With vehicle miles traveled growing about 15 percent faster than the U.S. roadway network, and the trend likely to continue this year as fuel prices stabilize and more drivers take to the roadways, we need to look for more creative—and smarter—ways of easing congestion.
New projects from German automakers Audi and BMW promise to ease congestion simply by looking at traffic signals and driving style, in an effort to smooth the flow of traffic.
One likely start is by replacing our outdated traffic-signal system with one that's networked—or, better yet, one that can communicate with vehicles in real time.
Last fall we reported that BMW is working on such a system, through its Traffic Technology and Traffic Management group, of better synchronizing traffic signals with vehicle traffic and vice versa. Through a test course in Munich, vehicles were able to post phenomenal fuel-efficiency gains simply by adjusting the timing of traffic lights depending on traffic volume—to whatever speed provides a so-called 'green wave' of four or more synchronized signals.
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