Free Republic

It's been two years since Google first debuted Project Green Light, a novel means of addressing the street-level pollution caused by vehicles idling at stop lights. At its Sustainability ‘23 event on Tuesday, the company discussed some of the early findings from that program and announced another wave of expansions for it. Green Light uses machine learning systems to comb through Maps data to calculate the amount of traffic congestion present at a given light, as well as the average wait times of vehicles stopped there. That information is then used to train AI models that can autonomously optimize the...

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 32-year-old sheriff’s deputy in Florida was fired after he was found “slumped over” behind the wheel in an agency-issued cruiser last month “obviously drunk” with alcohol bottles littered throughout his vehicle. According to documents obtained by Nexstar’s WFLA, 32-year-old Christopher Greene, who had been with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office since June 2019, was found unconscious inside his marked cruiser at a Hillsborough County intersection on the evening of Dec. 18. After stopping at a red light, he fell unconscious. “Deputy Greene remained stationary,” documents stated. Documents show a full light cycle passed before traffic...

Last week, Dallas officials reviewed the numbers and decided that a quarter of the cameras they had installed to catch motorists running red lights were too effective. So they shut them down. They are not alone. Faced with data showing that drivers pay attention to cameras at intersections — resulting in fewer ticketable violations and ever-shrinking revenue from fines — municipalities across the country are reconsidering red light cameras, which often work too well.

Minneapolis' "photo cop" should be the one getting the red light, civil rights advocates said Thursday on behalf of a cited motorist. Daniel Alan Kuhlman, a Minneapolis resident ticketed Aug. 11, claims the system meant to catch red-light runners is unconstitutional and violates state laws, according to a motion to dismiss the case filed in Hennepin County District Court by American Civil Liberties Union volunteer attorneys. Minneapolis' ordinance states it is the owner of the car who drove through the red light who is guilty of a petty misdemeanor — the cameras record license plates, but not drivers' faces, the...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- A former bar owner was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for the death of a woman who prosecutors said participated in a drinking contest involving a red, yellow and green concoction called the "Stoplight Challenge." Billy Leroy Scott, 34, apologized to Juanita Goodpasture's family at the sentencing Thursday. "If we could change things, we would," Scott said. "... I liked Juanita, she was a great person, and it's a tragedy we lost her." Scott was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month in the alcohol poisoning death of Goodpasture, 31, who had a blood alcohol...

Traffic congestion, frustrated commuters, and polluted air are just three effects that demonstrate the need for changes in how our nation supports the operation of traffic signals. The nation's poor grade shows that not enough money is allocated for traffic signal timing, and therefore, local traffic agencies cannot keep up with demand... Studies around the country show that the benefits of investments in signal timing outweigh the costs by 40:1 or more. Those benefits include: 1.) Shorter commute times 2.) Improved air quality 3.) Better fuel efficiency 4.) Decrease in driver frustration

<p>Last week, the powers-that-be installed a new stoplight in Highlands, NC. It’s on Carolina Way at the intersection with US 64, just east of Main Street. That makes four stoplights we have now. And it raises the question of why the 99.44% of my readers who live in a town larger than 1,000 people should care in the least bit about this major civic improvement.</p>