Traffic control becomes cooperative

Date: 4/3/2010

Source: Intertraffic World, Annual Showcase 2010, pg. 68-70

Cooperative Vehicle Highway Systems (CVHS) enable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication making it possible to (amongst others):

o    prevent accidents

o    track dangerous goods,

o    allocate loading bays, and

o    reserve car park spaces.

The latest systems under development utilise accurate positioning and fast wireless communication and help to improve traffic management and hence reduce pollution and enhance driver safety. If the traffic light controller could communicate with oncoming vehicles, it could collect information on the types of vehicles approaching and manipulate traffic lights accordingly to minimise the total fuel consumption. A driver could also receive a notification from traffic lights to slow down to avoid stopping at an intersection further down the road.

Drivers can also be warned about hazards and appropriate incident prevention action can be taken by both in-vehicle and infrastructure systems. For example, if the traffic light controller were to warn a driver about a situation that required hard braking by the driver, the vehicle’s onboard system could automatically warn following cars to help prevent rear-end shunts.

Keywords: Cooperative vehicle systems, Driver information, Incident, In-vehicle systems, Safety