What is probably the oldest traffic light in the world is now in the Dr. Carl Benz Automobile Museum in Ladenburg.
At the Automobilia auction in Ladenburg on November 18, 2016, a peculiar object was offered under lot no. 3473: A traffic light with light exits, in the colors green-green and yellow-yellow. The museum team succeeded in acquiring this traffic light at auction.
The light source is a kerosene burner inside the lamp. It took a lot of research to find out what purpose this lantern might once have had. It must probably have once regulated traffic at a crossroads. A person in charge of traffic control probably had the task of manually adjusting the traffic light so that traffic was regulated by the traffic light colors.
The traffic light was probably first used in America, perhaps even before automobiles and horse-drawn carriages ruled the roads.
The historic lamp can now be seen in the Dr. Carl Benz Automobile Museum in Ladenburg. Further information can be found on the museum's website.
