In the Boston area, they found that canceling 1 percent of trips by select drivers in the Massachusetts municipalities of Everett, Marlborough, Lawrence, Lowell and Waltham would cut all drivers’ additional commuting time caused by traffic congestion by 18 percent. In the San Francisco area, canceling trips by drivers from Dublin, Hayward, San Jose, San Rafael and parts of San Ramon would cut 14 percent from the travel time of other drivers.

via Cellphone data helps pinpoint source of traffic tie-ups – MIT News Office.

HT Nancy

How did they cancel or delay trips?

A network of dashboard-mounted phones can collect data on traffic lights and tell drivers how to avoid inefficient stopping and starting.

In addition to testing SignalGuru in Cambridge, where traffic lights are on fixed schedules, the researchers also tested it in Singapore, where the duration of lights varies continuously according to fluctuations in traffic flow. In Cambridge, the system was able to predict when lights would change with an error of only two-thirds of a second. In suburban Singapore, the error increased to slightly more than a second, and at one particular light in densely populated central Singapore, it went up to more than two seconds. “The good news for the U.S.,” Koukoumidis says, “is that most signals in the U.S. are dummy signals” — signals with fixed schedules. But even an accuracy of two and half seconds, Koukoumidis says, “could very well help you avoid stopping at an intersection.” Moreover, he points out, the predictions for variable signals would improve as more cars were outfitted with the system, collecting more data.

via Increasing fuel efficiency with a smartphone – MIT News Office.

Continental aims to have partially automated driving systems — mainly geared toward low-speed, start-and-stop traffic, and accident avoidance — available to its by automaker customers by 2016. And between 2020 and 2025, Degenhard says that, “fully automated driving, even at higher speeds and in more complex driving situations, [will be] ready for production by 2020 or 2025.”

via More Autonomous Vehicles Headed to Nevada Roads | Autopia | Wired.com.

Drivers who go 12 months without any violations will be eligible for prizes worth a minimum of Dh500 each. Dubai Police say there will be between 250 to 500 prizes.

via White points mean prizes for safe driving in Dubai – The National.

Gamification, yeah!

Computer scientists at the University of Texas in Austin are developing intersections of the future, designed to accommodate the driverless vehicles they believe will soon take over our roads. The intersection will have no traffic lights and no stop signs, just computer programs that will talk directly to each car on the road.

via No lights, no signs, no accidents – future intersections for driverless cars | Video | Reuters.com.

For example, the V2V allows the car to communicate with all other vehicles within a range of about 200m to 300m. They all share data such as their location, speed and direction, that is then assessed for safety risks, and if appropriate the driver is warned of any danger. For example, drivers will get an audible warning if they try to change lane with a car in their blind spot, or if the car in front of them brakes hard and the driver doesn’t seem to notice. The car can also give warnings at blind corners and junctions that another vehicle is about to pull out. Because the communications are done by radio signals, they do not need direct line of sight, unlike a driver’s eyes.

Currently, the majority of the cars fitted with the technology are owned by residents of Ann Arbor, who have volunteered to join the programme. People take their cars in, just like a service visit at a dealership. It takes less than an hour to install the two antennas for GPS, one antenna for communications, the driver interface, and a black-box computer to link it all together.

So far, about two thirds of the drivers selected to take part in the trial are parents from Ann Arbor schools. They were deliberately chosen to ensure there are as many vehicle “interactions” as possible, because they tend to drive their kids around a lot, and tend to congregate in the same places. More than 60 vehicles, including buses and trucks, have also been donated by various car manufacturers.

via BBC – Future – Technology – Building the crash-proof car.

HT Ned

Ron Medford, NHTSA’s deputy director, has more than 40 years in governmental experience and been a key player in finalizing the landmark 2017-25 Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements to a fleetwide average of 54.5 mpg in 2025.

via NHTSA official joining Google | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com.

Google’s serious, yo.

Welcome to Gridlock Buster–an online game developed by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota. Click on an intersection to change the traffic light, and let the cars go. The more you can get through without people becoming antsy, the more points you accumulate.

via An Addictive Traffic Game Challenges You To Keep Up The Flow | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.

via Nancy