Idea of Smart Traffic Lights

Traffic lights that are capable to wirelessly keep track of vehicles. This could be a really good technology because it could speed up journeys because you will know how to plan your route accordingly. In one respect it could also reduce fuel consumption because you will no longer have to speed up at the light from a complete stop. It will also improve urban air quality because thier will be less gas going into the air from a car at the idle state. Romanian and US researchers who show that "smart" traffic lights might reduce the time drivers spend waiting at intersections by more than 28% during rush hours. These smart traffic lights will take time off of your trip.
In the testing of this technology, "traffic lights were fed the position and speed of all vehicles on nearby roads and programmed to calculate how to phase colour changes in order to optimise traffic flow. As well as reducing intersection waiting times, the team calculates that CO₂ emissions could fall by 6.5%." It will help drivers with speed warnings. If traffic lights were able to tell the driver when they are going the change it will reduce traffic and also reduce the unneeded acceleration at a fresh green light.
For this to work, vehicles must transmit data to the computer system that controls a city's lights. This is not possible currently, but companies and research groups worldwide are already developing vehicle communications systems that might be adapted to be used for the smart lights.
Dash Express is one such car-to-car communication system expected to ship commercially in the US in February 2008. It provides drivers with real-time traffic information using data automatically gathered from other vehicles with Dash Express units. This information includes their current speed and location. This info is transfered via centralized computer.