London To Test New Traffic Light System For Cyclists

Unlike cars or motorbikes, bicycles can’t travel as fast and what this means is that when it comes to traffic lights, there are times when cyclists aren’t able to make it in time. What this means is that not only does this pose as a danger to cyclists, but it also causes congestion at peak times as huge groups of cyclists end up waiting at traffic lights before (slowly) pushing off.

Thankfully that will soon change as the Transport for London has announced that they will be testing a new traffic light system that basically gives cyclists more time at traffic lights, thus enabling more of them to pass through which in turn will hopefully reduce the amount of congestion on the road at peak hours.

There will be two pieces of technology that will be tested – one is a radar-based technology and the other relies on thermal signatures. Basically with these pieces of technology in play, it will be able to detect when a group of cyclists are arriving at the traffic light, and from there it will then try to hold the light green for an extended period of time to let them through, as opposed to the lights sticking to their normal times which could result in cyclists trying to beat it and get into accidents.

According to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, ”Once again London leads the way as we host world-first trials of technology that has the potential to bring significant benefits to cyclists. With record numbers taking to two wheels we are doing everything we can to make our roads more inviting places to be.“

Tyler Lee
Categories: Transportation