So… We’d like to introduce you to Audi’s new and unique bit of technology designed for all you impatient drivers! We all know Audi love to be the best, which is why they have designed an amazing new light technology that allows cars to receive information about upcoming traffic lights.
Audi’s new technology allows selected cars to communicate with a city’s infrastructure in order to get real-time information about traffic lights. What will happen is that the car will receive signal information, which is passed through the vehicle’s on-board LTE data connection. It will then display the time left (in a countdown format) before the green light appears, it will also countdown the time of how long the green light is up before it turns red, meaning that drivers can adjust accordingly, now who doesn’t want that?
Unfortunately for us, we won’t be able to test out this new technology just yet as it is only available in the United States. However, because nothing comes free, this add-on does have costly price, which might not be worth it for the small amount of information received… Due to the fact that Audi Connect Prime is needed in order for this to work, it would cost an additional $199 (or roughly £155) for 6 months. So, it’s not very cheap just to get information on when the traffic lights are about to change.
Although, this would be great for all you impatient drivers and is aimed to improve the traffic flow, fuel economy and drivers behaviour. Generally, this will be because drivers will let off the gas if they know they are approaching a traffic light which is about to turn red, or alternatively they will release the brake if an upcoming light is about to turn green. Although, the opposite could happen and impatient drivers could try and speed up to try and get to the traffic lights before they change. It could also be very distracting to keep looking at the timer every time you approach a traffic light.
Apparently, in the future, Audi are hoping to expand this technology and light information to incorporate it into the stop/start features of some cars and navigation systems. They truly believe that this little bit of information will help to improve traffic flows and improve overall commuting times, but what do you think?
It’s pretty easy to get carried away, and maybe having a traffic light countdown will make drivers more competitive rather than safer on the roads? I guess we will see what happens when this is tested out in the US after 1st June 2017. But for now, I think most people are happy with waiting patiently for the traffic lights to change in their own time, even if it can be a bit of a pain sometimes!
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