The first traffic signal was installed in Westminster in 1868 and was of the semaphore-arm type with red and green gas lamps for night use.
Unfortunately, an explosion occurred and no further experiments of this nature were tried for half a century.
The first person to be killed in a road accident was Bridget Driscoll who died on the 17th August 1896 at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London. She was hit by a car travelling at 4mph.
The 1903 Motor Car Act introduced driving licences, compulsory registration and number plates and increased the speed limit from 12mph to 20mph.
In 1918 the first manually operated three-colour light signals were installed in New York, and in 1925 manually operated coloured light signals were used by the police in Piccadilly, London.
In 1926 the first automatically operated traffic signals in GB were installed at Wolverhampton.
In 1930 The Road Traffic Act introduced a minimum driving age and third party insurance, abolished the 20mph limit and made testing for some licences compulsory.
The Highway Code was first introduced to the UK in 1931.
Belisha beacons were first introduced to the UK in 1934 and were named after a transport minister of the time called Leslie Hore Belisha.
Driving tests were introduced in 1934.
The thirty mph speed limit in urban areas first came into effect in the UK in March 1935.
Before the 'Green Cross Code', children learned the 'kerb drill' which was introduced in 1941.
The first zebra crossing with black and white stripes on the road appeared in the UK in 1951.
The wearing of seatbelts by drivers and front seat passengers was introduced in GB by legislation in 1983. Further legislation in 1989 and 1991 required children and adults to use rear seat restraints.
First Toucan was commissioned in Southampton in February 1991.
In 1999, between 750,000 and 880,000 lives were lost in road crashes across the world, and it is thought that 30-45 injuries, many resulting in life long disability, occur for every road death.
The Department for Transport estimated in 2002 that in the past 20 years the wearing of seatbelts has saved 50,000 lives.
2003 - new law for using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving - penalty of £30 fine or a fine of £1,000 if the case goes to court (£2,500 if a bus, coach or HGV driver).
The Department for Transport estimate that the new seat belt legislation introduced in 2006 could prevent over 2,000 child deaths injuries every year.
2006 - new child restraints law: children under 3 years old must use the correct child restraint for their weight when travelling in the front and rear of a vehicle (a change for front seat only); rear facing baby seats MUST NOT be used in a seat protecte.
2007 - the penalties for using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving changed to a £60 fine and 3 points on the licence. Fine increases to £1,000 if the case goes to court (£2,500 for bus, coach & HGV drivers).
The World Health Organisation forecasts that by 2020 road crashes will be the second most common cause of premature death in the world.
Since the invention of the car more than a century ago, about 30 million people have been killed in road crashes worldwide.
