What do you do while waiting at a red light? Read emails and texts on your phone? Check Twitter and Facebook? Maybe you are drafted into fetching something a carseat-bound child flung to the nether regions of your vehicle. Perhaps you just stare into space waiting for the light to turn green.
The problem is, you often never know how long a red light will last, which could result in some angry honking if you get caught up in a Twitter feud and fail to notice that the light has changed. This is an issue Audi's new Traffic Light Information (TLI) system hope to solve.
I got a demo of the system in Las Vegas this week, where it's not only already functioning, but also available on 2017 Audi Q7, A4, and A4 allroad models made since June 2016. The feature is part of the subscription-based Audi connect system and available as part of the Prime package that costs $199 for six months or $499 for 18 months after an initial free trial. It also includes other services such as Google Earth and Street View mapping, parking availability, fuel price info, and streaming music.
The Regional Transportation Commission on Southern Nevada supplies real-time traffic light data via a company called Traffic Technology Services, which in turn transmits the data to compatible vehicles via 4G connectivity.
The TLI system works by displaying a countdown timer in the instrument panel and in a heads-up display. The timer shows the duration of the red light, and provides separate timers for intersections with right- and left-turn arrow when either of the car's turn signals are activated.
1,100 Traffic Signals in Sin City
The TLI system works with around 1,100 traffic signals in Sin City, and I got to test a dozen or so during a drive that included a cruise down the Las Vegas Strip. Not every light on the route was TLI-enabled, and some that were didn't activate because of a built-in "confidence" monitor that only displays the countdown when it's 100 percent sure of its accuracy.
But it's interesting how your behavior changes once you have information that wasn't available before, and not just because I knew how long I had to answer a text. For example, I started to slow down a bit when approaching lights that I knew would be red for a while, and that's exactly where Audi is going with this.
Company officials on hand for the demo said future functions will include using traffic light data to recommend an ideal speed in order to make the most green lights and optimizing a route via the car's navigation system to avoid stopping at all. Of course, the system could also be used to warn drivers if they fail to stop for a red light, or if other drivers do the same.
Audi claims that this is the first use of vehicle-to-infrastructure technology in a production vehicle, but last year I tested a similar feature that's part of BMW's ConnectedDrive system and works with an app called Enlighten. Like the TLI system, it also uses real-time traffic-signal information provided by a city and shows a countdown timer on the car's in-dash screen.
The BMW system also shows how long a light ahead will remain green to better time traffic lights so you potentially don't have to stop. And it's offered in several cities, including Portland and Eugene, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; and San Jose, California. Audi said it plans to expand the TLI system to other cities as well.
For those who feel that the TLI system is just another connected car technology that tries to solve a problem no one knew they had, think about that the next time you're stuck at a light and someone honks at you while you're checking your phone. Or you honk at someone else for the same reason.
And consider how in the future it could also lead to never having to stop at a red light at all.