The first inventor was Garret A. Morgan at around 1923.
a busy traffic signal
Garrett Augustus Morgan was the African American who invented the three way automatic traffic light.
The smoke signal was invented in 1785 as it was a good way of communicating without other people knowing what you are doing.
The traffic light, as we know it today, actually went through a few phases of invention.1868 - JP Knight created a signal based on red and green gas lamps. It took an officer to operate it. It exploded about one month later and injured the officer on duty.1912 - Lester Wire invented the first electric traffic light. It was also based off of the red and green system.1914 - James Hoge improved upon the system by adding a buzzer to notify drivers that the light would soon be changing colors.1920 - William Potts made a four way signal. Potts replaced the buzzer with a yellow light.1923 - Garrett Morgan added a mechanical linkage to allow officers to operate the signal from a distance.
Yes, treat a malfunctioning traffic signal as though it is a four-way stop by coming to a complete stop and taking turns proceeding through the intersection in the order that vehicles arrived. This procedure helps maintain safety and order at the intersection when the signal is not functioning properly.
Augustus Morgan
Garrett A Morgan patented his "Three-way Traffic Signal" in 1923. He lived from 1877 to 1963, so he was 46 when he invented the Traffic Light. He sold his invention to General Electric for $40,000.
i think it was Garrett Morgan
Signal your intentions and proceed when safe to do so.
Garrett Morgan See website: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blgas_mask.htm ---- The world's first traffic light was operating in London, England, even before cars were invented. It was a revolving gas-lit lantern with red and green signals, but in 1869, the light exploded, injuring the policeman who was operating it. In the early 1900s Garrett Morgan, an African-American living in Cleveland, Ohio, developed the electric automatic traffic light, originally based on a semaphore-system. Shortly after this, Detroit police officer William L Potts developed the first 4-way three colour traffic light using red, amber, and green railroad lights.
In the U.S.A it means you have the right of way but proceed with caution.
4-way stop