signalling device to control competing flows of traffic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Traffic lights (or traffic signals or stoplights) are lights used to control the movement of traffic. They are placed at road intersections and crossings.[1] The different colours of lights tell drivers what to do.
In South Africa, they call them robots.[2][3]
In Japan, the green light is also blue because ao in Japanese means green and blue.[4]
Traffic lights change their colours in the same order every time. In most English-speaking countries, traffic lights usually change in this order:
Lester Wire was credited with the invention of the electric traffic light in 1912 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[5] Garrett Morgan, an African-American inventor, also developed a traffic signalling system, and was one of the first people to get a patent for a traffic light.[6]
William Potts, a Detroit police officer, invented the first traffic light with three colours in 1920 in Detroit, Michigan.[7]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.