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200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

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Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#71

Post by phkahler »

rob74 wrote: post #69

> A simple example: at night, a main road mainly displays green, the side streets only get green for a very short time. If you arrive with the app from a side street, you can get green immediately, provided there is no traffic on the main road. In Germany, there's an established but much more low tech approach to this problem: simply turn off the traffic lights at night! All traffic lights already have yield/stop/pri…

I don't understand why they need apps for this either. The infrastructure should be in place to detect cars approaching from the side street. Once they have the ability to detect cars, it's simple to assume everyone would be requesting a green light.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#72

Post by marklubi »

OtherShrezzing wrote: post #13

I have no idea why the app is required here. Cars & bikes are massive, hot, & mobile objects. They're perfect for a modest-cost IR sensor atop the traffic light to detect them and adjust the lights accordingly. This type of system is commonplace in cities in the UK and works effectively. Having drivers reach for their phone when they're approaching traffic lights - common pedestrian crossing points - is categorically…

Many cities use TPMS monitoring/fingerprinting on highways to gauge traffic levels. Wouldn't be shocked if they started using that for traffic light timings

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#73

Post by hypfer »

ralferoo wrote: post #64
mosselman wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't make any sense. How would criminals know even if the traffic light receives a signal like that?

I think these systems used RF before, so anything in the vicinity could listen in. That said, if this new system is a phone app, it'll just be using phone data instead, so it'd be hard for that to be intercepted.

No, it would be _easier_ for them to intercept, because now there's a central server you need to access to know about ALL units within the country.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#74

Post by SteveNuts »

0_____0 wrote: post #65
cadamsdotcom wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixable by taking a picture of every opticom user?

Or by doing even a slight amount of encoding of the IR signal. Transmitting a single byte as a key (set by region, same as fire dept. elevator keys) would be enough to prevent people from using their TV remote controls or whatever to trip the preempt sensors. That being said, this is kind of a non-issue already, I have heard a story about someone abusing the preempt sensors like 10 years ago and never since then. May…

Anecdotal of course, but in my 20 years of driving I've never once seen a vehicle activate the red light override sensors that wasn't obviously a legitimate emergency vehicle.

IMO a huge majority of people realize how illegal it would be to mess with these things, and the risk/reward is very low. Anyone who would take that risk would probably just run a red light instead.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#75

Post by bluecalm »

phkahler wrote: post #71
rob74 wrote: post #69

> A simple example: at night, a main road mainly displays green, the side streets only get green for a very short time. If you arrive with the app from a side street, you can get green immediately, provided there is no traffic on the main road. In Germany, there's an established but much more low tech approach to this problem: simply turn off the traffic lights at night! All traffic lights already have yield/stop/pri…

I don't understand why they need apps for this either. The infrastructure should be in place to detect cars approaching from the side street. Once they have the ability to detect cars, it's simple to assume everyone would be requesting a green light.

We have those in Poland. Sucks if you are on a bike. You need to wait for a car to turn it green for you.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#76

Post by Ajedi32 »

phkahler wrote: post #71
rob74 wrote: post #69

> A simple example: at night, a main road mainly displays green, the side streets only get green for a very short time. If you arrive with the app from a side street, you can get green immediately, provided there is no traffic on the main road. In Germany, there's an established but much more low tech approach to this problem: simply turn off the traffic lights at night! All traffic lights already have yield/stop/pri…

I don't understand why they need apps for this either. The infrastructure should be in place to detect cars approaching from the side street. Once they have the ability to detect cars, it's simple to assume everyone would be requesting a green light.

Presumably the app would be able to signal the presence of an approaching car from a much longer distance than the inductive loops you typically see these systems, ensuring cars don't even need to slow down when approaching the intersection. (Saving gas, brake/tire wear, and time.)

It's also probably cheaper than the extra physical infrastructure needed for inductive loops, given that all the necessary equipment (phones, GPS, cell infrastructure) is already in place for most people.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#78

Post by 6510 »

bluecalm wrote: post #75
phkahler wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why they need apps for this either. The infrastructure should be in place to detect cars approaching from the side street. Once they have the ability to detect cars, it's simple to assume everyone would be requesting a green light.

We have those in Poland. Sucks if you are on a bike. You need to wait for a car to turn it green for you.

In the Netherlands we have ones that detect warm bodies.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#79

Post by tarentel »

rob74 wrote: post #69

> A simple example: at night, a main road mainly displays green, the side streets only get green for a very short time. If you arrive with the app from a side street, you can get green immediately, provided there is no traffic on the main road. In Germany, there's an established but much more low tech approach to this problem: simply turn off the traffic lights at night! All traffic lights already have yield/stop/pri…

This is more or less how it worked in the small town where I grew up in the US as well. At night, almost all the lights would flash yellow from around 1AM til 6AM? I think. It's been a long time since I lived there.

Re: 200k Flemish drivers can turn traffic lights green

#80

Post by epiccoleman »

Boltgolt wrote: post #48
LadyCailin wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, there’s a thing called the Opticom. It’s just an extra light that is installed along with the normal light bar, and the traffic light recognizes the strobe pattern, and changes. https://www.fedsig.com/product/opticom/ No app required.

But highly susceptible to unauthorized use. The app version can also alert drivers directly with an audible alert that an emergency vehicle is close by

Long ago I used to read i-hacked.com with great interest. They had an article about a DIY "MIRT" which produced the right infrared signal to trigger these:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060317013200/http://www.i-hack...

Of course this article came with many disclaimers that to actually do this would be very illegal.

I was more than a little sad when I typed i-hacked.com into the browser and got redirected to some etsy page. Thank goodness for the Wayback Machine, I guess.

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