Picture this: you are driving around Melbourne, Australia, dodging in and out of the rest of the traffic, trying to obey such rules of the road that there were at the time. Suddenly, as you drive long Collins Street towards where it meets Swanston Street, you see some lights ahead: red and green. Yes, this was Australia’s first set of traffic lights, which went operational today, 13th October back in 1928.
However, they were not automatic as today’s are but were operated by a police officer stationed in a booth at the intersection. He would use a switchboard to control the lights and relied upon his judgement to manage the traffic flow effectively. Although this manual operation of the lights meant that their timing could be adjusted based upon the actual traffic conditions, it did introduce the potential for human error!
However, they were not automatic as today’s are but were operated by a police officer stationed in a booth at the intersection. He would use a switchboard to control the lights and relied upon his judgement to manage the traffic flow effectively. Although this manual operation of the lights meant that their timing could be adjusted based upon the actual traffic conditions, it did introduce the potential for human error!