"Don't Commit Manslaughter" - Early traffic signal in Burley, Idaho highlights the dangers of automobiles
In the early days of the automobiles, especially in the period where horses and "horseless carriages" shared the road, entering an intersection could be a precarious endeavor.
The predecessor of the modern timing-based three-colored traffic signal wasn't invented until the 1920s, meaning the first 25 years of safe automobile travel depended on police officers directing traffic or a variety of traffic control devices that varied town to town, state to state.
Below is an example from Burley, ID, featured in the new pictorial history book by the Times-News, Magic Valley Memories. The sign reads, "DRIVE CAREFULLY. Don't commit MANSLAUGHTER."
Northwest corner of Overland Avenue and Thirteenth Street, Burley, 1910s.
Cassia County Historical Museum
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