A large-scale modeling study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has demonstrated that dynamically controlling vehicle speeds to reduce stops and idling at intersections could lower carbon emissions by as much as 22% in major cities without impacting overall traffic flow or safety.
Published in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, the research employed advanced artificial intelligence to simulate traffic across thousands of intersections in three U.S. cities. The findings suggest that full implementation of “eco-driving” — a system that adjusts vehicle speeds in real-time to smooth traffic patterns — could reduce annual intersection-related emissions by 11 to 22 percent.
Importantly, the study highlights that even partial adoption could deliver significant benefits. If just 10% of vehicles use eco-driving, cities may achieve 25 to 50 percent of the potential carbon reduction, as other vehicles adapt to the improved traffic flow. Additionally, targeting 20% of the most critical intersections could generate up to 70% of the total emission savings.
The researchers noted that eco-driving could be implemented relatively quickly through smartphone speed guidance apps in the near term and via direct commands to semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles in the future.
Cathy Wu, the study’s senior author, emphasized the practicality of the approach, stating, “This is almost a free intervention. We already have smartphones in our cars, and we are rapidly adopting cars with more advanced automation features. For something to scale quickly in practice, it must be relatively simple to implement and shovel-ready. Eco-driving fits that bill.”
Source: ScienceDirect via MIT News
