Honda Tech Could Reduce Stop-and-Go Traffic – CNET

(Credit: Honda)

Honda’s traffic congestion technology could prevent stop-and-go traffic.

Hitting the brakes on the freeway could cause a chain reaction of braking behind you, creating yet another traffic jam during the evening commute. But the traffic condition commonly referred to as stop-and-go traffic could be eased by new driving monitoring technology from Honda.

Honda, in conjunction with the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, developed technology that detects potential traffic congestion caused by a vehicle’s acceleration and deceleration. The system identifies congestion on the road and coaches the driver with alerts and displays to respond to the road conditions in a way that won’t cause a backup. For example, rather than braking when the vehicle ahead brakes, the driver could create more distance between the two vehicles and potentially absorb the slight change in speed.

Test results have demonstrated that such a system could increase the average driving speed by approximately 23 percent. In addition to saving time, the technology can also save drivers gas money. By eliminating the need to start and stop during traffic, the technology improves fuel consumption by approximately 8 percent.

For vehicles equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control, the traffic feature could theoretically be connected to a cloud-based system to sync ve… [Read more]