Ford are currently trialing technology in the UK to reduce time spent sitting at a red light.

Information on traffic light timings from a roadside unit display is used by the technology called Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory to advise the driver of the best speed to travel to arrive at a green light.

Over the next two years, trials will take place in Milton Keynes and Coventry on both public roads and closed circuits.

The technology is being trialed by Ford to help show the benefits on connected car for UK Autodrive – a publicly funded £20 million project and the nation’s largest self-driving and connected car trial. The aim of the project is to develop vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies which will lead to a much less stressful and time-consuming driving experience, as well as improving fuel efficiency.

As a nation we can probably agree that there is not much worse than the inevitable ‘once you get stuck in one red light, you’re stuck in them all’, that we have all experienced as some point. Christian Ress, supervisor, Driver Assist Technologies, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, says; “Enabling drivers to ‘ride the green wave’ means a smoother, continuous journey that helps to improve the flow of traffic and provide significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption.”

It has been estimated that drivers in the UK can spend up to two days each year waiting at red lights, maybe even more for those who drive daily. They system has been developed so that if a driver cannot avoid hitting a red light, the system will let them know how long until the lights turn green.

Daily drivers in the UK alone spend two days each year waiting at red lights, and similar technologies already enable cyclists in Copenhagen and Amsterdam to avoid red lights. * If drivers find hitting a red light unavoidable the system displays how long until the light turns green.