Today this device, located on almost every corner, is directly associated with road safety. However, traffic lights can surprise not only with discoveries, but also with clashes between citizens and authorities, and even bans on their use. The invention had to go through a difficult path from a traffic controller’s tool to a traffic symbol.

How important a place a traffic light plays in our lives can be judged by statistics. Tireless scientists have calculated that in total amount Over the course of his entire life, a resident of a metropolis has to stand at a traffic light for about two weeks. However, first things first.

History of traffic lights

Invention

It is easy to guess that the appearance of the traffic light is connected with the railway. Immediately after the start of mass use of trains, the need arose to regulate their movement. A few decades later, the mechanical semaphore used there appeared at a central London intersection.

In 1868, a specialist in the above-mentioned semaphores assembled a traffic controller based on them for an intersection near the House of Commons building in England. During the day, movement is directed by arrows that have two positions: horizontal (stop) and downward at an angle of 45°. Wheelchairs driving from the bridge onto George Street (or vice versa) were required to move with caution when they saw the second sign. At night, instead of them, rotating gas lamps began to work, which, like the semaphore wings, were driven by manual force.

In 1869, the first accident involving a traffic light occurs. The red and green colors of the lanterns attracted many guests to London, and some even traveled to it from the continent. However, less than a year after installation it was dismantled and forgotten for almost half a century. Despite the six-meter height of the first traffic light, the exploding lantern injured a guard, and the authorities had to wait for the invention of a more reliable design. A special decree prohibited the use of such devices.

Electric traffic light

The history of the traffic light is directly related to discoveries in other areas. The most rapid development awaited it at the beginning of the 20th century, when electrification began its march across the planet. The first patent for the original device was issued in 1923 in the name of Garrett Morgan, but the traffic light itself was invented much earlier.

• 1910 Thanks to the efforts of Henry Ford, more and more mechanized carriages are appearing in the United States, which pushes progress in related areas. This year, Ernst Sirin, a native of Chicago, patents the design of an automatic traffic light. The signal is not highlighted, but the inscriptions speak for themselves - Proceed and Stop.
• 1912 A resident of Salt Lake City is assembling a traffic light powered by electricity - the device is being installed in the city center. Unfortunately for Lester Wire, he did not patent his invention.
• 1914 The first traffic light system and the registration of the American Traffic Light Company. On August 5, in Cleveland (the intersection of Euclid Avenue and 105th Street), a system of four electric traffic lights controlled from a guard booth was installed. The date is considered the birthday of the traffic light.
• 1920 Three-color traffic lights are appearing in Detroit and New York. Yellow William Potts, a policeman from Detroit, thought of adding to the two standard ones.
• 1920–1930 The emergence of traffic lights in Europe. (1922 - Paris, 1927 - England).
• 1930 Traffic light regulation reaches the USSR. On January 15, an automatic traffic controller is installed in Leningrad (the intersection of modern Nevsky and Liteyny prospects). Progress reaches Moscow in December of the same year (Kuznetsky Most and Petrovka). True, in large quantities they began to be installed only in 1933, when the experiment was considered successful. The third city that decided to install them was Rostov-on-Don.

Modern traffic lights

It is impossible to say for sure when and where the presentation of the modern traffic light took place. The mass distribution of diodes began in the mid-90s. The possibility of widespread production of flashlights based on diodes of different colors leads to the emergence of a device that is closest to the modern one. Most often they could be found in Moscow.

Even though we talk about it in singular, today's traffic lights are made up of many devices. In fact, the traffic at each intersection is controlled by its own computer, built into the controller, which systematizes the appearance of signals, and at the same time the traffic. Motion sensors are aimed at the pedestrian lane or its intended location. Thanks to motion indexing, the device can be programmed to operate in unusual situations.

IN major cities synchronization and regulation of the operation of traffic lights located at a great distance is used through a single remote control (no more than 250 meters from any device). Communication between remote controls is configured using the GSM network. The general algorithm and schedule are agreed upon and signed by the traffic police.

