home

What does a traffic light look like? The history of traffic lights: from a gas jet to artificial intelligence

Traffic lights(from Russian light and Greek φορός - "carrier") - optical carrier device light information . designed to control traffic motor vehicles, as well as pedestrians at pedestrian crossings and other participants road traffic, railway and subway trains , river and sea vessels, trams, trolleybuses, buses and other transport. In the CIS countries , the traffic light is municipal property of the city.

Story

The first traffic light was installed on December 10, 1868 in London near the British Parliament building. Its inventor, John Peak Knight, was a railway semaphore specialist. The traffic light was manually controlled and had two semaphore arrows: raised horizontally meant a stop signal, and lowered at an angle of 45 ° - movement with caution. At night, a rotating gas lamp was used, with the help of which signals of red and green colors were given, respectively. The traffic light was used to facilitate the crossing of pedestrians across the street, and its signals were intended for vehicles - while pedestrians were walking, vehicles had to stop. On January 2, 1869, a traffic light's gas lamp exploded, injuring a policeman operating the traffic light.

The first automatic traffic light system (capable of switching without direct human intervention) was developed and patented in 1910 by Ernst Sirrin of Chicago. His traffic lights used unlit Stop and Proceed signs.

The inventor of the first electric traffic light is Lester Wire from Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). In 1912, he developed (but did not patent) a traffic light with two round electrical signals (red and green).

On August 5, 1914, in Cleveland, the American Traffic Light Company installed four electric traffic lights designed by James Hoag at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. They had a red and green signal and, switching, emitted a sound signal. The system was controlled by a policeman sitting in a glass box at an intersection. Traffic lights set traffic rules similar to those currently adopted in the United States: a right turn was carried out at any time in the absence of interference, and a left turn was carried out on a green signal around the center of the intersection.

In 1920, tricolor traffic lights using amber signal were installed in Detroit and New York. The inventors were, respectively, William Potts (Eng. William Potts) and John F. Harris (eng. John F. Harris).

In Europe, similar traffic lights were first installed in 1922 in Paris at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli (fr. Rue de Rivoli) and Sevastopol Boulevard (fr. Boulevard de Sebastopol) and in Hamburg on the Stephansplatz square (German. stephansplatz). In England - in 1927 in the city of Wolverhampton (Eng. Wolverhampton).

In the USSR, the first traffic light was installed on January 15, 1930 in Leningrad at the intersection of avenues on October 25 and Volodarsky (now Nevsky and Liteiny avenues). And the first traffic light in Moscow appeared on December 30 of the same year at the corner of Petrovka and Kuznetsky Most streets.

In connection with the history of traffic lights, the name of the American inventor Garrett Morgan is often mentioned. (English) Russian , who patented in 1923 a traffic light of an original design. However, he went down in history by the fact that for the first time in the world, in addition to the technical design, he indicated the purpose in the patent: “The purpose of the device is to make the order of passage through the intersection independent of the person sitting in the car.”

In the mid-1990s, green LEDs with sufficient brightness and color purity were invented, and experiments began with LED traffic lights. Moscow became the first city in which LED traffic lights began to be widely used.

Types of traffic lights

Street and road traffic lights

Automobile traffic lights

the red signal of the traffic light prohibits the passage of the stop line (in its absence, beyond the traffic light) or the vehicle in front of the area protected by the traffic light,
yellow allows passing the stop line, but requires a speed reduction to enter the area protected by a traffic light, readiness for the traffic light to switch to red,
green - allows movement at a speed not exceeding the maximum level for this highway.

It is common, but not universal, to use a combination of red and yellow signals to indicate that the green signal is about to turn on. Sometimes a green signal turns on immediately after a red one without an intermediate yellow, but not vice versa. The details of the use of signals differ depending on the traffic regulations adopted in a particular country.

Some traffic lights have one moon-white or several moon-white lights for a special vehicular lane that allows route traffic of motor vehicles. A moon-white signal is placed, as a rule, at non-standard intersections, on roads with a second double solid line, or when one lane changes places with another (for example, when a tram line running along the center of the highway goes to the side of the road).

There are two sections of traffic lights - red and green. Such traffic lights are usually installed at points where cars pass on an individual basis, for example, at border crossings, at the entrance or exit from a parking lot, a protected area, etc.

