The first electric traffic light used only red and green
In 1912, Lester Wire's electric traffic light, with just red and green signals, revolutionized urban safety by bringing order to increasingly chaotic streets as cars became common.
Before modern traffic jams, Lester Wire invented the first electric traffic light in 1912 for Salt Lake City. This pioneering device used simple red and green signals, manually switched, to manage chaotic intersections as car ownership exploded. It was a huge leap from earlier gas-powered signals, which were unreliable and dangerous.
There's more to this story — open the app to keep reading.
Continue Reading in App
1 more paragraphs · plus a 3-question quiz