photo #1809183

Florence Lawrence - the inventor of turning signals on cars.More known for her glamorous acting career and considered the first movie star, Lawrence also dabbled in the automotive arts quite often.Her career in the film industry meant she could afford a car on her own back in 1913.She told reporters that “the average woman does her own repairing. She is curious enough to investigate every little creak and squeak of her car, and to remedy it.”She found faults of her own to remedy when she devised an auto signaling arm, which allowed the user to press a button and a mechanized arm would raise or lower with a sign to where the driver was turning.She also added a sign at the back of her car that automatically raised when she pressed the brakes, warning the people behind her that she was stopping.Lawrence never got around to patenting her designs, so didn’t get any credit when turn signals and brake lights were incorporated into the standard car.