Efficiency over speed: ADAS and AI tackle road congestion

Traffic jams are not just the result of construction work or collisions; in fact, most of the time they are caused by driver behaviour. Frequently referred to as ‘phantom’ traffic jams, these situations appear to have no clear cause but in fact result when the usual flow of traffic is disrupted by human error—a driver notices belatedly the car ahead is slowing down and has to brake more aggressively. The car behind does the same thing, and the car behind that one, etc. Suddenly the road has gone from nobody braking to a slight oscillation in speed to a complete standstill on the freeway.

The impact is substantial: not only is congestion conducive to crashes but it can also cause billions of dollars in lost economic activity—in the US alone it’s not uncommon to see figures like US$70bn. Smart driving technology could play an important role in alleviating the impact of congestion. Researchers in Tennessee have been trying to pinpoint exactly how much.