100 years ago the solution was likely clearer because we didn't have the foresight to consider EMR behaviour. The majority of cars 100 years ago likely didn't have radio's in them, nor a radio that wasn't impacted severely by any level of interference.
This is cool! If these were implemented at traffic lights in big cities, it sounds like one could drive around indefinitely. Still it remains to be seen if electric cars are the future and not their hydrogen-based counterparts.