Evolution of Traffic Signals
Introduction
Traffic signals are ubiquitous in the US and in major parts of the developed world. Without a doubt, they play an enormous role in our transportation system in maintaining road safety and alleviating congestion. Although we use traffic signals every day, few people know about their origin and the remarkable technological innovations that went into their development. This essay explores the history of traffic signals and how they have evolved through time.
Origins in Europe
Traffic signals have a very long history. Evidence shows that in the 230 B.C. of ancient Rome, milestones were used to give pedestrians directions. The first device that somewhat resembled today’s traffic signals was called a semaphore, which stood roughly 22 feet tall and had two arms—when the arms were placed at a horizontal position that signaled “stop” and when they were switched to 45 degrees that meant “move with caution.” The first semaphore was manually operated and was installed in 1868 at the intersection of George and Bridge Streets in London (Mueller, 1970; Bullock & Urbanik, 2000). Later, gas lights were added to semaphores and that allowed them to be used at night. People had high hopes for these innovative devices, but in 1872 Parliament suddenly removed all of them. There were two main reasons for their removal. First, a terrible incident of gas explosion on a semaphore happened in 1872 that injured two police officers and killed the third. The second reason was that semaphores were expensive to manufacture. Although engineers worked quickly to modify the design to make them safer and cheaper, they were not widely adopted until the rise of automobiles (Mueller, 1970).
Rise of Automobiles and … Congest...
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...traffic signals in real-time. This system could dramatically reduce on the cost of roadside sensor installation and maintenance. Some of the largest issues with this system currently are user privacy and participation (Mohan et. al, 2008).
Conclusion
Traffic signals have truly come a long way since they were first developed in Europe in the late 19th century. It is simply remarkable how traffic signals have evolved in about 100 years. They became more efficient with the introduction of automation in the 1920s and then again with the addition of microprocessors in 1970s. It is difficult to predict what the next new technology will be in the coming decades. Could it be smart phones? Or maybe machine learning? Or a combination of both? Whatever it will be, traffic signals will only become better and improve the safety and the quality of driving experience for drivers.
Safety is the most important part, as the traffic cameras leave officers free of stop light duties to emphasize more of their focus on neighborhoods and other parts of a city. Traffic cameras are notorious for saving the lives of many people and reducing accidents, just in 2013, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a study that showed a 24 percent decrease in red light accidents in larger cities. Cities have been affected by the red light cameras in Chandler, Arizona, where a seventy-nine percent drop in red light accidents occurred.
Various aspects of traffic congestion in Toronto have been analyzed in detail. It is clear that Toronto is facing a serious problem of traffic congestion since it is the most congested city in North America. Traffic congestion in Toronto costs over $ 2 billion annually and it is caused by a variety of factors. These factors are categorized into non-recurring and recurring factors. However, the paper focused on recurring factors which contribute to the largest proportion of traffic congestion in Canada. These include increased automobile use, poor planning and lapse in implementation of laws which govern traffic systems. This leads to the use of many private cars by employees who commute to work as opposed to use of public transport systems resulting in congestion. Traffic congestion in Toronto has various adverse effects including barriers to emergency services, delays, idle time and opportunity costs as well as pollution.
Sorensen, Karen. "Speed Warning Signs No Deterrent for 95 Drivers." Plainfield Patch. 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
This of course, will never be the case. Certain laws have been passed to help reduce the amount of accidents such as the hands-free law prohibiting people under 18 years of age, from being able to talk on the phone using a hands-free device. The main goal of the government regarding distracted driving is to make sure that all citizens are safe. Even through distraction is inevitable while driving, we should all do our part to maintain our focus to keep the roads as safe as possible. Everything could go from perfect to complete horror in a split second. Practice safe driving habits at all times, especially in front of others in order to set a good example. Together we can do our part to stop distraction on the roads and minimize the amount of crashes due to
The invention of the cell phones have changed the lifestyle, and the way people communicate. Despite their effective way of communication, the use of a cell phones while driving results in negative effects to driving performance. Many statics show that driving while talking is a serious issue, because it is the cause of many accidents. The solution is to make cell phone use while driving illegal, and creating phone applications or preventions that will make it difficult to text while in a vehicle. Furthermore, operating a cell phone at the wheel is on the verge of being banned by law in every state, and some have already started this solution to the problem. Cell phones have now become a necessity but have also become a burdens to the human
Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan, among others, have announced over the past few years that their companies are trying to develop self-driving or autonomous cars [Ref. 1 and 2]. Self-driving cars can provide many benefits to the average consumer. Studies have shown that because computers can react and process information many times faster than a human being, crashes on streets and roads can be decreased with quick and consistent evasion maneuvers by the autonomous car. They can also help maximize fuel economy by calculating the most direct and fastest routes. When the driving of an autonomous car demonstrates that the computer can safely and reliably transport the passengers to their destination, this frees up the passengers to do other things that they would not normally be able to do if they were driving the car manually. For this reason, self-driving cars can help maximize productivity of their passengers.
