It’s wierd, I’ve never been able to understand traffic and why we have traffic jams. It just seems well silly you know. What really used to boggle me was how 10 minutes could make a world of difference. Maybe it was just because those ten minutes were the last ten before schools would start. The most annoying thing about traffic jams was when it was caused by people slowing look at something on the side of the road, especially when it it’s nothing particular interest. All it took was one car to slow down. It’s like a sort of herd effect.

Well, Shanghai is “on the case”:http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2005/12/10/225542/Traffic_system_would_send_info_to_computer.htm

THE city is looking at plans to build a traffic information center that would send up-to-the-minute reports on road congestion to a computer screen installed in cars or a portable device cyclists and pedestrians could use.

The center will integrate information from the current three road condition monitoring departments — traffic police, the urban transport bureau and the urban project management bureau — and install more information collecting devices such as monitors along or beneath roads.

Once applied, the Intelligent Transportation System will help drivers find the best routes to avoid congested roads, or suggest they use the subway or buses depending on traffic conditions, said Yang Dongyuan, vice president of Tongji University.

“Location aware”:http://thinkingmachine.blogsome.com/2005/12/08/perfect-example-of-a-location-aware-system technology put to use. And it’s already showing promise…

bq. According to Yang, a trial project that sent information to outdoor signal billboards along the Yang’an Elevated Road and several intersection roads saw overall traffic efficiency improve by up to 20 percent.

Coming soon to a road near you…