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“Well, why, why, why was the traffic light green…”, – these words are the first to come to mind when we hear the word “traffic light”. Drivers, no, no, yes, they begin to sing it, standing in traffic jams. You don’t think about the importance of a traffic light until it fails: traffic stops, chaos reigns on the roads. And you understand: without a traffic light in the city – nothing.
The KP will tell you under what circumstances the world’s first traffic light appeared, when the International Traffic Light Day is celebrated in 2022 and how it is customary to celebrate this holiday.
What date is International Traffic Light Day in 2022?
The celebration is timed to coincide with the installation of the first traffic light in the US city of Cleveland. This event took place on August 5, 1914. But the date was celebrated much later. As in many other cases, the United Nations was the initiator.
In 2022, as usual, International Traffic Light Day will be celebrated 5 August.
Interesting facts about the holiday
| Green or blue? | Traffic lights in Japan used to use blue instead of green. But later, scientists found that the blue color is perceived by a person worse – and now the traffic lights in the land of the rising sun are blinking “green” |
| Traffic light upside down | This is located in the small American town of Syracuse, where the descendants of the Irish live mainly. Initially, the traffic light was standard. According to legend, the local children broke his glasses every day because the green color, which reminds them of their homeland, was lower than the red, which the Irish associate with Great Britain. Three years later, the city authorities surrendered: a traffic light was installed on special order, where the green signal took the place of the red one. |
history of the holiday
The very first traffic light was invented by Briton Jay Knight in the XNUMXth century. It was not the best experience: firstly, it had to be controlled manually, and secondly, a year later the device exploded, injuring a policeman. This case served as a reason to forget the traffic light and stop trying to create it.
But circumstances demanded a return to development. In 1910, the first automatic traffic light device with lanterns of two colors was patented. And later
four years, on August 5, 1914, the “great-grandfather” of modern traffic lights appeared in the city of Cleveland. It had only two lights: red and green, and when the light switched, it emitted a sound signal. It was this event that marked the beginning of the annual celebration of International Traffic Light Day.
Yellow was added a few years later: the first three-color traffic controllers appeared on the streets of New York and Detroit in 1920.
In Our Country, the first traffic light appeared only 10 years later. At the beginning of 1930, at the intersection of Nevsky and Liteiny avenues in Leningrad, the first automatic traffic controller was installed. Muscovites quickly adopted the positive experience, and the next city to enter a new stage in the development of road traffic was Rostov-on-Don.
Holiday traditions
In its resolution, the UN did not mention how to celebrate International Traffic Light Day. Therefore, all countries, cities and institutions have their own fantasy traditions.
Seminars and preventive events are usually held on this day to remind people of the rules of the road. You will not be released from work on August 5 on this occasion, but, perhaps, unscheduled communication with the traffic police will take place – for preventive purposes.
It is also customary to celebrate the holiday in kindergartens (where they teach basic traffic rules), schools and public organizations. The younger generation is shown sketches about the rules of safe traffic, they organize relay races and drawing competitions.
Popular questions and answers
You may not know much about traffic lights. Correction: KP will answer frequently asked questions about the holiday.
Which cities have traffic light monuments?
And the most unusual monument to a traffic light is installed in London, outwardly – a kind of traffic light tree 8 meters high. It’s called the Traffic Light Tree. The art object consists of 75 (!) traffic lights. Of course, you can’t navigate them.
How did the first traffic light differ from modern ones?
Today, we have at our disposal not only animated “little men” and LEDs: modern traffic lights “talk”, emit various signals, and the most “advanced” ones can even broadcast data on the state of the traffic flow, traffic jams and weather.
Who is it customary to congratulate on International Traffic Light Day?
and safety on the roads, while traffic lights can be called their assistants. But without drivers and pedestrians, there would be no need for traffic lights. It turns out that this is a universal holiday.