Casala 1

Kristine Casala
Ms. Jackson
English 10
21 May 2018

The Traffic Lights

Garret Morgan came with a brilliant idea of inventing the traffic lights. Morgan was an
African American businessman and inventor. He was inspired to invent the traffic lights after an
incident he saw, a collision of a car and a horse carriage. He applied a patent of his invention to
the United Sates, it was granted on November 20, 1923. The traffic light changed a lot of things
in the society. The invention of traffic lights made the flow of the traffic more organized,
prevented less car accidents, and kept pedestrians safer.
Traffic light invented by Garret Morgan made the traffic flow more organized. It controls
the sequences of the lights. Most of the traffic lights are placed in an intersection in a big city,
“Traffic lights are an important part of the transportation infrastructure, regulating traffic flow
and maintaining safety when crossing busy streets.” (Roman). The association of the colors of
the traffic lights helped the busy streets be more aware of the signals. It does not just help the
traffic flow but also made accidents being prevented.
The traffic light colors changes indicating a signal to prevent collisions on the road.
Every colors changes, the traffic lights have three colors: green, red and yellow. Each color
represents each signal, “The color red commands stop, yellow means warning that you’ll be
aware, and green means a permission to move.” (Sylvester). These signals made a way to lessen
accidents that was frequent before traffic light was invented. The study says that, “If the yellow
time is not set correctly, a dilemma zone is imminent,” (Virginia Tech). So, it also means that we
the setting of the traffic light can also cause the accidents.
Traffic lights not only prevents accidents from vehicles but also keeps the pedestrians
safe. It does not only signals vehicles but also pedestrians crossing the streets. It only has two
signals, to stop walking and to go. Before the accidents that was occurred, “31 people were killed
in car crashes and so many were injured it went unrecorded.” (Loomis). Almost accidents happen
in just a span of two months.
The traffic lights made a significant impact to our society. It made everything safer. It
may cause some dilemmas, but it can still be fixed. Vehicles crossing the streets with warnings
and signals to prevent accidents. Pedestrians feel so safe every time they cross the street. Garret
Morgan contributed a lot for the security of every pedestrian.
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Works Cited
Association for Safe International Road Travel <asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users-safety-
facts/road-crash-statistics>
Black man invents and patents traffic signal <www.aaregistry.org/story/black-man-invents-and-
patent-traffic-signal>
Garret Morgan, inventor of one of the first traffic lights <www.aaregistry.org/story/garret-
morgan-inventor-of-one-of-the-first-traffic-lights/>
Loomis, Bill. 1900-1930: The years of driving dangerously
<www.detroitnews.com/stroy/news/local/michigan-history/2015/04126/auto-traffic-history-
detroit/>
Roman, Harry T. The Traffic Light Challenge
<www.eric.ed.gov/?q=traffic+lights&id=EJI049406>
Sylvester, Kevin United States Symbol Signs
<www.muted.fhwa.dot.go/sessions/publications/fhwaop02084/index.htm>
Traffic Control Safety. Encyclopedia Britanica. Volume 28. 1995. Print
Virginia Tech. Length of yellow caution traffic lights could prevent accidents: study.
<www.phys.org/news/2012-09-lenght-yellow-caution-traffic-accidents.html>
Why Does Green Mean Go? <www.wonderpolis.org/wonder/why-does-gree-means-go>