Flashing signals may also be given, the meaning of which depends on local legislation. In Russia and in many European countries, a flashing green signal indicates an upcoming switch to yellow. Cars approaching a traffic light with a flashing green signal can take timely braking measures to avoid entering the intersection guarded by the traffic light or crossing the prohibitory signal. In some provinces of Canada (Atlantic Coast, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta), a flashing green traffic light means you are allowed to turn left and go straight (oncoming traffic is stopped by a red light). In British Columbia, a flashing green traffic light at an intersection indicates that there are no traffic lights on the intersecting road, but only stop signs (and the green flashing light is also on for oncoming traffic). A flashing yellow signal requires you to slow down to pass an intersection or pedestrian crossing as unregulated (for example, at night, when regulation is not required due to low traffic). Sometimes special traffic lights are used for these purposes, consisting of one flashing or alternately flashing two yellow sections. A flashing red signal may indicate an upcoming switch to green if there is no red + yellow combination at this traffic light.

Turnouts and turnout sections

There may be additional sections in the form of arrows or arrow outlines that regulate movement in one direction or another. The rules (on the territory of Ukraine, but not in all countries of the former USSR) are as follows:

Outline arrows on a red (yellow, green) background are a regular traffic light that operates only in a given direction.
A solid green arrow on a black background allows passage, but does not give advantage when passing.

In the rules of the road of the Russian Federation in clause 6.3, the contour arrows and the colored arrow on a black background are equivalent and do not give an advantage when passing when the red signal is on in the main section.

Most often, the additional section "to the right" either lights up constantly, or lights up a few seconds before the main green signal turns on, or continues to burn for a few more seconds after the main green signal turns off.

The extra section "left" in most cases means a dedicated left turn, since this maneuver creates more traffic obstruction than a right turn.

In some countries, for example, in Ukraine, there are "always burning" green sections, made in the form of a plate with a green arrow on a white background. The plate is located at the level of the red signal and is directed to the right (the arrow to the left is also provided, but can only be installed at the intersection of roads with one-way traffic). The green arrow on the plate indicates that turning right (left) is allowed with a red signal in the main section. When turning along such an arrow, the driver must: take the extreme right (left) lane and give way to pedestrians and vehicles moving from other directions.

Traffic light with flashing red signal

A red flashing signal (usually on with a flashing one or alternately flashing two red sections) is used to protect intersections with tram lines when approaching a tram, bridges during wiring, road sections near airport runways during takeoff and landing of aircraft at a dangerous height. These traffic lights are similar to those used at level crossings (see below).

Traffic lights installed at railway crossings

This one is installed directly at railway crossings in combination with road signs "STOP" and "Place of stopping", respectively. It usually consists of two horizontally spaced red sections and one additional section in moonlight white. The white section is located between the red ones, below or above the sections connecting them. The meaning of the signals is as follows:

two alternately flashing red signals - movement through the crossing is prohibited; this signal is usually duplicated by an audible alarm (call);
a flashing moon-white signal of a traffic light means that the technical system of the crossing is in good order, and also informs road users about the unhindered passage through the railway crossing

Reversing traffic light

To regulate traffic along the lanes of the carriageway (especially where reverse traffic is possible), special lane controls (reverse) are used. In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, such traffic lights may have two or three signals:

red X-shaped signal prohibits movement along the lane;
a green arrow pointing down allows movement;
an additional signal in the form of a diagonal yellow arrow informs about a change in the operating mode of the lane and indicates the direction in which it must be left.

Traffic lights for route vehicles

To regulate the movement of route vehicles (trams, buses, trolleybuses) or route traffic of all vehicles, special traffic lights are used, the type of which differs from country to country.

In Russia, the Rules of the Road provide for the use of a T-shaped traffic light with " four round signals of white-lunar color". The upper signals are used to indicate the permitted directions of movement (left, straight, right), and the lower signal allows the start of movement. Also in recent years, in cases where the direction of movement of block vehicles is only one, or for all directions, movement is always allowed simultaneously, sometimes a traffic light is used in the form of an ordinary single round section with a luminous yellow letter “T”, allowing movement when lit, and forbidding when not illuminated.

In Switzerland, a single orange signal (solid or flashing) is used for this purpose.