The system reacts to the breakdown of one of the devices and informs the inspector about it. The work program is quite complex, but the main objective- skip maximum amount transport without delays. A full cycle of three signals ranges from 80 to 160 seconds and in the smartest systems it can adapt to traffic on the road. This is, for example, the SURTRAC system developed at Carnegie Mellon University. The computer in it regulates the operation of individual intersections based on information about traffic density in other areas.

The history of traffic lights for children begins with the color and meaning of the signals. The logic of choosing red and green is clear, but the arrangement of colors was not always this way. Until the early forties, the colors on traffic lights in the USSR were arranged in the reverse order, and the automatic traffic controller itself, with its toy appearance, could confuse the modern driver. Other facts can also be recalled.

• Traffic light monuments can be found in the most different corners peace. In Russia they can be seen on the streets of Novosibirsk and Perm. Both were opened in the 21st century: the first in 2006, and the second four years later.
• The first city in Ukraine to use this device was Kharkov. The test model was installed in 1936.
• There are a huge number of traffic lights in the world that regulate the movement of trains, river transport, etc. But the most amazing machine is located in Prague and coordinates the movement of pedestrians along Vinarna Čertovka Street. The fact is that its width is only 70 cm, and traffic jams can occur here without cars.
• The last traffic light with the reverse arrangement of colors is in the city of Syracuse (USA). The first automatic traffic controllers installed here at the beginning of the last century caused violent indignation among local residents. Most of them came from Ireland, a country whose traditional color is green. At that time, red was associated with England. Residents smashed the windows of the machine until the authorities made concessions and turned the color signals upside down, putting green above red.

In the video - why these colors were chosen for traffic lights:

Conclusion

Over the entire century that has passed since its inception, traffic lights have managed to penetrate into all spheres of life. There are a huge number of types of regulatory boards designed for a wide variety of purposes. Ultra-precise traffic lights are even used in sports competitions.

Information displayed on the diode screen can inform the pedestrian and driver about the time remaining until the end of the signal. In the future, this direction will undoubtedly only develop, and, probably, over time, traffic lights will become so smart that we will completely rely on their work. In the meantime, it remains to closely monitor not only the signals, but also the situation on the road. Be vigilant, and then the green color will never change to red for you.

Nadezhda Zaitseva

Colorful color presentation on traffic rules. The material is suitable for classes in senior and preparatory groups.

The presentation will help teachers make learning entertaining, interesting, playful, exciting, and traffic rules will be remembered more easily, since the material is presented

in a visual form.

1 slide - title.

Slide 2 - definition. A traffic light is,optical device feeding light signals regulating the movement of automobile, rail, water and other transport, as well as pedestrians at pedestrian crossings.

Slide 3 - After the first cars appeared on the roads along with horse-drawn carriages in the second half of the 19th century, the need arose to streamline the movement of vehicles - speed and mobility were too different

Slide 4 - The first device appeared back in 1868 at the English Parliament building in London. It was created by railway engineer John Peake Knight. Traffic light was controlled manually and had two semaphore arrows: raised horizontally meant a signal "stop", and lowered at an angle of 45° - move with caution. In the dark, a rotating gas lamp was used, with the help of which red signals were given, respectively. (prohibiting) and green (allowing movement) colors.

Slide 5 - But on January 2, 1869, a tragedy occurred - this device exploded when the policeman assigned to it tried to turn it. The policeman was seriously injured and after that the idea of ​​regulating traffic was implemented only 40 years later.

Slide 6 - But on January 2, 1869, a tragedy occurred - this device exploded when the policeman assigned to it tried to turn it. The policeman was seriously injured and after that the idea of ​​regulating traffic was implemented only 40 years later. This system was not used backlight, which made it difficult to use in the dark.

Slide 7 - In 1914, the first electric traffic light.

It worked using electricity and gave signals using light bulbs. Traffic light had two round signals, red and green. Commanded the signals traffic light controller, which instead of a yellow signal gave a warning sound with a whistle.

Slide 8 - IN 1920 tricolor traffic lights using yellow were installed in Detroit and New York. The inventors were Williams Potts and John Harris.

Slide 9 - The first three-color traffic lights on the roads

Slide 10 - First in the USSR traffic light installed on January 15, 1930 in Leningrad, at the intersection of Nevsky and Liteyny prospects. In Moscow, this traffic control system was installed on December 30, 1930. They placed it on the corner of Petrovka and Kuznetsky Most.

