ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Transportation is show off new vehicle technology at the ITS World Congress in Atlanta, aimed at making cars safer on the city’s roads.
The technology involves vehicles communicating with traffic signals and other vehicles, providing drivers with real-time information such as signal status, speed limits, and weather alerts.
“Not only vehicle talking to infrastructure, but talking to other vehicles,” said Alan Davis, GDOT’s Director of Operations.
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GDOT’s new technology, referred to as “Day One Deployment,” is already operational at traffic signals around metro and downtown Atlanta. It allows cars to know the status of traffic lights before drivers can see them, helping to improve traffic flow and safety.
The system can give priority to first responders and MARTA buses, ensuring they receive longer green lights if they are running behind schedule.
This is part of GDOT’s efforts to make public transit routes more reliable and emergency responses faster. More than 2,000 traffic signals in the state, mostly in the metro area, have been equipped with this smart technology.
GDOT aims to deploy the technology at all 6,500 traffic signals on state routes by 2033.
Laura Chace, President of ITS America, noted that Atlanta has one of the largest deployments of connected vehicle communications infrastructure in the country, which is why the ITS World Congress chose the city for its conference.
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