Cars and traffic lights will talk in the future

We're sill waiting for our personal jetpacks, which like all utopian inventions, should have arrived by the year 2000. So excuse us for not getting too excited by technology that "could" ease traffic congestion on terra firma. Regardless, those engineering wunderkinds in Germany are developing intelligent traffic systems to prevent grid lock and enhance safety. Siemens is working on a driver assistance system based on communication between vehicles and surrounding infrastructure — lights turn green as you approach or you receive a warning when a car's speed suggests it will run a red light. Ok, that actually sounds pretty sweet, but we still can't turn right-on-red in New York!

[ixalon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Heh, and here was me thinking this article was about those annoying verbal traffic lights at pedestrian crossings: "The traffic coming from Princes Street has been signaled to stop [but dont make the deadly assumption that they will!]"

[Jon Maddox @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Ha, and you thought the old "mount a strobe light on your car" hack to turn lights green was good. I can' wait to see the mods people do when this starts being used.

[weaszel @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Teehee... You said, "Siemens".

[Galley @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Traffic signal info should be displayed on the dashboard.

[pixel @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Galley - right, so people will be staring at their dashboard as they approach a light, instead of at the intersection, *where all the cars and people are*! Heads-up displays are good for a reason.

[chris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

this is good until your car checks the speed limit and prints out your ticket automatically from your dashboard

[fLeShTwIsTeR @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

They should have it dispay in a HUD on your front window

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[Juicebeetle @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

In The Netherlands (and I suspect in many European countries) traffic lights already respond to loops in the pavement that sense cars and in our case even bicycles (this IS The Netherlands, after all). Busses and trams will even automatically radio ahead to the lights to gain priority in the system's cycle.

[Tom Robinson @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

#8 Juicebeetle -

They do here (USA) as well in a lot of places. It sounds like this will just be a more advanced system, plus two way so the car can recieve notification as well.

[lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

So if the light is green and the car infront of me doesn't go, does the light yell "move fucker" for me?

[Carly Matthews @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

#6: "this is good until your car checks the speed limit and prints out your ticket automatically from your dashboard"

And how is that *not* good? It never ceases to amaze me how many people think they have a right to break the law as long as there's no cop around to catch them.

lol @ #10