In the Nordic countries, traffic lights are used with three sections that coincide in location and purpose with standard traffic lights, but have a white color and the shape of signs: "S" - for a signal prohibiting movement, "-" - for a warning signal, a direction arrow for traffic permission signal.

There are also traffic lights at tram stations (terminal) - that is, outside the highways, having 2 sections each - red and green. They serve to indicate the order of departure of tram trains from different tracks of the station.

There is no international standard for traffic lights for shuttle vehicles and they can vary greatly even in neighboring countries. As an example, the signals of such traffic lights in Belgium and the Netherlands are given below:

Meaning of signals (from left to right):

Driving straight ahead is allowed
Permission to move to the left
Permission to move to the right
Allowed movement in all directions (similar to the green signal of a traffic light)
Movement is prohibited, except when emergency braking is required to stop (similar to the yellow signal of a car traffic light)
Movement is prohibited (similar to the red signal of a traffic light)

Due to its specific appearance, the Dutch traffic light was nicknamed negenoog, that is, “nine eyes”.

Traffic light for pedestrians

These regulate the movement of pedestrians through the pedestrian crossing. As a rule, it has two types of signals: allowing and forbidding. Usually, green and red light are used for this purpose, respectively. The signals themselves have a different shape. Most often, signals are used in the form of a silhouette of a person: red - standing, green - walking. In the US, a red signal is often performed in the form of a silhouette of a raised palm (the "stop" gesture). Sometimes they use the inscriptions "don't go" and "go" (in English "Don't Walk" and "Walk", in other languages - similarly). In the capital of Norway, two standing figures painted in red are used to prohibit pedestrian traffic. This is done so that the visually impaired or people suffering from color blindness can understand whether they can walk or need to stand. On busy highways, as a rule, automatically switching traffic lights are installed. But the option is also often used when the traffic light switches after pressing a special button and allows the transition for a certain time after that.

Modern ones for pedestrians are also additionally equipped with sound signals intended for blind pedestrians, and sometimes a countdown display (first appeared in France in 1998).

At the time of the existence of the GDR, traffic signals for pedestrians had the original form of a small “traffic light” man (Ger. Ampelmannchen). In Saxony and the eastern part of Berlin, such traffic lights are installed to this day.

In the absence of a pedestrian traffic light, pedestrians are guided by the indications of an automobile traffic light.

Traffic light for cyclists

For traffic control bicycles sometimes special traffic lights are used. It can be a traffic light, the signals of which are made in the form of a bicycle silhouette, or an ordinary three-color traffic light, equipped with a special plate. As a rule, such traffic lights are smaller than car traffic lights and are installed at a height convenient for cyclists.

Tram traffic light

T-shaped (tram) are designed to regulate the movement of vehicles that have a dedicated lane for traffic - in the vast majority of cases for trams. They are usually installed in front of areas with limited visibility, before long ascents, descents, at the entrance / exit of tram depots, as well as in front of tram switches and track plexuses.

Usually trams have 2 signals: red and green. They are installed mainly either to the right of the tram track, or in the center above it above the contact wire. Traffic lights of this type operate automatically.

The main purpose of tram traffic lights is to signal to tram drivers that the part of the tram track following the traffic light is busy. The action of tram traffic lights applies only to trams.

Railway traffic light

Railway traffic lights are designed to control the movement of trains, shunting trains, as well as control the speed of dissolution from the marshalling yard:

red - the path is busy, travel is prohibited;
yellow - travel is allowed with a speed limit (40 km / h) and until the next section of the stage;
green - 2 or more sections are free, travel is allowed;
lunar white - an invitation signal (placed at railway stations, marshalling and freight stations).

Also, traffic lights or additional light indicators can inform the driver about the route or otherwise specify the indication. If two yellow lights are on at the input traffic light, this means that the train will deviate along the arrows, the next signal is closed, and if two yellow and the top flashing light, the next signal is open.

There is a separate type of two-color railway traffic lights - shunting, which give the following signals:

one moon-white light - maneuvers are allowed;
one blue light - it is forbidden to make maneuvers.

Sometimes a railway traffic light is erroneously called a semaphore.

River traffic lights

River traffic lights are designed to regulate the movement of river vessels. They are mainly used to regulate the passage of ships through locks. Such traffic lights have signals of two colors - red and green.

