Cities and states are embracing smart road technology to improve traffic management, save energy, and create a safer driving experience…

It’s a simple concept—use smart technology to manage traffic signals and other activities designed to keep cars moving as rapidly as legally possible. As a result, drivers get where they’re going faster, there are fewer accidents, road deterioration is minimized, and the air quality improves.

As a proof of concept, Carnegie Mellon University ran a pilot project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using various adaptive traffic signal technologies. In this test, motion sensors were tied to traffic signals, which themselves were connected via signal-to-signal communications. The results? There was a 40% reduction in the time spent stopped at traffic lights and a corresponding 26% decrease in travel times. That also contributed to a 21% reduction in exhaust emissions, so it was a win-win, across the board.