Clinton Riggs

Clinton E. Riggs (July 15, 1910–May 22, 1997) was a law enforcement innovator and educator who retired from the Tulsa Police Department officer as Administrative Chief in 1970 after 36 years of service.

He conceived and implemented several improvements in the area of traffic enforcement, he is most noted for his invention of the first Yield Right of Way sign used in the United States.

In 1950, Riggs designed the first yield signs used in the United States, which he wanted to place at the intersection of First Street and Columbia Avenue.

[1][b] Riggs conceived of the concept while employed as a state trooper, attending Chicago's Northwestern Traffic Institute in 1939, and developed the idea further over the next decade.

One of the class discussions concerned a common problem of motorists rolling through an uncontrolled intersection and the fact that police were reluctant to issue a traffic ticket.

His goal was to create a sign that would both control traffic at an intersection, but affix civil liability for a driver that failed to yield.

Riggs later told a Pittsburgh, PA interviewer that Paul had helped him erect some of the first signs in Tulsa, but later took credit for the invention in an article in Evanston, Indiana.