Road rage of the future

2009-04-17 09:49

Alistair Fairweather

The "green wave" is coming! No, its not another guilt trip about recycling, it's a technology that creates a "wave" green traffic lights that let you whiz through four or five major intersections at a time.

Yeah, I know, it sounds like a dumb movie about spies or bank robbers who jimmy the city's robots so they can make their getaway. But "green wave" is very real, and is taking hold around the world.

The idea is that big clumps of cars travelling along an arterial road will be given preferential treatments by the lights. Sensors in the road detect these clumps, and the computer-controlled lights react accordingly. This cuts down on braking, idling and pulling off on major routes, and helps save the planet as well as your nerves (ok, ok, so I lied - it is a bunny hugger idea after all).

Smooth or clumpy?

There's a catch though - everyone in the clump has to be travelling just below the speed limit for it to work properly. And it's not just the boy racer in the souped-up sedan who can ruin everyone's fun - the granny going 35 in an 80 zone is just as bad.

The system also has some difficulty with intersections between two main routes. Who gets the green wave then? This can be solved by interweaving the patterns of the different waves, but some poor chop is always going to be sitting at the corner of Main and Voortrekker.

I know what you're thinking - between the taxis, the beemers and the hunks of junk that can't go over 40kph on our roads this is never going to work. The thing is it already does. We have a primitive, timing based version of it in place on several major roads across South Africa, and it works quite well.

I am robot

Ok, so spending all that money on fancy sensors to upgrade our systems is a questionable idea. But what if the problem with green wave is that it simply doesn't go far enough? What if the sensors should be in the cars, as well as the roads? And what if the sensors started controlling the cars?

Before you start quoting Hal 9000 at me, remember that 90% traffic is caused by basic human urges like jealousy ("why is that lane moving faster than mine?"), selfishness ("I'll just sneak to the front and push in?") and anger ("I'm not letting you into this lane you %$#@!").

If we could remove these urges from the equation, traffic should largely disappear - saving the planet and our fuel bills. The technology already exists that would allow us to put cars on computer-controlled autopilot, we just need the political will to implement it.

Catch up on your reading

And this autopilot need not be permanent - it could be mandatory in high congestion areas during rush hours, and optional the rest of the time. It might sound like science fiction now, but as cities around the world get more and more congested it will become more and more tempting.

We only resist this concept because we've had the idea hammered into us that our individual independence is all that matters. And yes, there are all kinds of privacy and safety concerns that need to be addressed before we can trust such a system.

But, given the choice, would you stare at the bumper of the car in front of you for an hour every day, as you edge painfully along - or would you read a book, do your nails or eat your breakfast as you cruise steadily to work?

Catch up with Chris Roper and Alistair Fairweather at 24.com's blogging workshop this weekend.

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