2. By the 1920’s, there were already new and improved forms of transportation—ships, airplanes, cars, and of course, trains. Transportation provided not only a means of getting from place to place, but a new and innovative way of life.
3. Thanks to Henry Ford, the inflexible American industrialist, the assembly line and conveyer belt furthered mass production. Now, not only were more meat packages produced, but more automobiles also—and at low prices too. An easy enough job working at one of these assembly lines, women found work here and contributed money to supporting their families.
4.
5. But what was one to do about the increasing chaos on the streets? There was a huge concern about the ever increasing number of vehicles simultaneously moving on the streets. It seemed as if this disorder would lead to a number of different issues. It caused more accidents and was more difficult and dangerous for pedestrians who were trying to cross the road.
6. Police stepped in in their attempt to bring safety, order, organization to the flow of traffic between automobiles and pedestrians. But these police, along with many other Americans of this time, knew there had to be a simpler way…
7. …and Police Officer William L. Potts of Detroit, Michigan discovered that solution. Railroads were using automatic controls, so he adapted these signals for the streets to. Red; amber; and green railroad lights plus thirty-seven dollars worth of wire and electrical controls made the world’s first 4-way three color traffic light.
8.
9. In the year of 1920, this newly conceived traffic light was installed on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in Detroit. By 1921, the city of Detroit had installed a total of fifteen of these new automatic lights.
10. Three years later, in 1923, Garrett Morgan, the first African-American to own an automobile, invented the electric automatic traffic light. Realizing that Ohio was in need of control over the flow of traffic, he applied for a patent to produce inexpensive traffic lights. This had three positions (stop, go, and the third halting all traffic to allow pedestrians to cross the street more safely) on a T-shaped pole.
11. "This invention relates to traffic signals, and particularly to those which are adapted to be positioned adjacent the intersection of two or more streets and are manually operable for directing the flow of traffic... In addition, my invention contemplates the provision of a signal which may be readily and cheaply manufactured." Garrett Morgan
12. America was not the only country to adopt the traffic light. Other countries began using the traffic light to enhance transportation and promote safety. 1927: England’s first use of automatic experimental traffic lights in Wolverhampton.
13. These inventions in the 1920’s allowed for more transportation enhancement. More traffic lights were installed all over the world, in addition to new traffic signals. Now, pedestrians know when it is safe to cross the street, and cars know when to yield to them. Worldly, safety on the streets has improved greatly.
14. Not only did pedestrians feel safer crossing the road when they knew no traffic was approaching, but drivers felt more safe taking comfort in knowing that there was an organized system preventing many accidents. This opened up many other doors for transportation and road methods of keeping everyone feeling secure and under control in the hectic time period of the Roaring 1920’s. Thanks to this time period, driving and being on the streets today has become a safer activity.
