Cities are turning to smart traffic technologies to cut down on energy consumption and increase road safety as urban traffic congestion becomes a growing problem. Among other things, this will help save time for passengers and drivers as well as reduce emissions and reduce traffic jams.
The technology behind it is based on software and hardware. The first provides the subcomponent that executes, while the latter is the command and control center. Both are enhanced by technology for processing and sensing such as ANPR (automotive license plate recognition) which collects data on vehicles’ movements and can detect traffic signals.
Depending on which solution is utilized, data can be processed on device using smart traffic application of traffic engineering lights or sent to a cloud. The latter allows for more sophisticated analysis and modeling to reduce traffic congestion and harmonize schedules of public transport. According to Carnegie Mellon University, this can cut the average travel time by 25 percent, and wait times for signals are reduced by 40%, and emissions are cut by 20%..
A well-designed traffic light system as well as reducing the time taken by traffic signals, can also improve the flow of pedestrians as well as of micromobility vehicles like e-bikes or e-scooters. They aren’t able to adhere to traditional traffic signal preemption laws. In London for instance E-scooter crashes increased by 2800% in the first quarter of 2021, therefore it is vital to incorporate them into traffic light controls.