Erin Silver - Rush Hour: Navigating Our Global Traffic Jam

This is my sons favorite car. Dont blink or you might miss it driving by!

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Even though the assembly line revolutionized the auto industry by increaksing the number of cars that could be produced, workers hated it. They had to stand there doing the same repetitive job over and over again for nine hours a day, without proper breaks. People quit so often that in 1914 Henry Ford made an announcement at his plant. Instead of paying workers $2.34 for a nine-hour day, he would now pay $5 for an eight-hour day. Even though the job didnt improve, the extra pay kept workers on the job.

People worked hard on Ford assembly lines to produce cars for a growing number of drivers.

From the Collections of The Henry Ford

When Karl Benz designed an engine powerful enough to move people, the future of transportation changed forever. In 1886 Benz sold 25 Patent-Motorwagen cars to customers. At first only a few wealthy people had them. These cars were used just like go-kartsfor fun. Cars were expensive, unreliable and even dangerous. There also werent proper rules or safety regulations.

But as people found less expensive ways to make cars in the early 1900s, the auto industry took off. The first assembly line started moving at the Ford plant near Detroit in 1913. It wasnt long before motorized vehicles were zipping along roads. Soon the horse and buggy were replaced by cars. Sales in Canada grew by almost 800 times in just over 20 years.

This chart shows how quickly cars became the main form of transportation.

Before there were automated traffic lights, signals were handheld. A police officer in Toronto directs traffic in this picture taken around 1920.

City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 1008

Picture this: youre in the gym with the entire school, and everyone decides to play a different game at once. Little kids are hula-hooping next to big kids shooting hoops. Some are playing floor hockey, and others are playing dodgeball. There are no teachers or referees to make sure everyone is playing nicely and giving each other space. Sounds like chaos!

Thats what roads were like when cars were first invented. They were clogged with horses, cars, streetcars, merchants and children. Countries tried different ways of controlling the traffic. In North America, laws had vehicles drive on the right, while in Britain, people had to drive on the left. Cities also experimented with traffic lights. The first traffic light in the world was installed in Britain in 1868. Unfortunately, it was a gas lamp, and it exploded.

For decades in North America, traffic lights were handheld. A police officer stood in the middle of the intersection, spinning a sign that said stop and go. It wasnt exactly safe, but at the time there was no other way.

In 1914 a new system was tried in Cleveland. A police officer sat in a raised booth on the sidewalk, using an electric signal to control traffic. For the first time, drivers stopped at a traffic light. Red meant stop, and green meant go. Yellow, for slow down, was added in 1919 in Detroit, and it became standard. Crowds gathered at intersections to watch. Early on, an officer was there in case anything went wrongand to explain the system to anyone who was confused.

Buckle upits the law. Seat belts became mandatory in new cars in the United States in 1968. Since 1976 they have been required in Canada too.

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Other changes began to happen at the same time. Trees were cut and grassy fields disappeared to widen roads and make space for sidewalks. Soon people started talking about making cars safer too. Can you guess what safety features were discussed? Horns and double headlampsseat belts werent invented until 1959!