While many new and advanced technologies have emerged in recent years to make our daily lives more convenient, pleasant and productive, transport infrastructure has lagged behind. Its primary controlling technology is still the traffic light - a technology that has barely changed since it was invented in 1923.

Traffic accidents and congestion are costly to society in terms of lost lives, productivity, and energy. For transport to become more efficient, safe, and environmentally sound, new ways of looking at overall transport objectives are needed.

Toyota’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) will be the hallmark of the future, helping people and goods to move more safely and efficiently. Critical ITS technologies include microelectronics, satellite navigation, mobile communication and sensors.

When integrated into vehicles and road infrastructure, these technologies will be able to help monitor and manage traffic flows, reduce congestion, and provide alternate routes to travellers. Most importantly, they will help limit the number of road traffic accidents and save lives.

The implementation of new information and communication technologies in the sector will certainly soon permit direct road-to- car communication, car-to-car communication and even person-to-car communication. Businesses, governments and individuals will all need to cooperate in the development of this kind of next generation traffic information system.

Toyota is already working with government agencies and local authorities in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on field operational tests for road-to-car communications. These cooperative systems will help to reduce the risk of accident by providing information about potentially dangerous situations. This includes alerting the driver to nearby pedestrians, vehicles and objects that cannot be easily seen.

1) Road-to-vehicle system helps drivers notice red lights
Traffic-light status is sent to the vehicle from an optical beacon installed on the roadside.  The driver is alerted when the light is red.  If there is a possibility that the driver may run the red light, the system issues further alerts.

2) Road-to-vehicle system helps drivers make a timely start from stop
Traffic-light status is sent to the vehicle from an optical beacon installed on the roadside.  When a vehicle is stopped at a red light, the system displays the approximate remaining time before the red light turns green.  The system also changes its display at a predetermined time before the light turns green to prompt the driver to prepare to accelerate, thus assisting in timely starts from stop.

3) Road-to-vehicle system helps drivers notice stop signs
Stop-sign information is sent to the vehicle from an optical beacon installed on the roadside.  The system alerts drivers to the presence of an intersection requiring them to come to a complete stop before proceeding.  If there is the possibility that the driver will not stop, the system further alerts the driver to the stop sign.

4) Road-to-vehicle system helps drivers avoid rear-ending other vehicles
Information regarding a vehicle ahead that has stopped or is travelling at a very low speed is sent to the vehicle travelling behind it by an optical beacon installed on the roadside.  The system alerts the driver to the presence of the slow travelling or stopped vehicle ahead.