Distinguish distant and neighbors river traffic lights. Distant traffic lights allow or prohibit the approach of ships to the lock. Nearby traffic lights are installed directly in front of and inside the lock chamber on the right side in the direction of the vessel. They regulate the entry of ships into the lock chamber and the exit from it.

It should be noted that an idle river traffic light (none of the signals is on) prohibits the movement of ships.

There are also river traffic lights in the form of a single yellow-orange lantern built into the No Anchoring sign to indicate this sign at night. They have three lenses of the specified color, directed downstream, upstream and perpendicular.

Traffic lights in motorsport

In motorsport, they can be installed at marshal posts, at the exit from the pit lane and at the starting line.

The starting traffic light is suspended above the track in such a way that it is clearly visible to everyone standing at the start. Arrangement of lights: "red - green" or "yellow - green - red". Traffic lights are duplicated from the opposite side (so that all fans and judges can see the start procedure). Often at a racing traffic light there is not one red light, but several (in case the lamp burns out).

The traffic lights are as follows:

Red: Get ready to launch!
Red goes out: Start! (start from a place)
Green: Start! (flying start, qualification, warm-up lap)
Flashing yellow: Stop engines!

The signals for standing start and flying start are different for this reason. The fading red does not allow you to start reflexively - this reduces the likelihood that someone will move from a place to an “alarming” yellow light. During a rolling start this is not a problem, but it is important for the riders to know if the start has been given (if the judge considers the starting formation inappropriate, the cars are sent to a second formation lap). In this case, the green start signal is more informative.

In some racing series, there are other signals.

Marshal traffic lights are found mainly on oval tracks and give the same commands that marshals give with flags (red - stop the race, yellow - dangerous section, etc.)

The traffic lights in the pit lane have the following signals:

Red: No exit from the pit lane.
Green: Pit lane exit allowed.
Flashing blue: a car is approaching the exit, give way to it.

In 2008, the Ferrari team used a traffic light instead of a sign to signal the driver during a pit stop. The system operated fully automatically, but during the Singapore Grand Prix, due to the busy traffic in the pit lane, it was necessary to control the traffic lights manually. The mechanic mistakenly gave Massa a green light before the fuel hose was pulled out of the car, which led to the incident. After that, the team returned to the traditional plate.

Did you know that the traffic light had a birthday on August 5th? And in 2014 he turned 100 years old! It was a century ago that the first electric traffic light was invented. Are you an experienced driver or a beginner? driving lessons? Not important! We think it will be interesting to read about the history of the traffic light for everyone.

Great grandfather of our traffic light

Just imagine what it would be like on the roads if we didn't have a regular traffic light. But who is to be thanked for such a useful invention? Here's what they say driving instructors .

The very first traffic light in the history of mankind was installed in December 1868 in London next to the Houses of Parliament. This smart device was created by a certain John Peak Knight, an engineer who worked on semaphores, that is, devices that regulate the movement of railway transport.

It was a simple design with two semaphore arrows. The first traffic light was controlled manually. A horizontal arrow meant a stop, and when the arrow was raised up at an angle of 45 degrees, it was necessary to move with extreme caution. At night, the arrows were replaced with gas lamps of different colors. Red - stop, green - further movement is allowed.

The main task of the traffic lights of that time was to make the passage of pedestrians through the carriageway easier and safer.

When was the electric traffic light introduced?

In 1912, thanks to Lester Wire, a resident of Utah in America, the first traffic light appeared, which was powered by the mains. But it was not patented. And only two years later, engineer James Hogue from Cleveland designed a device that became the prototype of the modern traffic light. Then at once four traffic regulators were installed at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. In addition to light signals, they could also give sound signals. Control came from a glass booth built nearby. There was always a duty officer who was responsible for the operation of the traffic light.

Tricolor traffic lights appeared a little later, in 1920, but instantly filled the streets of New York and Detroit. John F. Harris and William Potts are considered to be their creators.

France became the first European country to install a traffic light. It happened in 1922, when the inhabitants of Paris began to travel according to the readings of these unique devices. In 1927, the traffic light reached England.

In our country, then still the USSR, the first traffic light was installed in Leningrad at the intersection of modern Nevsky and Liteiny avenues (then they were called Volodarsky and 25 October Avenue). This happened in January 1930 and became a significant event in the history of Russian traffic. A little later, in December, Muscovites were also able to get acquainted with the traffic light. It was installed on New Year's Eve, December 30, 1930.

