention of Unification of Road Signals took place in 1930. The aim behind this was to make road signals uniform and understandable to everyone.
By 1950, there was a huge transformation in the traffic signals to the way we see them today. The French cities were the ones who invented traffic lights as a better version. This also ended up in a decision to make traffic lights more systematic in the areas that are more vulnerable to traffic. Also, this helped in the easy movement of public transport, avoiding delays and travel issues. People stick on to this mode even today to ensure better travel.
Later, computerized traffic lights came into the picture. In 1960, slowly, traffic lights started becoming computerized. Also, people began to understand traffic patterns better. People began to use them at pedestrian crossings. Flashlights were installed too to prevent and cut down on the number of accidents.
What do the traffic lights mean?
Red
Though the traffic lights are of three simple colors, they also have different varients if you look at them carefully.
Although red means stop- there are three different variants of it. The one who invented traffic lights also aimed at people understanding the risk levels so that they could understand them better.
Steady red means that moving vehicles must immediately stop. A flashing red sign means that the vehicles must wait for clearance from the other side. Also, red arrows mean that a moving car should come to a complete stop until the signals turn green.
Yellow
Yellow lights are of three types- steady yellow, flashing yellow and yellow arrow
The one who invented traffic lights designed the yellow lights as a symbol of caution. A flashing yellow means that the vehicle is on a caution to proceed. A yellow arrow means that only motorists are allowed to pass. Steady yellow lights are only placed at intersections to help pedestrians cross the road.
Green
As you know, the green light allows the vehicles to go. However, green lights also have been divided into two by the one who invented traffic lights.
Intersections use a solid green and these allow only pedestrians to move.
There is also a green arrow symbol that you may find at intersections. These allow only pedestrians and cyclists to move. The person who invented traffic lights chose green since it is of a short wavelength and also offers high visibility. Another less known fact about green lights is that it has a tinge of blue in them.
The Transformation of Traffic Lights towards Future
People who invented the traffic lights and made changes to them aimed at censoring the traffic. Even today, this helps them in understanding the flow of traffic through simple signals. This adaptive traffic control system also ensures that there is a proper movement of vehicles. It also helps people make real-time decisions.
There is also an upcoming idea of IoT which was revealed by Carnegie Mellon University. This technology makes traffic management quite simple and effective by sending texts across to you through your smartphones. Experts say that this will have your car equipped with a wireless technology that helps in smart traffic management. We can also expect a wireless technology in the coming years which helps you predict the traffic in our location in the direction that you are heading towards.
We can also expect a speed analysis software in traffic management. This helps drivers to analyze the speed of vehicles in traffic every 1/10 seconds. As a result, this helps to reduce the frequently caused traffic issues and makes time management better. Rain-sensing lights are also a future probability. These give priority to bicycles which are more prone to accidents and help two-wheelers make a faster move at intersections.
Shortly, traffic lights will improve the speed of vehicles and improve the commutation abilities. It may also help us predict the time, weather, and emergencies and make movements quicker. These aim in introducing a hassle-free way of travel and help in faster movement of vehicles.
