Since the last decade, scientists all over the world have come up with many automated traffic administration schemes. These systems claimed to provide better traffic management and penalty to the lawbreakers. For example, cameras at traffic signals to detect signal jumps, cameras installed on highways for enforcing lane discipline, speed guns, etc. These methods have been successful to some extent. The average number of road mishaps and casualties has dramatically reduced after their introduction. However, these systems have not yet overcome certain technical, economical and legal barriers. For example, the quality of camera images is affected by weather. These images are not considered as solid evidence in the court of law. Also, the infrastructure cost that is spent on these projects is pretty high. One more disadvantage is that these traffic systems are not fully automated and require manual intervention. Now, Nokia Siemens Network has created a traffic management system which is a hybrid of all the presently available technologies and adds a little bit extra to it making the system completely automatic thus reducing the overhead expenses. The technology provides an efficient way to allow hassle free traffic flow on the roads.

The above mentioned idea rotates around a “smart key” which is simply a driver’s license card with a chip containing the basic personal details of the driver such as name, address, blood group, insurance details, etc. All this information will be available to the authorities as this chip will be connected to a Mobile Communication Unit (MCU) which is installed in every vehicle. The MCU accesses the information via the car and then transmits or receives this information over a wireless radio channel using the currently used 2.5G or 3G mobile network. This information is provided after regular time intervals to the central server. This vital info is dealt with by the central management system after which the proper action is taken by it. This whole network assembly also includes a tactically positioned interceptor whose main task is to detect vehicles without MCUs. The system is capable of performing functions like giving live traffic update, collecting toll, tracking stolen cars, etc. The project is capable of integrating new technologies in it which makes it versatile. The MCU is capable of accessing the speedometer reading at a particular instant, vehicle specifications, driver’s details, etc. making it easier for the central system to detect any traffic law violators. The automated system can predict the path of a car by noting few successive positions of a vehicle. It can also track speeding vehicles which jumped a few signals.

This real time data logged by the MCU indicates the degree of traffic congestion and acts as a feedback for optimizing the signal time periods so that the commuters do not have to wait long on an empty road. This would definitely help in reducing traffic density. Also, the information could be provided to the public to tell which roads are busy or jammed. A few modifications can also make it tell the fastest possible mode for reaching a destination.