The third city equipped traffic light, became Rostov-on-Don.

Slide 11 - Moscow traffic light. Design traffic light of that time was made in the form of a watch dial, where the hand pointed to a colored field of green, yellow and red.

FACT: the arrangement of colors in this design was not ordinary, but translated torn: green came from above, then yellow and red.

In 1949, a unified placement of lights was introduced traffic light: red – at the top, yellow – in the center, green – at the bottom.

Slide 12 - It’s easy, no stress

(Only wink with an eye,

Regulates movement

Those who go and go!

13 slide - The traffic light turned red,

And a stream of cars began to flow,

This means the path will become dangerous!

Don't rush on the road!

Slide 14 - On cars, on the road

Take a closer look!

And wait a little longer:

There will be yellow ahead.

Slide 15 - Well, then it will light up,

Like grass, green light!

We need to make sure again

That there is no car nearby.

Slide 16 - Look at the road on the left,

Look next to the right.

And, go along "zebra" boldly,

Thank you traffic light!

Slide 17 - types of automobiles traffic lights

Slide 18 - types of railways traffic lights

19 slide - Traffic lights for route vehicles - trams, buses, trolleybuses.

Direct movement is permitted only when the lower and upper middle signals are turned on simultaneously; turning right - only when the lower and upper right are turned on at the same time; turning left, as well as turning around - only with the simultaneous activation of the lower and upper left. If the three upper signals are on and the lower one is off, then movement is prohibited.

20 slide - traffic lights for pedestrians.

21 slides - traffic light for cyclists.

Slide 22 - The red color is more noticeable. He calls for caution, restrains us. Therefore, the red signal traffic light ordered to stop vehicles and pedestrians.

Slide 23 - The color yellow reminds us of the sun, which can be both friend and enemy (if you overheat). The sun seems to be warns: "Attention! Be careful, don't rush!"

24 slide - Green color– green fields, forests, meadows. This color is associated with peace and relaxation. This is safety.

Slide 25 - cartoon about traffic light and cars

Slide 26 - He keeps watch day and night,

By the road traffic light.

He colors his eyes

Saves us from trouble.

Careful, don't rush,

We don’t rush, we don’t run!

After waiting just a little

We're going across the road!

Publications on the topic:

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Our group is located on the second floor kindergarten. I have long had the idea of ​​​​building a “working” traffic light, with the help of which you can.

“Traffic Light Birthday” (school preparatory group) Hello guys! We have met to talk about a very important topic.

Lesson summary “Three traffic lights” Lesson summary “Three traffic lights”. /For children 2 junior group/ Target. Creating conditions for the development of sustainable skills in children.

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The history of traffic lights begins in England in 1868. Although the first traffic controller did not last long, it contributed to the development of the system. The appearance of traffic lights is associated with the development of railways - their “regulators” or semaphores appeared there earlier than on roads intended for cars. The first traffic light was installed at one of the central intersections of London - next to the British Parliament building. The traffic light had two operating modes: day and night.

The first traffic light appeared in England near the Houses of Parliament in 1868

IN daylight hours for days, peculiar arrows worked - if they were in a horizontal position, this meant that movement was prohibited, if the arrows were turned down by about 45 degrees, this meant that cars could move with caution. In night mode, a rotating gas lamp operated, with the help of which red and green signals were sent. This mechanism was controlled manually by a policeman who was nearby. However, this traffic light only lasted about a year, and one night it exploded. As a result of this incident, a guard was injured, and this despite the fact that the gas lamp was at a height of about 6 meters. The device was considered unreliable and banned. England had to wait almost half a century before the next traffic light.

Meanwhile, the need for traffic regulation was felt in other countries. Perhaps this was felt especially acutely in the United States thanks to the “efforts” of Henry Ford. The number of cars on the streets of American cities has rapidly increased, and crossing intersections has become increasingly difficult for both motorists and pedestrians.

In 1910, 40 years after the traffic light in England, Ernst Sirin patented the “automatic traffic light”. The difference between this design is that it can switch without direct human participation, and the usual red and green signals were not there, instead there were signs: Proceed and Stop. In 1914, the first traffic light company was registered in the United States. A system of 4 electric traffic lights is being installed in Cleveland. However, as before, they are controlled by a policeman from a booth installed nearby. By the way, the third traffic light “yellow” was added only in the 20s of the last century.

