Where I live, in California, they shortened the yellow traffic lights by a second or two after installing red-light cameras as a way of boosting revenue by ticketing drivers with slower reflexes who had grown accustomed to the longer yellow lights.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was visiting family in NJ, and learned from a friend's report that the police had started ticketing highway drivers who were in the left-most lane who were not in the midst of passing anyone. Failure to keep right is now penalized with hefty fines.

Yogi, there are even cities that experiment with getting rid of rules for drivers as well, and it works better!

http://www.minds.com/blog/view/248215469679448064/german-town-abolishes-traffic-lights-and-codes-accidents-are-now-almost-non-existent

Perhaps you're right and they thought of that...but also perhaps not.
I must admit, I had not taken it being only on Audi's into account.
For jmd: Where I live, in the boondocks of far N Cali., we still have timed lights, and at certain times of day they are timed to force you to stop at (at best) every other block unless you speed like a demon. In order to hit every light green, you would have to either drive double the limit, or less than 1/2. They do this as a speed control measure, even though the limit is 35mph on main street. All that said, I doubt these old style traffic lights would 'talk' to the cars computer, making the whole point moot.
When my car drives itself I'll be far more forgiving of poor drivers, because it will be the car dealing with their mistakes while I just read a book...I can't wait. Until then, I'm a victim of my own limited patience.
I recall in Houston the freeways have a MINIMUM speed limit of 45 (which is ridiculous to anyone who has ever driven in Houston traffic...but I digress). I think minimum limits are good ideas. I think moving violations for people driving slow in the fast/passing lane would do the most to increase the flow of traffic, but that's just me.

All this anger and confusion and you guys all forgot about how traffic lights actually work now. Traffic lights haven't been timed in a long time. There will be networks, sensors, and the car can report them live, but light times change and evolve depending on other traffic. A green light will stay green indefinitely unless it's sensors pick up a car wanting to turn into the primary flow. Red lights could also be shorter depending on if left turning lanes need to be used first.

@Quboid

It doesn't take much variance in speed to cause annoyance in other drivers, if this device tells you to slow down even 5km/h (sorry I don't do miles), you're going to be breaking the flow of traffic and people *will* overtake you.

People drive up to and often slightly over the speed limit, you can say whatever you want about what people *should* be doing but it's not reality, so it's moot.

If this doesn't take other drivers in to consideration, the entire thing is pointless other than the light countdown timer, which is handy but could also cause irresponsible driving ("If I speed up now, I'm gonna make it, this thing is switching in 5 seconds!").

What else is it telling you? Start slowing down now but oh wait, 5 cars just took position in front of you...guess the distance I calculated to the traffic light just then is no longer useful, you better slow down another 10km/h, oh hell just look in front of you and slow down to meet traffic conditions.

Ok thanks computer!

There is also an expectation that technology works and it is entirely valid, yes people should use common sense but this doesn't excuse your product for not working, this is silly. The purpose of technology is to work so transparently, you are doing less thinking so you can focus on more important things, like sudden high impact situations that require heroic reaction times.

Anyway, I don't think this is bad tech, I think it is not particularly useful in today's environment and is just an odd stepping stone to proper smart cars. I think the gradual progression to smart cars is the fault of an uneducated public who have unfounded hate in the concept of letting go of driving to a computer.

I just want smart cars every where for everyone, so we can have safe and effective roads.

I think quite a few modern cars turn the engine off while you wait at lights, certainly I've been in one that did. It didn't start until you pressed the accelerator, at which point it turned back on effectively immediately.

Driving at 5mph isn't going to be an issue. If the system actually suggests anything like that, anything which would cause other drivers any particular concern, then it's not fit for purpose. Where did this notion of it suggesting you drive at that sort of speed come from?

That's not the main point...

This tech did NOT seem to take other drivers into account.

This tech is about traffic lights. The driver takes other drivers into account. It's no more this tech's fault if idiots use it to drive badly than it's GPS's fault when someone drives into a river by following incorrect directions.

A few people on this thread (@newtboy, @yellowc) seem to take the attitude that because idiots could drive badly as a result of using this then the technology is a bad thing. I fundamentally disagree. These are to assistant the driver, they don't drive. The human drives and whatever gizmos they use, the driver is responsible.

Your video, Audi Traffic Light Assistance, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

My aunt isn't online.
And I'll bet neither is your traffic light.

The traffic light had it coming.

The cop is not Batman. He can turn his head.... The vast majority of lights are positioned where you can turn your head and see the cross traffic light.
I do this all the time so that I can see when the cross light turns yellow, so I know my green light is coming.

He clearly *did* run the red light. At the very start of the video, you can see the traffic light for cross traffic is yellow, if you look at the top left of the screen. At 0:06, the yellow light vanishes, meaning that it is now a red light. The truck then appears in the video crossing the intersection.

I don't know what was indefensible about this video.

Oh *Canada. You can recognize the Ontario plates on the car, as well as the local style traffic lights for that matter

I think traffic lights would muck up the system.

They took away the traffic lights which made the intersection safer and traffic move slower. Wild outcome.

Watch carefully, there's a red traffic light on the right where the car stops. Other cars were just ignoring it. The tank driver would probably get a promoion for crashing any of these idiots. More of a case of failed EIA.