1630s, "one who blinks," agent noun from blink (v.). As a type of horse eye screen to keep the animal looking straight ahead, from 1789. Slang meaning "the eye" is from 1816. Meaning "intermittent flashing light" is from 1923.[blinker etymology, blinker origin, 英语词源]
"(In the UK) an orange ball containing a flashing light, mounted on a striped post on the pavement at each end of a zebra crossing", 1930s: named after Leslie Hore- Belisha (1893–1957), British politician, Minister of Transport when the beacons were introduced.