Shanghai to install more 'smart' traffic lights 08-069

Problem

Regular traffic lights function under preset programming, and can't adjust to fluctuation condition on the road.

Smart Solution:

Intelligent traffic lights however, change according to actual traffic flow.

According to the Shanghai Daily from February 15, 2008

"Shanghai plans to install more intelligent traffic lights near on-ramps for elevated roads this year, a city official said Wednesday.

Intelligent traffic signs will also be installed on other streets to guide traffic as an increasing number of construction sites have popped up downtown.

"We want to provide better guidance to drivers," Qian Jianguo, a Shanghai Engineering Administrative Bureau official, said Wednesday.

The bureau uses elevated monitors and sensory loops to capture traffic conditions around the city and sends necessary information back to headquarters for display use. [...]

....an intelligent light turns red shortly after an accident, thus prevent more vehicles from entering the elevated road.

Traffic police often direct traffic during busy periods, but the computerized lights are expected to be more efficient, officials said.

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