traffic

Vehicles using public roads. Traffic moves more slowly in London, New York, Tokyo and other cities around the world than it did when horses were used. Britons spend the equivalent of five-and-a-half days a year in traffic jams, while congestion costs the USA $40 billion a year in lost production.

In 1998, American motorists had the lowest number of deaths for miles driven in their history, according to a report released by the National Highway Safety Administration in May 1999. The report also said that nearly 70% of American motorists now wear seat belts.

The world's first traffic signal, erected in Parliament Square, London, UK in 1868, exploded and killed the police officer operating it. The first vehicle-activated traffic signals introduced in the UK in 1932 also exploded. By 1993 about half of London's traffic lights were computer-controlled.