Traffic Invention
As a patent attorney, I know better than making public disclosures of inventions without first filing a patent application. But who cares? I have an idea and I don’t play to spend my hard earned cash (which needs to go to gas) to pay the application fees. Gas is expensive. For me, it isn’t a bad thing per se, although it reduces the amount of computer equipment I can buy and the clothing the missus buys for the kids. But in a market economy, the only way to really promote a change in the behavior of citizens is by hitting their pocketbooks. If you want them to save water, make water expensive. If you want to promote new energy sources, let gas be expensive. etc., etc., etc.
My idea, stimulated from trying to be a more efficient driver to eek out better gas mileage, is to install devices at each intersection that allow drivers to know how fast they have to drive to hit the next light on green. Because the biggest source of gas consumption in the city is acceleration (I am looking for a source to back me up, but according to the principles of physics this is why you get better highway mileage than city mileage), the idea is to minimize starting and stopping in city driving: The idea:
- Divide the roads in a city up into a predetermined sets of street busy-ness ranks. For example, a residential street would be classified as a ‘1,’ while a residential artery might be labeled ‘3.’ Main roads would be ‘4′ or ‘5′ depending on how busy they are. The invention would not apply to streets that don’t have traffic lights or intersect with streets having traffic lights, so it might be irrelevant to label residential roads.
- Create a light timing system based on the business ranks. Where a ‘5′ street intersects a ‘4′ street, the green light on the ‘5′ street may stay green for 60 seconds. The green on the ‘4′ for the same intersection would stay green for ‘45′ seconds, for example. The timing is designed to accommodate the traffic level and prevent bottlenecks. Thus, ideally each light will stay green long enough for all traffic waiting at a red light to make it through the intersection when the signal turns green with a buffer at the end. The buffer might be large if the street is intersection with a relatively low ranked street (such as one coming out of a residential neighborhood). Also, the timings may be variable depending on the time of day and the level of traffic.
- Attached to each traffic light or on a separate sign posted shortly after, but within sight of the traffic light a secondary display is shown that tells the drivers the speed in which they have to drive to hit the next intersection when the light turns green (or a few seconds after the light turns green) to allow stopped motorists to pass the upcoming intersection before the cars from the previous intersection arrive.
- At night, where lower ranked streets intersect higher ranked streets, the timing remains. Because some streets are dead during the night hours, leave high ranked streets green and turn the lights for the lower ranks streets into stop sign signals (blinking reds). I.e., we abandon the metal detectors and light sensors for light changing.
The idea here is to allow drives to modulate their speed to avoid starting and stopping. If you hit a green light in 50 zone, the sign may tell you that you have to drive 35 MPH to hit the next intersection on a green. Thus, you never have to completely stop you car and thereby your gas efficiency is improved. Additionally, if you don’t have to wait at stop lights, travel time becomes much more predicable and less frustrating.
So who pays for it? I have no idea. I don’t want any additional taxes (especially in California). Global warming people will hail this as a way to reduce the carbon footprint. Global warming disbelievers will hail it as a way to keep a few hundred extra dollars in their pockets each year. Win/win.