By the mid-20s. of the last century, almost 50 types of traffic lights of various designs were invented. It is worth noting the invention of the Attica Traffic Signal Company. The system they developed could count down to the start by lighting up the light bulbs. By the way, today such a scheme is actively used in motorsport.

How a modern traffic light works

If you think that a traffic light is a simple design with periodic switching of light displays, then you are deeply mistaken. Modern traffic lights are very complex devices. They include:

case with lamps,
traffic signal controller ,
special vehicle sensors.

Today, traffic lights are installed on special supports and poles along highways and mainly at intersections.

This silent "traffic controller" is controlled by a computer, which independently selects and synchronizes movement in accordance with the constantly changing traffic situation. Sensors instantly fix vehicles, as if setting them the rhythm of movement with the help of well-known light signals.

In large cities and metropolitan areas, traffic lights are combined into automated systems that control the movement of all city vehicles.

Such systems are capable of creating surprisingly complex effects, such as the "green wave".

The further development of this means of motion control lies already in the field of the development of artificial intelligence. Over time, it is the traffic light that will take over the entire regulation of traffic flows, completely excluding a person from this process.

Amazing Facts

By the way, in Japan for a long time the blue color was a permissive traffic light.

The term "traffic light" entered the Russian language after the inclusion of this concept in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, in 1932.

And the biggest traffic light is in London. This is the so-called "traffic light tree", located on the square near the Canary pier. This design does not regulate anything, but is a kind of memorial and a symbol of victory. It signifies that the "three fires" have triumphed over road chaos. The height of the memorial is 8 meters, and this traffic light consists of 75 devices controlled by just one computer.

On a note

Over the past hundred years, the three-color traffic controller has constantly evolved, becoming more complex, more convenient and smarter. Today there are traffic lights not only for cars, but also for pedestrians, trams, cyclists and even horses. Arrows have appeared that allow turning right at a red signal, as well as sound signals, so that visually impaired people can safely cross the roadway.

Perhaps someone will think that traffic lights are some kind of limitation ... But just think about how many lives they have helped save over this century.

Traffic without these traffic controllers would be chaotic and extremely dangerous. Don't forget to say thank you as you pass by...

P.S. We remind you once again that the prohibitory signal of a traffic light is not only red, but also yellow. Movement for motorists and pedestrians is allowed only on green. Do not forget this simple rule, and you will always be safe.

Video about why the red, yellow and green colors of the signals are used in the traffic light:

Good luck at the crossroads and follow the traffic rules!

The article used an image from the site ugranow.ru

A traffic light (from Russian light and Greek φορоς - “carrier”) is an optical signaling device designed to regulate the movement of people, bicycles, cars and other road users, railway and subway trains, river and sea vessels.

In fact, the very first traffic light was installed on December 10, 1868 in London near the British Parliament building. Its inventor, J.P. Knight, was an expert on railroad semaphores. The traffic light was manually controlled and had two semaphore wings: raised horizontally meant a stop signal, and lowered at an angle of 45 ° - movement with caution.

At night, a rotating gas lamp was used, with the help of which signals of red and green colors were given, respectively. The traffic light was used to facilitate the crossing of pedestrians across the street, and its signals were intended for vehicles - while pedestrians were walking, cars had to stop. On January 2, 1869, a traffic light's gas lamp exploded, injuring a policeman operating the traffic light.

The inventor of the first electric traffic light is considered to be Lester Wire from Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). In 1912, he developed (but did not patent) a traffic light with two round electrical signals of red and green.

On August 5, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the American Traffic Light Company installed four electric traffic lights designed by James Hoag at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. They had a red and green signal and, switching, emitted a sound signal. The system was controlled by a policeman sitting in a glass box at an intersection. Traffic lights set traffic rules similar to those adopted in modern America: a right turn was carried out at any time in the absence of interference, and a left turn was carried out on a green signal around the center of the intersection.

In Australia, in the 30s, they also invented such an unusual traffic light that worked on the principle of a clock - it was necessary to act depending on the color of the field on which the arrow was currently located

In 1920, three-color traffic lights using a yellow signal were installed in Detroit (Michigan (state) Michigan, USA and New York. The authors of the inventions were, respectively, William Potts and John F. Harris.

