Cats Eyes Road Inventor

The Cats Eye was invented in 1934 by Yorkshireman Percy Shaw and has no doubt saved thousands of lives on the roads over the years.

Cats eyes road inventor. Percy Shaw s Catseye road studs are an example of how patents and trade marks can be the foundation for a successful business the firm he founded is still thriving decades later. British inventor Percy shaw created many gadgets but he is most widely recognized for his contribution to road safety. Cats eyes are now set in rubber domes that are mounted in an iron housing.

When the device is driven over the rubber dome simply sinks down below the surface of the road. Glenda Shaw Glenda Shaw shared the story of Percy Shaw inventor of the reflecting road studs we call Cats Eyes with Hebden Bridge Local History Society and showed how he became a Yorkshire icon. This simple invention is still in use today and with more and more traffic on the roads is more important than ever in defining where the centre of a road is.

The beads depressed and brushed against their moulded housing and cleaned too by rainwater squeezed out at the same time as traffic ran over the inserts placed into the road surface was ingenious and made a fortune for Shaw. On a foggy Yorkshire night 85 years ago the shine of a cats eyes was his Eureka moment Percy Shaw inventor of the cats eye road safety device outside his factory in Boothtown Halifax. Now here was a safecheap and simple way of keeping motorists on the right side of the road.

The name cats eye comes from Shaws inspiration for the device. Jim Rees tells the story of Percy Shaw the inventor of Cats Eyes Arent reflecting roadstuds wonderful. Percy Shaw OBE was an English inventor and businessman.

Percy Shaw OBE 15 April 1890 1 September 1976 was an English inventor and businessman. Intelligent cats eyes latest developments His invention and patent of 1935 for two self- cleaning glass and metal beads. Manufacturer and inventor percy shaw was born on april 15 1890 in halifax england.

Fascinating 1960s documentary on Yorkshire eccentric Percy Shaw - the inventor of Cats Eyes. Both are non-negotiably creepy. Realising that driving at night was becoming a more common occurrence the inventor in Shaw decided that something needed to be done to make the roads safer at night.