h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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A series of yellow lighted markers embedded in the
roadway, spaced at 1 second intervals,
turn on in sequence to indicate you are approaching a
traffic
light that will be red when you arrive. By chasing the
block of
yellow lights you will arrive as the light changes to green.
This would
have the effect of forming traffic into
platoons synchronized with the intersections, saving
energy (that is
wasted by stopping and starting) , increasing traffic flow
(because moving vehicles spend less time in the
intersection
than stopped vehicles) and reducing accidents.
At intersections without traffic signals this same system
could be used to alternate traffic such that east west
traffic has intersection priority, then north-south has
priority, making four way stop-intersections share these
advantages.
To prevent accidents due to fixation I would place the
lights down the middle of the traffic lane so they are
covered up by any car ahead of you.
The idea of training should become obvious, if you are
driving on yellow lights you are going to be sitting at the
red light. That should be quickly understood. If the
yellow lights pass you you have the option to speed up to
make the light, or slow down and wait for them to pass
you to make the next light.
This is an adaptation of rolling block signalling from
railroads or synchronous PRT control
picture
http://osc1.net/17roads.gif
sort of the idea [haywardt, Feb 06 2012]
non-stop traffic
[xaviergisz, Feb 07 2012]
[link]
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This vaguely reminds me of the way railway signals work, at least here in the UK: very roughly, red means "stop", green means "full speed ahead", and yellow means "the next signal ahead is on red, so start slowing down and prepare to stop before you reach it". |
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Oh, and in another important difference to the roads: on the railway, red means "Stop. No, really, stop. If you don't, there'll be an inquiry, and you could lose your job." This is in contrast to the roads, where red means "Stop if you feel like it or you can see a policemen watching you." |
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(Edited to make a bit more sense - thanks zen_tom) |
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//This is in contrast to the roads, where red means "Stop if you feel like it and you can't see any policemen watching you."// |
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Hmm, that's not what it means here. |
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http://osc1.net/17roads.gif |
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Nope. I hope that doesn't speak badly of the HalfBakery user
interface. |
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This could easily be baked with a simple GPS rethink. In fact you don't need constant real-time input from the stoplights. Just set them to a predetermined schedule, the GPS downloads the map/schedule for whatever area you are driving through and tells you to slow down or speed up to catch the next green with least lost momentum. |
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I have to agree with zen_tom though. Red light here means stop, no question. |
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One whole wheat sourdough bun, with real butter. |
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As lights on the road I just don't think this idea would work.
It's just too distracting and everybody will stare a the lights
while they run over everything that gets itheir way. If the
traffic lights could communicate with cars and create a
"speed up now!" or "prepare to stop" indication IN THE CAR,
then it might work. It reminds me a bit of chasing a
glideslope indicator. |
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The reward for not tailing the pack to make all the
yellows is that, if you stop at the next light you
are in the
position to lead the pack, which is a more
comfortable driving position. You can notice this
effect on a road with synced traffic lights. The
person at the back of the pack will run a yellow or
two then resign to stopping and allowing the
platoon to form behind him. |
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Thanks to everyone for the comments, I really
appreciate it! |
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I am not sure that an indication inside the car is
less distracting than one outside the car. While
the idea is a novelty a driver might find himself
staring at the road, I don't think you can equate
this to less-safe than staring at the jogger running
along the side of the road or the gps on the
dashboard. In addition, only the lead car in the
lane (and on occasion the last car, when it has
fallen too far back) would see the lights, and that
is only because
he has no one ahead of him. |
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Takes too much infrastructure. I still say a GPS rethink is the best bet. The basic idea is good though, and it would work. |
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Now I'm all impatient to see it in action... :/ |
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A GPS solution is in the oven. Portland has just such
a GPS app and there are plans to grow across the
country. There is a lot of talk right now about the
concern of distracted driving and the potential
danger, though I really don't think there is much data
to determine either way. |
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Autonomous cars will make this whole argument irrelevant. |
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Given that [haywardt] has accrued just six ideas and four annoes in the span of the last 8 years, I'd suggest it says more about the time-flow differential between our plane and his than it does about the Halfbakery user interface. |
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I'd try driving on this road. It's going to be scary at first though. |
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Its true, I am not here often enough. And it is not
because the ideas are not worthy. Linkedin,
wordpress, yahoo groups all keep me engaged in the
conversation by providing an interface that doesn't
require the level of dedication that halfbakery does. |
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Im also just not that smrt. I don't come up with good
ideas as often as the rest of you. I have to be happy
with one good idea every 3 years. |
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