They are everywhere now (including our 100+ temporary lights and pedestrian crossings!) but when was the first one placed on Britain’s roads?
In 1868 the first gas-powered and hand operated traffic signal was invented by J P Knight and installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London in an experiment to help control the excessive traffic and this was before the motor car congestion!
the experiment didn’t last for long as a gas leak caused an explosion injuring one of the 4 policemen who were also on site !
It took 40 years for traffic lights to reappear, London’s first electric traffic light was installed on the corner of St James’s Street, Piccadilly, in 1926 Again, police were stationed next to the lights at all times — this time to ensure drivers obeyed the new signals.
Wolverhampton was the first place in Britain to acquire automated lights, in Princess Square in 1926.
It is reckoned that 15,000 road junctions in Britain are now controlled by traffic lights.