An interesting project was implemented in New York in those years. There, traffic control towers were installed on 5th Avenue. They looked like tall booths with signals of three colors, in which a policeman sat and switched the traffic lights with buttons.

Traffic light tower installed on 5th Avenue in New York in the 1920s

At first the towers were made of wood; later ones were built of cast bronze mounted on a strong steel frame. In the mid-20s, the traffic light system was automated, and police towers were no longer needed.

Traffic lights that replaced “towers” ​​in the USA

In 1920-1930, traffic lights appeared in Europe. In the USSR, the first such “regulator” was installed in 1930 in Leningrad, a little later it appeared in Moscow, and a few years later the practice spread to other cities.

Traffic controller with a battery-powered traffic light. 1943 Photo from the archive of the Museum of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

As for flowers, there were various options. For example, red has always been used to indicate a stop signal. This color has always and everywhere been associated with danger, so its choice seemed logical. But, for the “resolving” signal, white was sometimes used.

The first traffic light in the USSR was installed in 1930 in Leningrad

However, after a few years, this option was considered unsuccessful and was replaced with green. As for the order in which the signals are located, in our country, initially the green signal was at the top and the red signal at the bottom. The situation changed after the USSR acceded to the International Convention on Road Traffic and the Protocol on Road Signs and Signals.

There was a time when only riders on horses, chariots and horse-drawn carts rode on the streets and roads. They can be considered the first vehicles. They traveled without observing any rules, and therefore often collided with each other. After all, city streets in those days were usually narrow, and the roads were winding and bumpy. It became clear that it was necessary to streamline traffic on streets and roads, that is, to invent rules that would make traffic on them convenient and safe.

The first traffic rules appeared more than 2000 years ago, under Julius Caesar.

They helped regulate traffic on city streets. Some of these rules have survived to this day. For example, already in those ancient times, only one-way traffic was allowed on many streets.

In Russia, road traffic was regulated by royal decrees. Thus, in the decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna of 1730 it was said: “Carriers and other people of all ranks should ride with horses in harness, with all fear and caution, at attention. And those who do not comply with these rules will be beaten with a whip and sent to hard labor.” And the decree of Empress Catherine II says: “On the streets, coachmen should never shout, whistle, ring or jingle.”

At the end of the 18th century, the first “self-propelled carriages”—cars—appeared. They drove very slowly and caused criticism and ridicule from many. For example, in England they introduced a rule according to which a person with a red flag or lantern had to walk in front of each car and warn oncoming carriages and riders. And the speed of movement should not exceed 3 kilometers per hour; in addition, drivers were prohibited from giving warning signals. These were the rules: don’t whistle, don’t breathe, and crawl like a turtle.

But, despite everything, there were more and more cars. And in 1893, the first rules for motorists appeared in France. First in different countries were different rules. But it was very inconvenient.

Therefore, in 1909, at the International Conference in Paris, the Convention on Automobile Traffic was adopted, which established uniform rules for all countries. This Convention introduced the first road signs and established the responsibilities of drivers and pedestrians.

Modern traffic rules are almost 100 years old.

History of traffic lights

Do you know when the familiar traffic light appeared?

It turns out that traffic control using a mechanical device began 140 years ago, in London. The first traffic light stood in the city center on a pole 6 meters high. It was controlled by a specially assigned person. Using a belt system, he raised and lowered the instrument needle. Then the arrow was replaced by a lantern powered by lamp gas. The lantern had green and red glasses, but yellow ones had not yet been invented.

The first electric traffic light appeared in the USA, in the city of Cleveland, in 1914. It also had only two signals - red and green - and was controlled manually. The yellow signal replaced the police warning whistle. But just 4 years later, three-color electric traffic lights with automatic control appeared in New York.

Interestingly, in the first traffic lights the green signal was at the top, but then they decided that it was better to place the red signal on top. And now in all countries of the world, traffic lights are located according to the same rule: red at the top, yellow in the middle, green at the bottom.

