Smart Traffic Lights Would Save Time and the Environment
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iStock/Thinkstock(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — It’s time to get smart about traffic lights, according to a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
As much as motorists often hate waiting for a red light to change to green, MIT researchers say there’s a different reason to be concerned.
All that idling sends harmful carbon emissions into the air, contributing to global warming.
Therefore, what MIT researchers are looking into is developing a smart traffic light system that reduces carbon emissions by cutting the amount of time drivers spend stopped at the red.
The way the system would work is by each city estimating the number of cars in their metro areas and comparing it to traffic patterns.
The data that is collected would then enable cities to adjust traffic lights accordingly so that motorists wouldn’t have to wait as long for lights to change, thus making them happier and cleaning up the environment in the process.
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