US auto maker Ford has trialled technology that can automatically turn traffic lights green, in an attempt to clear routes for ambulances, fire engines and police vehicles. 

The technology could also help reduce the risk of an accident caused by first responders driving through red traffic lights.  

In 2017, ambulances in London were involved in six accidents a day, and 2 265 in the year.

“Whether it’s a fire engine attending a blaze, or an ambulance that is en route to an accident, the last thing anyone wants is for these drivers to be caught up among other vehicles waiting for the lights to change,” says Ford of Europe Automated Driving Europe research engineer Martin Sommer. 

General traffic congestion can also be reduced with traffic lights sending red-green timing information to approaching vehicles.

Ford engineers tested the green-light system as part of the Corridor for New Mobility Aachen-Düsseldorf (ACCorD) project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, and supported by RWTH University Aachen, Vodafone, Straßen.NRW (the road authority for North Rhine Westphalia) and the City of Aachen, in Germany.

How it Works
In order to test the technology, Ford utilised a road with eight consecutive traffic lights and two stretches with three consecutive traffic lights. 

The Ford Kuga plug-In hybrid test vehicle, equipped with on-board units for communicating with the infrastructure, and rapid control prototyping hardware for running the prototype software in the vehicle, acted as an ambulance and passenger vehicle for the different test scenarios.   

For testing an emergency response situation, the test vehicle signalled to the traffic lights to turn the light green. 

Once the vehicle passed through the junction, the traffic lights returned to standard operation.   

For testing daily driving situations, the test vehicle received the timing information for when the traffic lights would turn from red to green and green to red. 

Ford’s adaptive cruise control technology then adapted the vehicle’s speed to help ensure that a higher proportion of traffic encountered a green light.  

When the traffic light was red, the vehicle’s speed was reduced ahead of the junction to time the vehicle’s approach to arrive at the light the moment it turned green, for example from 50 km/h to 30 km/h.

For vehicles encountering a red light, Ford believes the technology can still help to minimise harsh braking and the time spent at a standstill. 

The communication between vehicles and traffic lights is enabled by C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) technology - a unified platform that connects vehicles to roadside infrastructure, other vehicles and other road users.

“Exchanging data between cars, emergency vehicles and traffic lights in real time using the latest mobile phone technology makes road traffic safer and more efficient,” says Vodafone Germany consumer services and innovation director Michael Reinartz.

“Intelligent traffic light control helps save lives when every second counts, and also reduces unnecessary waiting times and carbon emissions.”