Is This the End of Red Lights? - Comments Page 1

The ultimate might be for cars to coordinate between themselves at intersections so lights aren't needed (solution needed for peds). In the meantime, why do cars have to adapt to lights? With AI, can't there be cameras or other sensors so that lights can operate to maximize traffic through intersections, with a timed portion only to limit the wait on light traffic roads intersecting with heavily traveled roads? There are lots of cases which can be optimized, like no showing a green light when traffic is backed up and can't move anyway.

"There are lots of cases which can be optimized, like no showing a green light when traffic is backed up and can't move anyway." So true. Stupid and frustrating when you know you are nowhere near moving forward.
My father used to use a timing system where he was able to just cruise the green lights. It was fun to see. Don't know how he did it because I was just a little tyke along for the ride. But it worked every time.

How about first things first? In this area anyhow, the least glitch in the power, and traffic lights fall back to their 'safe' mode -- flashing in all directions. That requires a visit by a maintenance crew to reset them. A simple UPS should eliminate much of that.

Why not go one step further, and use solar power to power them?

We have a Cadillac with all of the sensing options. I find that in inclement weather, they are unreliable because they cannot pickup the road markings. I find that I have to be more diligent driving with them on then when they are off. It will be a very long time before we have truly autonomous vehicles.

There is one issue that no amount of tech can resolve and that is the driver. Back in the 1973 I found that I could drive just below the speed limit and go 25 miles in Massachusetts without hitting a red light. In the 90's, I showed my kids that it was possible to drive on Virginia Beach Blvd from Norfolk to the beachfront at the speed limit without hitting a red light. The catch was that was done around midnight.
I watch drivers every day that seem to think that racing from one light to the next will help avoiding the reds. Until 100% of vehicles become autonomous, humans will still mess it up.

Perhaps if Traffic Engineers shared more info with us we could better adjust our driving to minimize delays and fuel consumption. For instance, the traffic light at my nearby intersection seem to have both short and long wait cycles, with no explanation. And another- does timing change to facilitate commuter travel in opposite directions at different times of the day?
I believe there are a few obvious reasons why they do NOT share info:
1- The "through" speed is set for emergency vehicles and is above the legal limit.
2- Settings change frequently due to change in priorities or a power failure. They would have to respond to calls if the system did not work as advertised.
3- Some jurisdictions do NOT make use of the available technology and do NOT want to admit this poor performance to the public.
-Greg

What gripes me is waiting for a red light when there are no other cars coming from any other direction and it should be perfectly safe to cross the intersection or make a turn. But I have to wait for an illuminated red-tinted light fixture to become darkened.

To follow your security articles: Similar to smarthomes, any talk of security? Such a hacked system could cause chaos and death.

Should the network go down on part of the network the lights can be programmed to flash red or if complete power loss and are dark, require stopping as now.

Oh, great, another high tech gadget for cars that will break and cost a FORTUNE to diagnose and fix.

Nice. But the only problem that I see is I am always bringing up the rear of the pack. Which means I will be the one always getting caught by the red light.

And before anyone says, "Well, then that would put me 'at the front of the pack' when it turns green - forget it. There is always someone who refuses to be behind 'anyone, for any reason' and will pass me, at breakneck speed, only to slow down once they are in the lead. Repeat with the next guy and the next.

....meanwhile, there will always be the one new leader that will be way too slow for the other leader behind him and will then get into the next lane and drive along side of them.....but only just so fast an far so nobody else can squeeze through them to become the new leader.....

Where's my flying care.....just realized how to get around all this.....Amazon!

That's right....if they can get drones to deliver packages, they should be able to modify it for "uber air"....stay tuned....

Give me a "dumb" car any day of the week. I drove my daughters SUV the other day and it has some sort of "auto-correcting" feature that tries to steer you back into your original lane if you try to change lanes without using a signal. A car almost side-swiped me and I tried to change lanes, car fought against me. There are WAY too many specific instances where automation cannot figure out what to do right now for me to embrace automation in that arena.

Keeping traffic flowing with no lights assumes you have the road infrastructure to accommodate the traffic in the first place. Absolutely wouldn't work in large metro areas where there are too many cars everywhere, in all the "alternate"routes. It would be mayhem in Baltimore.

For everyday work driving I probably would opt for the newer cars with all the gadgets. The only problem for me is that they all look alike. For a casual afternoon drive, give me a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette Midnight Blue with fuel injection and two roofs; a real babe magnet!!!

This is technology for the sake of it. Money would be better spent on technology to reduce the road carnage, for example:-
Stop vehicles from running red lights.
Stop vehicles from tailgating.
Stop vehicles from exceeding the speed limits.
Stop vehicles from moving unless occupied seats are belted up.
And more. The technology is already available and fitted to many vehicles. Lets put it all together and make it law for manufacturers to fit it to all new vehicles.

...but how could the Traffic Light Information system possibly account for that 'turkey' in front of me, who is sitting at the red light texting? I call them 'turkeys' because you have to honk your horn to shoo them forward after the light changes to green.

I'd much rather drive a dumb clasic.Much more interesting, fun, and good food for the brain and reflexes. It is being made very clear every day that the less we use our brain the dumber and lazier we get. Warnings are great, and so is automation to some extent and in some cases but a lot of thought should be given to everything automatic doing everything for us. For instance, what hapens if the automatics fail? We have already witnessed the mess at airports, railwys, other transport, hospitals and even government and security.

I'm afraid this is an example of trying to do a better job of doing the wrong thing.

North American roads have a number of poor design features. Traffic lights cause frustration and lead to huge traffic jams in cities. There is a cheap and easy solution that requires no sophisticated electronics and no expensive maintenance - it's called a roundabout.

And when you've dealt with the traffic lights, you can deal with the 4-way stops. Same issue - dumb and dangerous design. Replace with roundabouts or decide which road has priority. If you need traffic calming in residential areas, there are cheap and effective methods that are much safer.

Freddy - you are so right - roundabouts would work in many "low traffic" locations.

I third the comments from Freddy and KD. Actually KD roundabouts also work very well on high volume roads too.
I'll also add the European rule of yield to the right at uncontrolled intersections rather than the proliferation of stops signs and 4 way stops on low volume roads and minor roads yielding to major roads. Full stops on low volume roads are a complete waste of fuel.
Only trouble is that these rules actually require the drivers to pay attention and actually drive - major failing of most N. American drivers. AI and V2V could alleviate some of this but would only work if ALL vehicles have the capability - not happening any time soon.

Having driven in the US - a LOT - I lived there for several years, my own view is that their traffic control is currently the least helpful I've ever known. The four-way stop is ludicrous; regardless how you interpret the rules, NOBODY knows who has priority - in theory, everyone stays stationary forever. There are some roundabouts - 'rotaries' (or 'traffic circles' in some places) but so rare that most drivers have no idea how to deal with them. Being able turn right on a red light sounds wonderful - except it is decidedly dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Overtaking (passing) on both sides is similarly downright dangerous. It wouldn't be necessary is people didn't hog lanes.
Traffic lights are only as good as their sensing and programming - which in many casea, both in the US, the UK, and many other countries, is simply not good enough. "Intelligent" cars are a long way off; the current level of technology is nowhere near good enough to allow it unfettered control. It IS good enough to act as a warning and advice sytem, (as my car has for lane-change) although auto engine-stop, auto-lights, and wipers are handy, *I* remain in control. Yes, auto-braking to avoid collisions is good, but the AI simply is not good enough to allow AI control much further than that.
Quite honestly, the best answer would be for motorists to drive considerately and sensibly, instead of selfishly and competitively - but I can see icicles developing in Satan's domain long before that happens.