(NEXSTAR) – Traffic signal, stoplight, stop-and-go lights – whatever you call them, you’re likely familiar with the red, yellow, and green indicators that help you navigate intersections.
Even if we sometimes get stuck at red lights (you may just need to let it know you’re there), stoplights have become fixtures of our car-based society in America.
If you appreciate the assistance a traffic light can provide, you may want to extend your thanks to a Utahn.
New data shows which vehicles are stolen the most in every state
More specifically, credit is due to Lester Farnsworth Wire. Born in 1887, Wire became a police officer in Salt Lake City, where he was tasked with forming a “kind of traffic department to control the ever-increasing confusion in the city’s streets,” according to a biography by his sister, Edith.
In the early 1910s, based on Edith’s account, there were about a handful of Ford Model Ts in the state. They would share the streets with the horse and buggy riders, wagons, streetcars, and trolleys throughout Salt Lake City…