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.
By having every stoplight work, it will signal drivers to have the most safe was to drive and avoid damage to a car. If a stop light went out, for example during a natural disaster like a hurricane, wrecks could come to an all time high, but as long as they work, the better life
The fact that driverless car sensors can detect the errors of other human-driven cars is extraordinary. Human driven cars are trying to stick to the status quo of the roads when in reality human driven cars are breaking valuable innovation that will make the roads safer for generations to come.
Traffic engineers and planners need information about traffic. They need information to design and manage road and traffic system. They use the information for planning and designing traffic facilities, selecting geometric standards, economic analysis and determination of priorities. They use this to justify warrant of traffic control devices such as signs, traffic signals, pavement markings, school and pedestrian crossings. The also use this information to study the effectiveness of introduced schemes, diagnosing given situations and finding appropriate solutions, forecasting the effects of projected strategies, calibrating and validating traffic models.
Most people take the urban public transportation system for granted. It is used in every aspect of our daily lives: work, education, medical necessities, recreation, etc. It is also important for the transportation of goods and services, which aids the growth and maintenance of our economy. Urban public transportation is the critical component of our quality of life and economic stability. The MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is Boston and Eastern Massachusetts’s major transportation service. The MBTA has played a central role in the development of Boston and surrounding cities and towns for more than a century; providing service from 175 cities and towns into Boston. On an average weekday over 1.2 million trips are made on the subway, buses, commuter lines and other services in the mass transit system. With an international airport, a ship port, the highways, and the rail lines to connect regional cities and towns to national and international destinations and markets, Boston’s urban public transportation system has made the region’s growing role in the global economy possible.
Traffic lights were only starting to be used in not only urban regions but also rural regions in only 1975. This graph shows the number of serious accidents from 1980 to 2012. As you can see the number of accidents has decreased. This is due to the fact that traffic lights were used seriously.
When having stop signs and traffic lights, people have a tendency to drive slower and look out for people walking in the middle of streets. To put a traffic light or a stop sign in a community, it takes a lot of work and planning from the community and the city to put one in. It is not cheap to do it either. The community first needs to take a petition around to everyone in the community and have them sign so they can take it to the board when the next city council meeting is. A couple residents will present it to the board, and they will decide weather or not to put it in or not. If not put in a lot of residents might be mad and bad things could happened to that part of the city.
Road safety is one of the most important aspects of daily living. Our vehicle is our main transportation from one place to another. The number of car and motorcycle accidents seem to be increasing because of the many distractions, the lack of safety measures and judgment to road conditions and weather. Not being cautious increases the chances of not only injuring ourselves but hurting others as well. On the road, you see people talking on their cell phones or texting, eating, putting makeup on, changing the radio station, reading or using your GPS while driving. These are all distractions that endanger drivers, passengers and bystanders safety. Safe driving involves off-road precautionary measures such as making sure tires are properly inflated, testing windshield wipers, getting regular oil changes and tune-ups and adjusting the mirrors. All of these actions can help prevent an accident. Unfortunately, not all of us decide to wear our seat belts when driving or turn signal ligh...
When I drive to work in the morning, I turn the radio on to hear any information about traffic. The radio is my way of finding out, what is being broadcasted for me in the attempt to be aware of any problems on highway traffic accidents, and is there an alternate road I can take if needed for safety. The radio helps me in the morning for bett...