The history of traffic lights has been around for more than a century. On August 5, 2014, the automatic traffic controller had a jubilee - he turned exactly one hundred years old. We congratulate all road users on this significant event and recall how the history of the creation of traffic lights began.
First traffic rules
The first rules of the movement appeared more than two thousand years ago, even under Julius Caesar. Some of them are still used by modern drivers. For example, one-way traffic.
In Russia, the first mention of the rules refers to the order of Empress Anna Ioannovna. In her decree in 1730, she bequeathed to everyone to "go quietly," and those who violated this order received severe punishment: a whip or hard labor.
Modern lawyers will only smile. What does it mean "quietly"? How to determine in which cases the decree is violated? Pretty curious. However, the realization that it was necessary to somehow secure the traffic of the wagons came already then.
Also curious is the decree of another Russian empress - Catherine II. According to him, "do not shout and do not whistle, do not ring and do not strum." In this decree we observe the development of legal justice in the field of traffic. Instead of the concept of "not making noise," the empress painted well what is required of her subjects. Then the first policemen appeared, who kept order during the movement.
Great-grandfather of a modern traffic controller
We will not go into philosophical discourse about what we would do without a traffic light. Sooner or later, he would have appeared on our roads anyway. However, we will tell about the events with which the history of the appearance of the traffic light began.
The very first automatic traffic controller appeared in London, in 1868, near the parliament building. Its creator is considered engineer John Peak Knight. This is a nonrandom invention. Prior to this, the engineer designed devices for railway transport - semaphores, simple inventions with arrows. Managed them manually. If the arrow was horizontal, then there was no danger to movement. After she began to rise at an angle of 45 degrees, this meant that there was a danger to movement. It was necessary to move extremely carefully. At night, the arrows are not visible - they were replaced by gas lights in red and green. One can guess that green meant movement, and red forbade it.
It was this principle that was used when installing a traffic light on the city streets of London, and at night the gas lanterns also lit the traffic.
First electric traffic light
Further, the history of the development of traffic lights takes us to 1912, in the US state of Utah. It was here that Lester Wyre first created the regulator from the electric network. However, the patent was not acquired, so the name of the engineer was not widely known. Only two years later, engineer James Hog designed a device similar to modern traffic controllers.
The authorities liked the idea. The device was installed at the intersection of one hundred and fifth street and Euclidean Avenue. In addition to the light signal, he emitted a sound. The device was not automatic. Next to each device in the booth was a mechanic who controlled it.
The history of the appearance of the three-color traffic light is associated with the names of John F. Harris and William Potts. It was they who created the device in 1920 that regulated traffic on the busy streets of Detroit and New York.
The first traffic light in Europe
Despite the fact that the idea of the traffic controller belongs to England, the first devices of the modern type appeared in the United States. And the first European country in which such traffic lights were installed was France. This happened in 1922 in Paris, and only in 1927 the device moved to England.
Appearance in our country
The history of traffic lights in our country began with Leningrad. It was installed at the intersection of Volodarsky Avenue and October 25 (these are modern Nevsky and Liteiny). This event dates back to January 1930, and it has become significant for our country. Almost a year later, on December 30, residents of the capital met him. It was a kind of gift to Muscovites for the New Year.
New - well forgotten old?
Today, countdown devices are gaining popularity on city streets. In the age of accuracy, this novelty is very popular with residents of modern megacities. This invention has passed to us from motorsport. Surprisingly, the history of traffic lights tells us that such devices were created in the mid-20s. last century. They were produced by Attica Traffic Signal Company.
Traffic light history for children: interesting facts
It is very important that children from an early age know about the rules of the road. To do this, in kindergartens and schools, you can organize various competitions, tell interesting facts about traffic lights, hold presentations, circles and additional classes. For example, you can take the topic “History of the first traffic lights”, “Interesting facts about traffic lights”, etc. Let us tell you a little about some interesting points related to the traffic controller in different countries of the world that may be interesting for future drivers.
In Japan, for example, for a long time, the blue color was considered to allow movement.
Traffic Light Tree in England
The world's largest device is in London. This is the famous "traffic light tree." The facility is located in an area near the Canary Wharf. He does not regulate anything, but is a symbol of the achievement of the human mind. This is a kind of victory over road chaos. Its height is 8 meters. The device consists of 75 devices controlled by one computer.
Traffic controller for pedestrians
Many of us think that traffic police are needed. For pedestrians, traffic lights are used only if they are in direct contact with the equipment when crossing the street.
However, there is a device specifically for moving a stream of people. It is located in the Czech Republic (in Prague) and regulates the movement along Vinarna Chertovka Street. The fact is that this street is only 70 cm wide, and the movement of people along it is busy. Therefore, pedestrians can create real traffic jams.
Monuments to the traffic light
In the world there are real monuments of traffic lights. We have them in our country. They are installed in two cities: Novosibirsk and Perm. The first was opened in 2006, the second - in 2010.
Traffic light as a symbol of politics
Even a first grader knows the order of colors at a traffic light. However, earlier in some countries, including the USSR, they were located on the contrary. Of course, everyone came to the conclusion that red should be on top. But the only device in which this color is below is preserved in the world. The traffic light is located in the city of Syracuse in the USA. This is due not to the level of intelligence of its inhabitants, but to political beliefs. The fact is that many citizens come from Ireland. They associate red with England. Its location at the top excites the feelings of these people, since the symbol of their country is below the color of the "invaders". After the riots, US authorities decided to make an exception for the residents of this city in the arrangement of flowers at the traffic lights.
Road users note
I want to note that over a hundred years of its development, this device has undergone many different changes. As soon as the traffic lights were not modified, trying to complicate. However, life all the time indicated that the ideal option is a three-color one, consisting of flowers known to everyone. The history of the first traffic light tells us that it is red and green that are the most successful of all the variety of palettes.
Modern devices were invented for almost all types of transport: cars of different classes, motorcycles, bicycles. There are even traffic lights for horses.
Everyone understands that the device in question is not a limitation, but a guarantee of the preservation of life in the conditions of the road "war". I want to remind you that only the green light according to the rules is allowing traffic. Yellow and red are inhibitory signals. It is the neglect of this simple rule that causes many road deaths.
21st Century Devices
People increasingly rely on traffic lights. Today it is rarely possible to meet traffic police officers who regulate the street. Of course, in emergency situations this happens, but when compared with the Soviet time, the difference is obvious. We increasingly trust technology. Of course, often it fails, fails, creating emergency situations. However, every day the devices are being improved. Devices of the future are traffic lights with artificial intelligence that will maximize the degree of movement. Already today, all devices are connected to a computer with a local network. Traffic lights and special sensors are equipped to understand the degree of traffic congestion, analyze information, and issue appropriate signals. We hope that such systems will only be improved in the future.