VIDEO: Timing Traffic Lights

[wagonman76]

Around here most of the lights are either around a curve, over a hill, or both. So it's about impossible to time them. If I know it's a long light and I'm not going through it anytime soon, I just shut the car off and wait. I read an article once that traffic lights aren't designed to improve flow, they are designed to break up traffic. But thankfully there aren't really that many lights here and I can usually take other roads to avoid them.

BTW my cars only DFCO in a rare set of driving conditions, basically if I'm going over 55 mph and going down a steep hill for at least 5 seconds. But if the speed drops below 55 (which is likely because of the high amount of engine braking) or if the hill gets less steep, then it goes out of DFCO.

[bgd73]

that guy pointed out what most do obviously.. but I do get his point.

[MetroMPG]

Nice video, Ben!

[bennelson]

I hadn't thought about this video for a while, but it popped back up because somebody left a comment on YouTube.

After re-watching the video, it made me think. Right now, there is a big push in technology for automobiles - GPS, hands-free bluetooth phones, automatic parallel parking...
Of course there is technology for fuel economy as well - hybrids, "Eco-boost" engines, and even automatic engine start/stop technology (the Kia Soul is supposed to have this any day now.)

But all those things are the latest and greatest (and cost more to boot!)
It seems to me that something as simple as timing traffic lights is almost "anti-technology". It doesn't cost any extra. It only takes a few minutes to learn. (You just have to get into the habit of DOING it.) And it can be done with any vehicle, whether it's a gas-guzzler or a high-end hybrid.

Of course YOU guys already know that.