AI traffic lights will react to heavy congestion

Groundbreaking new traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence could create safer roads and bring an end to rush hour gridlock. 'Smart' traffic lights will monitor speed and congestion, prioritise cyclists, buses and ambulances with green lights and use heatmaps to analyse how pedestrians and motorists are using the roads. Milton Keynes is set to be the first city to trial the system from September, having invested some £3 million on 2,500 sensors across 50 square miles, monitoring all major junction points and car parking spaces. 'Smart' traffic lights will monitor speed and congestion and prioritise cyclists, buses and ambulances with green lights (stock image) The monitors recognise different vehicles and individual road users and will be able to regulate traffic in real-time. At present, traffic lights are sequenced but not reactive to the vehicles around them and traffic monitoring is still done manually.