First Traffic Signal: Traffic lights are a natural part of modern life. It silently controls millions of vehicles every day. But the idea of ​​regulating road traffic with signals is much older than most people realize. The world’s first traffic signal came in the 19th century and it did not look at all like today’s light.

Birth of the first traffic signal

The world’s first traffic signal was installed outside the British Parliament at Westminster in London on 9 December 1868. It was designed by John Peake Knight. He was a railway signal engineer who adopted the train signaling concept to manage the increasing road congestion caused by horse-drawn carriages.

gas powered signal

Unlike today’s electric traffic lights, the first signals were gas powered. At night it used red and green gas lamps to give instructions. There were no bulbs, wiring or automated timers. Only gas flames worked. Because of this this system was quite dangerous.

operated manually

The signal was not automatic. A police officer stood next to it and operated it manually using a lever. This meant that traffic control was entirely dependent on human judgment and physical effort.

Semaphore arms for time of day

During the day the system depended on semaphore arms, like railway signals. When the metal arms were kept horizontal it meant wait. When it was lowered at an angle of 45 degrees, it signaled caution. This visual language was familiar to railway passengers but quite new to road traffic.

there was no yellow light

Modern traffic lights have three colors: red, yellow and green. But earlier the signal had only two colors. Red color indicated to stop while green color indicated caution or to go. At that time no concept of yellow light existed.

a dangerous end

This experiment soon ended. On January 2, 1869, just a few weeks after installation, the signal exploded due to a gas leak. Because of this, the police officer operating it got seriously injured. After this incident, the system was removed and the idea of ​​traffic signals was shelved for decades.

first electric traffic signal

Traffic signaling did not make a safe comeback until 1914. The world’s first electric traffic signal was installed in Cleveland, America. This system laid the foundation for the automated color coded traffic lights used around the world today.

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