We have the first in our country traffic light appeared in 1929 in Moscow. It looked like a round clock with three sectors - red, yellow and green. And the adjuster manually turned the arrow, setting it to the desired color.

Then in Moscow and Leningrad (as it was then called Saint Petersburg) electric traffic lights with three sections appeared modern type. And in 1937 in Leningrad, on Zhelyabova Street (now Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street), near the DLT department store, the first pedestrian traffic light appeared.

The history of driving using light signals goes back more than 3 thousand years

August 5 is International Traffic Light Day. Almost anniversary: ​​99 years. Not many technical inventions can boast that the UN has established a holiday in their honor. It was the automatic traffic light that for the first time made it possible to solve almost main problem road traffic - ensured fair and equal access to the road for all participants. Perhaps not all motorists celebrate the holiday, but city planners and traffic planners certainly do.

The history of traffic lights goes back many millennia. There is a known decree of the ancient Babylonian king Hammurabi (reigned around 1793 BC - 1750 BC), prohibiting chariots from blocking the passage to the palace. It was not included in the famous “laws of Hammurabi,” but specially trained slave regulators appeared at the palace. At night, the traffic controller hung a yoke with two pumpkins at the ends on his shoulders. The containers were filled with a mixture of oil (oil seeps to the surface were found in Iraq until the 1950s) and mineral additives. The mixture was ignited through a wick; on the right shoulder the flame was red, on the left it was green. A living traffic light raised its hand, allowing or closing passage.

It was similar in Ancient Rome. Regulators with red and green flags are still used to organize the movement of military convoys. But this is how the generally accepted colors of the traffic light arose, and not the traffic light itself. Traffic lights came into traffic with railway, and at first they were a copy of the switch semaphore for trains. The first traffic light was installed on December 10, 1868 in London near Parliament. Its inventor is John Peake Knight; semaphore specialist.

The semaphore traffic light was manually controlled and had two arrows. Raised horizontally they meant “stop”, and lowered at an angle of 45° - “carefully”. A red and green gas lamp rotated in the darkness. This device was used for the first time to signal not only vehicles, but also pedestrians wishing to cross the street. On January 2, 1869, a lamp exploded, injuring a traffic light policeman. Its design has been changed. Less than a year later, a similar device appeared on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg.

But “traffic light day” is not associated with a gas appliance. And he regulated the movement of carriages, not cars. The USA became the pioneer of motorization. There arose an order for a traffic light from the authorities of large cities. More than 50 traffic light models were patented. The first automatic system was developed and patented in 1910 by Ernst Sirrin from Chicago. Its traffic lights used unlit Stop and Proceed signs. Lester Wire from Salt Lake City (USA) is considered the inventor of the first electric traffic light. In 1912, he developed (but did not patent) a traffic light with two round electric signals (red and green).

But we celebrate August 5, 1914, when the American Traffic Light Company installed four electric traffic lights designed by James Hogue in Cleveland. They had red and green signals and made a beep when switching. The system was not automatic and was operated by a police officer in a glass booth at the intersection. In 1920, the first three-color traffic lights with a yellow signal appeared. They were installed in Detroit and New York. The inventors were William Potts and John F. Harris. In Europe, three-color 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.

But the UN would hardly pay attention to this. Traffic Light Day is a holiday with a double bottom. Coincidentally, on August 5, 1923, American Garratt A. Morgan (1877-1963) patented the first fully automatic traffic light. He was motivated by the idea of ​​justice. “The purpose of the product is to make the order of passage through an intersection independent of the person of the motorist,” his patent says. There was even a proverb: “God created motorists, and Garret Morgan made them equal,”

Garret Morgan is considered the “father of the traffic light”: after 1925, all traffic lights in the world were built according to his design. This continues today. By the way, he became one of the first black millionaires in the USA, and he has not the only patent for a traffic light.

In the USSR, the first traffic light was installed on January 15, 1930 in Leningrad at the intersection of 25 October and Volodarsky avenues (now Nevsky and Liteyny 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.

Green LEDs were invented in the mid-1990s. Moscow became the first city in the world where LED traffic lights began to be used en masse. And this year, the city authorities are conducting an experiment “right on red”: the traffic light continues to be improved.