Trivandrum: Today marks the 105th anniversary of the installation of the first electric traffic signal system. It was first erected on August 5, 1914, on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. August 5 is International Traffic Light Day, celebrated every year to mark the anniversary of the world’s first traffic signal, designed by James Hogg and patented in 1918.
There were other early traffic signals and traffic lights before and after James Hogg’s lights in Cleveland. There are many claims about the world’s first traffic signal. In 1868 a gaslight and a man-made traffic sign were installed in London. It had two hands: one called “Stop” (STOP) the other said “caution”.
Unfortunately, within a month of its installation, it exploded. In 1910 the first automated traffic control system was created. It did not light up, but it displayed “Stop” and “proceed”. A traffic light with red and green lights on a wooden box on a pole in Salt Lake City was established in 1912. William Potts, a police officer from Detroit, Michigan, invented the three-color traffic light used in four-way stops in the 1920s. In 1923, Garrett Morgan invented a T-shaped traffic signal; He patented it and later sold it to General Electric.
In the midst of these disputes, August 5 continued to be the official day of the world’s first traffic signal. Traffic lights are getting better from time to time. Computers began to control them in the 1950s. Computers were also allowed to install detection plates, which could be detected when vehicles were present. In addition to the basic red, yellow, and green lights, traffic lights have evolved over time.
