Fuel efficiency is at the top of automakers’ minds these days, with BMW taking an interesting approach towards improving overall efficiency for every vehicle on the road. The German automaker has launched a series of “Green Wave” studies intended to improve fuel economy through smart traffic signals.
We’ve all been there – sitting at a red light with no other vehicles in sight. Not only is this a complete waste of time, it’s also a waste of fuel. However, if BMW has its way, our roads will soon be staffed by smart traffic signals, helping to greatly reduced emissions from idling vehicles.
Dubbed Green Wave, BMW has launched a study to investigate the benefits of smart traffic signals. By using traffic signals that are able to adapt to changing situations – such as traffic accidents, traffic patterns and congestion – BMW researchers were able to nearly double the mileage of a 530d sedan from 22 mpg to 42 mpg. BMW admits those results were under ideal conditions, but the German automaker predicts smarter traffic signals could realistically improve fuel economy by 10 to 15 percent.
As it stands now, the average traffic signal system here in the U.S. is between 30 and 40 years old, making them extremely inflexible. However, BMW says our systems can but updated rather inexpensively, resulting in a big improvement with a small investment.
“Think about the money that’s being spent to save one, two percent…and with a relatively small investment you could save much more,” Dirk Kessler, the department manager for the BMW’s Traffic Technology and Traffic Management group, told The Car Connection. “There is no witchcraft, there is only a bit of engineering,”
BMW has been meeting with U.S. DOT officials about its findings over the past several weeks. The German automaker is also working on a system that would allow cars to communicate with other vehicles on the road as well as traffic systems.