The first Japanese traffic lights had a blue permission signal, then it was changed to green, but the inhabitants of the country still call it "blue" out of habit.

First tricolor traffic light 1920

In Europe, similar traffic lights were first installed in 1922 in Paris at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli and Sevastopol Boulevard and in Hamburg at Stephansplatz. In England - in 1927 in the city of Wolverhampton.

Photo taken in 1931. This is the second traffic light installed in Moscow - at the corner of Kuznetsky and Neglinka.

Types of traffic lights

The most common are traffic lights with signals (usually round) of three colors: red, yellow (burns 0.5-1 sec.) And green. In some countries, including Russia, orange is used instead of yellow. Signals can be arranged both vertically (with the red signal always on the top and the green signal on the bottom) and horizontally (with the red signal always on the left and the green signal on the right).

T-shaped traffic light in Moscow shows the signal "no traffic"

Sometimes traffic lights are supplemented with a special countdown display, which shows how long the signal will be on. Most often, the countdown board is made for a green traffic light, but in some cases, the board also displays the remaining time of the red signal.

Traffic light from the designer Stanislav Katz. All three colors on it are reproduced by one flashlight consisting of a matrix of green and red LEDs.

Flashing signals may also be given, the meaning of which depends on local legislation. In Russia and in many European countries, a flashing green signal indicates an upcoming switch to yellow.

A flashing yellow signal requires you to slow down to pass an intersection or pedestrian crossing as unregulated (for example, at night, when regulation is not required due to low traffic).

The cost of one traffic light object, depending on its technical equipment and the complexity of the road section, ranges from 800 thousand rubles to 2.5 million rubles.

Traffic lights may have additional sections in the form of arrows or arrow outlines that regulate traffic in one direction or another.

A red flashing signal is used to protect intersections with tram lines when a tram approaches, bridges when drawing, road sections near airport runways when aircraft take off and land at a dangerous height.

The traffic light installed at railway crossings consists of two horizontally located red lights and, on part of the crossings, one moon-white light. A white lantern is located between the red ones, below or above the line connecting them. Sometimes a green unblinking lantern is placed instead of a moon-white lantern.

To regulate traffic along the lanes of the carriageway (especially where reverse traffic is possible), special traffic lights are used - reversible.

Reversible traffic lights

In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, such traffic lights may have two or three signals:

a red X-shaped signal prohibits traffic on the lane;

a green arrow pointing down allows movement;

an additional signal in the form of a diagonal yellow arrow informs about a change in the operating mode of the lane and indicates the direction in which it must be left.

Traffic lights for route vehicles in the Netherlands (top row) and Belgium (bottom row)

Traffic lights for pedestrians regulate the movement of people through a pedestrian crossing. As a rule, it has two types of signals: allowing and forbidding.

Most often, signals are used in the form of a silhouette of a person: red - standing, green - walking. In the US, a red signal is often performed in the form of a silhouette of a raised palm (the "stop" gesture). Sometimes they use the inscriptions "don't go" and "go" (in English "Don't Walk" and "Walk", in other languages - similarly). In the capital of Norway, two standing figures painted in red are used to prohibit pedestrian traffic. This is done so that the visually impaired or people suffering from color blindness can understand whether they can walk or need to stand.

Pedestrian traffic light in Norway

Often the option is used when the traffic light switches after pressing a special button and allows the transition for a certain time after that.

Modern traffic lights for pedestrians are additionally equipped with sound signals intended for blind pedestrians.

Traffic light sound module for blind pedestrians

During the existence of the GDR, traffic lights for pedestrians had the original shape of a small "traffic light" man.

Souvenirs with the image of a "traffic light" man

To regulate the movement of bicycles, special traffic lights are sometimes used. It can be a traffic light, the signals of which are made in the form of a bicycle silhouette. They are smaller and mounted at a comfortable height for cyclists.

Traffic light for bicycles in Vienna

South Korean designers have developed a traffic light for color blind people. The development, called Uni-Signal (short for Universal Sign Light - “universal signal sign”), is based on the original idea to give the sections of automatic adjusters the shape of different geometric shapes.

