International holidays - International Day of the Traffic Light

A traffic light is an optical signaling device that regulates the movement of vehicles, pedestrians at crossings and other road users This device is also used on railways, in shipping and navigation All people living in cities are accustomed to these structures, which are a mandatory attribute of most intersections, but few people know that there is a date in the calendar when the entire planet celebrates World Traffic Light Day The official founding date of such a device is August 5, 1914 It was on that day that the world's first traffic light was installed on the streets of Cleveland Two flashlights, green and red, lit up in stages, and during the switching process a long beep was heard, which initially put the townspeople into a slight stupor Despite the fact that this date is considered the device’s birthday, the first regulator was developed in the 10th century by the British D Knight The structure was placed near Parliament in London in 1868 Naturally, the device was not completely perfect, and three years later it exploded, injuring a policeman After this unpleasant situation, the traffic controller was forgotten for half a century, until 1910, when the first automatic device with two-color lights was created and patented Three-color models similar to the current ones appeared in 1920 in Detroit and New York Over the years they have gained popularity in various European cities In Russia, such a device appeared only in the winter of 1930 - in Leningrad And the capital’s first traffic light was installed on December 30 of the same year Later, in 1932, a similar structure was placed at the intersection of Neglinnaya and Kuznetsky Most streets The installation of both devices was carried out as an experiment Only at the end of 1933, when the test was considered successful, about a hundred devices were installed and placed throughout the capital The next Russian settlement in Russia where a traffic light appeared was Rostov-on-Don In Russia, the holiday is actively used by traffic police inspectors, employees of educational institutions and participants in active movements as another reason to remind all drivers and pedestrians of the need to strictly adhere to traffic rules, since the price of the smallest mistake on the road can be a human life