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A fuel-saving and congestion-easing traffic light system is under development.

Built by Belgrade-based designer Damjan Stankovic, the Eko light's right light has an LED countdown on it.

Stankovic says this allows motorists to prepare for driving away as quickly and as efficiently as possible and without out any delay. It also means drivers are able to turn off their engine, safe in the knowledge they won’t be caught out by an abrupt green light.

Although its makers hope the...Read the full article

I think we all know they wouldn't have this in the UK - councils have spent thousands putting hoods on traffic lights (somewhat unsuccessfully) on roundabouts to stop drivers pre-empting the green light on their lane for years...

Autocar:

A fuel-saving and congestion-easing traffic light system is under development.

Based on the way it works, "fuel-saving and congestion easing" lights already exist in the form of digital egg-timers and actual numbers that count down.

Autocar:

the Eko light's right (sic) light has an LED countdown on it.

Oh, so it uses LEDs.  That makes all the difference.

Autocar:

Stankovic says this allows motorists to prepare for driving away as quickly and as efficiently as possible and without out any delay.

Hang on!  The type of drivers that aren't prepared to drive away, when traffic lights go green, are not ready because they are not paying attention...why will that change?  The bright ones among them will be further distracted by amusing themselves with the Countdown game theme as they sit mesmerised by it.

How much did Damjan Stankovic pay for this lousy advertorial?

If you want to save fuel at traffic lights, let me turn left on a red when it is safe to do so. Cheap. Easy. Reliable.

I thought studies had shown that th only way to make busy traffic-lighted junctions less congested for more of the time, was to do away with the traffic ligghts and let the traffic sort itself out - the results are shorter queues of vehicles leading up to the junction and fewer accidents. This little "advertorial" has nothing to commend it in any practical way as far as I can see.

The Colonel:

The type of drivers that aren't prepared to drive away, when traffic lights go green, are not ready because they are not paying attention...why will that change?

 

 

exactly.

dithering people that shouldnt be allowed licenses are still just going to look for a green light (albeit one thats been on for a few seconds before they even think about taking the handbrake off...) 

 wasnt there news a couple of months ago that the government were going to trial a system by which the lights go green for people doing the speed limit as they approach, in an attempt to cut emmisions?

Autocar:

Built by Belgrade-based designer Damjan Stankovic, the Eko light's right light has an LED countdown on it.

Stankovic says this allows motorists to prepare for driving away as quickly and as efficiently as possible and without out any delay.

Isn't that the purpose of the amber light after the red light though, be prepared to set off?.

Surely a better idea would be a traffic light that whilst operating in the normal, timed method, recognises when then there are no cars coming from the direction of the light on green and instantly changes to allow the traffic from the other direction to go?. It's incredibly annoying sitting at a junction for 2 minutes at a red light watching absolutely nothing going through the green light from the other direction the whole time.

Of course it would also help if the people in charge of the traffic light systems in cities didn't deliberately arrange the timings to create as much congestion as possible in a misguided bid to encourage people to use public transport, as is the way in the city I live in.

4rephill:

Isn't that the purpose of the amber light after the red light though, be prepared to set off?.

Not in all countries though.  Often the light will go from red straight to green.  For this situation countdowns are a good idea, but still rely on drivers paying attention, and isn't the groundbreaking new idea this advert story would lead you too believe.

The amber light (flashing) is often used overnight (and other off-peak times) to permit free running across junctions, with care (a good idea, so will never be used in the UK).

Thats an old idea, some countries in the Middle East have timers counting down to green light. useful but doesn't need 'development', and certainly doesn't need 'comities' and reports by locally councils that just waste of tax payers money, they need to spend the money fixing roads and redesigning some of the stupid junctions they have.

I saw these "countdown" traffic lights in Shenzhen, China over two years ago - and they didn't look particularly new then ...

What would be more helpful is to introduce low level lights for those at the front when the layout dictates the driver must contort themselves to see the only set of lights that's high up.

And for junctions that often getting gridlocked, (since the exiting traffic hits the queue for another junction), give more time to traffic that's not going that way, and less to the vehicles that would gridlock it.

I tell you what, you're going to like this.

This isn't the first green traffic light. Traffic lights were already green. A green traffic light is a normal traffic light. They're already green!

Honestly, that idea of them being green anyway came to me instantly as I was reading this.