Traffic light with timer

TAKE LED traffic lights in Taiwan

And here is another photo on the topic of traffic lights

Installation by Pierre Vivant: neither a tree nor a traffic light

Most of us daily face such an invention of mankind as a traffic light. And how often do we think at the same time, who and when invented such a useful device that helps to regulate the movement of automobile and pedestrian flows on our roads?

The emergence of the first traffic lights

The first traffic light in the history of mankind was installed a long time ago, back in December of the distant 1868. It happened in the capital of Great Britain - London, near the Parliament building. The creator of this traffic light was an engineer named John Peak Knight, who was previously in charge of the relevant devices on railway transport, then called semaphores.

The appearance of the first traffic light was significantly different from its today's counterparts. He was on manual control and was a simple design with a set of two semaphore arrows. The arrow, located horizontally, meant a stop, and raised upward at an angle of 45 degrees, moving with special vigilance. At night, the arrows were replaced by a gas lantern of the appropriate colors. Red meant stop, and green allowed further movement.

The main task of the traffic light was to facilitate the movement of pedestrian flows through the carriageway.

The invention of electric traffic lights

The creator of the first electrically powered traffic light was a US citizen living in Utah named Lester Wire, who in 1912 developed a traffic light with two signals, respectively, red and green. However, this project was not patented.

In 1914, in Cleveland, one of the American traffic light companies installed four electric traffic lights at once, designed by another engineer, James Hog. These traffic lights were located at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and 105th Street. These traffic lights, in addition to shining red and green light, also emitted sound signals. The system was controlled by an on-duty police officer located in a glass box specially built near the intersection.

The first three-color traffic lights appeared a little later, in 1920. They appeared almost simultaneously on the streets of New York, as well as in Detroit. They were designed respectively by John F. Harris and William Potts.

France was the first European country to install traffic lights. It was in Paris in 1922 that the inhabitants of Western Europe also joined the ranks of citizens moving on the roads, guided by the indications of a traffic light. Before England (the state where this invention of mankind saw the light for the first time), electric traffic lights "got" only by 1927.

In the USSR, for the first time, a traffic light was installed in Leningrad at the intersection of Volodarsky and October 25 Avenue (today called, respectively, Liteiny and Nevsky prospects). It happened in mid-January 1930. In Moscow, the first traffic light was installed almost a year later, on December 30 of the same 1930.

It was installed on December 10, 1868 in London near the British Parliament building. Its inventor, John Peak Knight, was a railway semaphore specialist. operated manually and had two semaphore arrows: raised horizontally meant a stop signal, and lowered at an angle of 45 ° - movement with caution. At night, a rotating gas lamp was used, with the help of which signals of red and green colors were given, respectively. was used to facilitate the crossing of pedestrians across the street, and its signals were intended for vehicles - while pedestrians are walking, vehicles must stop. On January 2, 1869, a traffic light's gas lamp exploded, injuring a policeman operating the traffic light.

The inventor of the first electric traffic light is Lester Wire from Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). In 1912, he developed (but did not patent) two round electrical signals (red and green).

In 1920, tricolors using the yellow signal were installed in Detroit and New York. The inventors were, respectively, William Potts (Eng. William Potts) and John F. Harris (eng. John F. Harris).

In Europe, similar ones were first installed in 1922 in Paris at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli (fr. Rue de Rivoli) and Sevastopol Boulevard (fr. Boulevard de Sebastopol) and in Hamburg on the Stephansplatz square (German. stephansplatz). In England - in 1927 in the city of Wolverhampton (Eng. Wolverhampton).

In connection with history, the name of the American inventor Garret Morgan is often mentioned, who patented a traffic light of an original design in 1923. However, he went down in history by the fact that for the first time in the world, in addition to the technical design, he indicated the purpose in the patent: “The purpose of the device is to make the order of passage through the intersection independent of the person sitting in the car.”

In the mid-1990s, green LEDs with sufficient brightness and color purity were invented, and experiments began with. Moscow became the first city in which LED traffic lights began to be widely used.

What else to read

What does "wear a hat on a butch" mean? In domestic places not so remote, all prisoners are divided into four prison castes (they are also called ...

How and how much you can drink coffee from chicory If doctors categorically forbid you to drink coffee, then do not despair! Chicory will be an excellent substitute for your favorite ...

What foods promote serotonin synthesis? We have all heard of the miraculous hormone of happiness. It is found in chocolate and bananas, after which the mood ...