Profile America: First Traffic Light

Congested NYC traffic.Sunday, August 5th. On this date in 1914, American motorists got the green light to safely proceed through increasingly traveled crossroads. A traffic light system, credited with being the first in the nation, flashed red and green at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. To further prompt drivers, the words “Stop” and “Move” were emblazoned on the operating red and green lights.

At the time, there were about 1.8 million motor vehicles nationwide, six times more than just five years earlier. Now, there are nearly 270 million motor vehicles crowding our 4.14 million miles of roads. Traffic lights control the flow of this congestion, leaving Americans with an average one-way commute of over 26 minutes.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online.

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