Jun 29 2011
Posted by kenji.ueno under June 30 Assignment
Security of the streets
As the others already talked about, the automobiles started to be famous in the 1920s, and it was somewhat affordable for the citizens. Ford Company, in Detroit, came up with simple and cheaper automobils that Americans could buy. It helped the economy of the automobil industry, however, it had made some troubles; the traffic.
The rapid growth of the automobil use in the cities made some problems on the roads, and this had to be fixed. William L. Potts, the Police Officer of Detroit, Michigan, came up with idea of adapting the railroad signals for street use. Potts used red, amber, and green railroad lights and about thirty-seven dollars worth of wire and electrical controls, and invented the four way three color traffic light. In 1920, Detroit became the first city to use the four way three color traffic lights, installed at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Michigan Avenue, to control the traffic. (From Waving Arms to LED’s, http://www.techtransfer.berkeley.edu/newsletter/07-4/traffic_signals.php)
We live in the society in which the use of automobils is playing a crucial role. The traffic lights at the time cleaned up the streets that were in confusion because of the great increase of automobil usages, and made sure of the safety in the society. If the trafic lights have not been invented as the way Potts has, the traffic today couldn’t be this safe. The basic system of today’s traffic lights is still the same; four ways and three colors. This invention surely can be said as great contribution to the modernity. 
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