Smart Traffic Lights

I found this at fox news.

Have you ever wondered why it seems like every traffic light in the world turns red just as you approach it? I know I feel like I constantly sit at red lights. Well, according to this article, it is because the U.S. hasn't caught up with the times. It states that we are about 40 years behind on the traffic light. That is very outdated. In that case, is there anything we can do to fix it?

I had no idea that we were this far behind, let alone that there were smart traffic lights. I was ready to find out what these smart lights consisted of, and how much more effective they could be.

New technology has developed, such as start-stop systems, which shut off the engine when sitting in still traffic, and hybrid systems that increase fuel efficiency. These are only a few things that have been done, but what can be done with the traffic lights? BMW's Traffic Technology and Traffic Management group say that even some of the smart traffic lights have one or two loop detectors that can average speeds, number of cars, etc. In the U.S., there is almost nothing like that. This group of people have set up testing sights using green waves. This is a minimum of four signals in sequence that can eb synchronized for better traffic flow. In doing this, they were actually able to double a cars fuel efficiency from 22 mpg to 42 mpg. That would help tremendously for the way that most of the traffic is traveled these days.

I think that it is time for us to step up the improvement of our traffic light system, and according to the BMW traffic management, so do they. They have met with U.S. Dot officials and urged them to make changes. They have also offered to give them insight on their green waves studies. I think that this is a great idea. We have got to start coming up with more ways to help save on the fuel efficiency. I also believe that this could help with traffic congestion. If they can come up with a way that I don't have to sit at a red light when I don't have to, more power to them.