Traffic Lights

Before the automobile was invented, the first traffic light was installed in London in 1868. At that time traffic lights were used to control pedestrian, buggy, and wagon traffic. This first traffic light was made from a revolving lantern. It had two colors, red and green. Traffic was to stop when the red portion was shown, and when the green portion was seen, the traffic was to walk or drive through "cautiously". These traffic lights were illuminated by gas.

A police officer controlled the traffic light at its base. Using a lever, he would decide when the traffic should stop. One year later, one of these crudely made traffic lights exploded, injuring the traffic officer. Once automobiles were invented, the need for traffic lights increased. A police officer in Detroit, Michigan, by the name of William Potts decided to try his hand at inventing a new traffic light. He wanted to invent a traffic light that was adapted from the railroad signals already being used. With wire and electrical controls, he obtained three railroad lights in the colors red, amber, and green to invent the world's first traffic light.

In 1920 this light was installed on the corner of Michigan and Woodward Avenues in Detroit. Before the year was over, Detroit had installed fifteen new traffic lights. In 1909 the first concrete roads were laid in Detroit bringing more automobiles into the area. Garrett Morgan, the first African American to own an automobile, invented the electric automated traffic light. This would provide the concept of the modern traffic lights we use today.

Today there are more cost effective traffic lights now using light emitting diodes or LED's. These lights give a brighter illumination and last a much longer time than the incandescent halogen light bulbs that were used earlier. Traffic lights now consist of more than just the usual red, green, and amber colored lights. Today you will find arrows for left and sometimes right turn lanes.