Re:Self-driving car accidents: Robot drivers are ‘odd, and t...
by KGIII on Monday October 16, 2017 @03:13PM
(#15485840)
They are a combination of timers and sensors. And yes, we know all about this. Your assumption is correct. Doing this allows traffic to move with greater throughput overall. If it wasn't done, heavier trafficked thoroughfares would have long periods where they were the only priority.
Err... I modeled traffic.
The possible solution would be roundabouts and yield signs, but that would be expensive, require redesign, and we humans pretty much suck at roundabouts.
Honestly, I'm amazed urban traffic is as good as it is, since the core problems are usually irreducible. (i.e. more people want to go to a place than fit there.) A quick look at gridlock in cities where traffic signals aren't carefully planned and widely respected shows just how bad things can get.
(Suburban traffic is another story, but that mostly seems to be about overbuilt roads with no actual planning at all. My hometown has a couple of intersections that literally don't function - you can get caught at a permanent red light.)