Which came first in the world, traffic lights or cars?
2 Answers
In the world, cars came first, followed by traffic lights. Here is an introduction to relevant knowledge about traffic lights: 1. The first traffic light: The world's first traffic light appeared in 1868 on the road in front of Parliament Square in London, England, to direct the passage of horse-drawn carriages. The recognized world's first modern automobile appeared in 1886, invented by German engineer Karl Benz. 2. Origin of the colors: Initially, there were only red and green colors. Later, after improvements, a yellow light was added. The red light means stop, the yellow light means prepare, and the green light means go. The reason these three colors are used as traffic signals is related to people's visual structure and psychological reactions.
While studying history, I discovered that cars actually appeared much earlier than traffic lights. In the late 19th century, Karl Benz invented the first practical automobile in 1885, when streets were primarily dominated by horse-drawn carriages, making traffic signals completely unnecessary. However, as cars became widespread, urban traffic grew chaotic with frequent accidents. This prompted engineers to design the initial concept of traffic lights in 1912, which were officially installed on the streets of Cleveland in 1914, marking the beginning of modern traffic management. Interestingly, those early traffic lights were electrically powered, far more efficient than manual traffic control. This process illustrates how human society, when faced with new tools, always develops the tools first before refining the rules. The advancement of automobiles directly drove innovations in safety infrastructure like traffic lights.
