In an effort to adhere to the highest safety standards while on the road, traffic lights may soon be equipped with a new hue in addition to green, red and orange. This will provide even more protection for drivers all over the world.
The revolutionary white hue will be allocated to self-driving vehicles, allowing them to navigate through bustling intersections with ease, a new technology promises.
North Carolina State University researchers have proposed a plan that could potentially reduce traffic and fuel consumption in the future. This proposal will benefit communities, both economically and environmentally, by reducing levels of congestion on roads as well as cutting down overall fuel usage.
Autonomous vehicles will no longer rely on the traditional visual cues of a white light to indicate when it is safe to proceed. Instead, these cars and trucks will communicate with traffic signals wirelessly.
When vehicles detect white, they will radio a response that urges human drivers to follow suit.
A civil engineer shared his insight with Science Alert magazine: “The classic red lights will still indicate stop and green lights to go. The white ones will merely direct drivers to wait behind the car in front of them.”
At any white light, a human driver must follow the autonomous vehicle’s lead; if it stops, then so should they. If it keeps going, they can continue right along with it.
When the number of self-driving cars at an intersection dips below a specific point, traffic lights will return to traditional red, yellow and green operations.
To guarantee the safety of human drivers, it’s essential to utilize white light signals at intersections as they provide clear direction on what steps should be taken when arriving there.
During the experiments, it was observed that as soon as the fraction of self-driving vehicles surpasses 30%, traffic enhancements become increasingly evident.
Although there’s a cost associated with creating each intersection, the scientists believe that certain components of this transformative plan can be achieved in an expedient manner.
