Why do the colors red yellow and green are used in traffic lights?
The idea that red means stop and green means go has impacted our lives in more ways than just traffic signals. We have been taught from a young age that the colour red means danger and the colour green means it’s OK to move forward. Well, it’s important to know that before there were traffic…
The idea that red means stop and green means go has impacted our lives in more ways than just traffic signals. We have been taught from a young age that the colour red means danger and the colour green means it’s OK to move forward.
Well, it’s important to know that before there were traffic lights for cars, there were traffic signals for trains. At first, railroad companies used red to mean stop, white to mean go, and green to mean caution. As you could imagine, train conductors ran into a few problems with the colour white meaning go bright white could easily be mistaken for stars at night, with train conductors thinking they were all clear when they really weren’t.
Why do the colours red yellow and green are used in traffic lights?
The first traffic lights in the United States were installed because of an increase in travellers on the road. Worried about accidents, towns, and cities would install traffic towers to help the flow of cars. Officers manned the towers and used whistles and red, green, and yellow lights to indicate to drivers when they should stop and go. Then in 1920, William Potts created the first tri-colour, four-direction traffic signal. It helped drivers stay safe at intersections.
