Cars and roads
Who directed traffic before traffic lights?
The first traffic light, London. A true how-it-works story for kids 5–8.
The Traffic light story, read aloud
Look out at the city around our car. See a traffic light? It's a pole with colored lights that tells cars when to stop and when to go. But who told everyone what to do before there were any? Police officers!
They stood right in the middle of the street and waved their arms. Long ago in London, streets were packed with horses, carriages and people walking. An officer could only point one way at a time. And with so much bustle, it was hard for every driver to see one person's hands. So in London, people built the very first traffic light, with lamps that burned gas, red for stop and green for go.
But it still needed a police officer to work it by hand! It was like a robot that needed a babysitter. And in South Africa, people really do call traffic lights robots! Now count every traffic light you spot before our next turn.
Quiz the back seat
Who told cars and carriages what to do before traffic lights?
Show the answer
Police officers. Police officers! And the very first traffic light, in London, still needed an officer to work it by hand.
Traffic light facts for kids
- The first traffic lights were put up in December 1868 on Parliament Square in London.
- They were made to reduce the need for police officers to control traffic.
- In South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, traffic lights are called robots.
Questions kids ask about Traffic light
Who directed traffic before traffic lights?
Police officers stood in the street and waved their arms to tell traffic when to stop and go.
Where was the first traffic light?
The first traffic lights were put up in December 1868 on Parliament Square in London.
Why are traffic lights called robots in South Africa?
People in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia simply call traffic lights robots, as a nickname for these automatic signals.
For grown-ups
Written with AI from public sources, then checked claim by claim against the sources below before it was published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_traffic_lights
- londonist.com/london/history/here-s-what-the-world-s-first-traffic-lights-in-westminster-looked-like
- maketecheasier.com/first-traffic-light-westminster-1868
- smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chaotic-traffic-from-horse-drawn-carriages-inspired-the-worlds-first-traffic-lights-180985558
- magazine.wsu.edu/web-extra/traffic-signals-a-brief-history
- biltongstmarcus.co.uk/blog/the-real-reason-south-africans-call-traffic-lights-robots
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_light
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Between stories: 25 road trip games for kids · Road trip bingo cards · Road trip trivia · Christmas light scavenger hunt · Christmas trivia
Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).