![]() automaker to offer factory-installed flashing turn signals. Many drivers thought that a good thing, especially since trafficators were fragile, often broke off, and tended to stick in the "off" position.īack in the States, Buick was the first U.S. As more modern turn signals were introduced, trafficators were phased out. In 1923 French inventors Gustave Deneef and Maurice Boisson utilized a linear solenoid and in 1927 Germans Max Ruhl and Ernst Neuman added internal illumination to the solenoid operation. At night the small hands were illuminated. For left or right turns separate switches were operated from the clutch pedal. For slow or stop a switch in the brake pedal activated hands that swung out on both sides of the car. In 1918 the Naillik Motor Signal Company of Boston added electric motor drive. Italian Alfredo Barrachini in 1908 added electric lights to a cable-activated system. First appearing in the early 1900s they had several fathers. Trafficators had actually been around long before the Model A, and their shape is said to resemble the signal arm used by trainmen of the Royal Bavarian Railway since 1890, though about half that size. While Ford did not produce this component, some versions came complete with the Ford logo. The driver's toggle switch used to activate the arm was mounted in the center of the dash. Scintilla, a Swiss firm, manufactured a number of these, and they had left-side and right-side models. Although Ford was not offering turn signals on U.S.-made cars, for German-built Model A's trafficators came factory-installed. This allowed drivers to keep their hands on the wheel, a step up when it came to safety. When they were "off", the trafficators folded into the door pillar. Once these arms were in the "on" position, power went to the lens area, lighting a small bulb. These were powered by electro magnets used to raise an arm (usually mounted high on the door pillar) indicating a turn was about to be made. The European remedy for signaling turns or lane changes offered drivers semaphore indicators, mechanical arms known as "Trafficators" that swung out horizontally. It had a four-lobed shape with lenses for lights indicating slow, stop, left or right turn. ![]() The Smithsonian now has a handmade, one-off signal, for instance, that Oscar J. Meanwhile drivers and inventors kept working on other solutions. They just weren't interested, and the patent expired fourteen years later. who, in 1925, secured a patent for one and tried to market it to major car manufacturers. The first modern turn signal, though, can be attributed to Edgar A. According to the December 1985 issue of Popular Mechanics, the Protex Safety Signal Company introduced flashing turn signals in 1920. As the driver pushed a button, a sign on the rear bumper came up telling others which way the driver would turn. (Note: she also designed the first mechanical brake signal and her mother Charlotte Bridgewood patented the first automatic windshield wipers). Fast forward to 1914 when silent-film star Florence Lawrence designed (though failed to patent) a mechanical signaling arm. ![]() Apparently the lights were shaped like hands so other drivers, accustomed to reading hand signals, would understand their meaning. patent 912831) for a device "indicating the intended movements of vehicles". In 1907 Percy Douglas-Hamilton applied for a patent (received in 1909 as U.S. So, why didn't someone come up with a solution that would lead to greater safety and comfort for the motoring public? Well, several "someones" did just that - and early on. ![]()
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