Forum for Science, Industry and Business

Traffic navigation systems linked to accident risk

Swift or safe? That may be the question drivers with navigation systems ask themselves in future.

A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Centre and Testbed suggests in-car systems, designed to guide drivers around traffic jams and accidents quickly, could actually cause a temporary surge in the risk of accidents. "Discovering that traveller information systems may be good for travel time but not for overall safety was shocking because they are generally supposed to provide benefits," says Professor Baher Abdulhai, the director of the ITS Centre and Testbed in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Using computer simulations of route guidance systems, Abdulhai’s team found accident risks peaked immediately after drivers were informed of traffic congestion and changed their routes. "There was an increased level of activity as people ’bailed out’ to bypass congestion," says Abdulhai - for example, as drivers left a jammed freeway for city streets and encountered accident-prone intersections. However, because drivers reach their destination sooner, the accompanying drop in accident risk eventually counterbalances the earlier surge.

Nicolle Wahl | EurekAlert!
Further information:
http://www.utoronto.ca

Im Focus: Neutron star merger directly observed for the first time

University of Maryland researchers contribute to historic detection of gravitational waves and light created by event

On August 17, 2017, at 12:41:04 UTC, scientists made the first direct observation of a merger between two neutron stars--the dense, collapsed cores that remain...

Im Focus: Breaking: the first light from two neutron stars merging

Seven new papers describe the first-ever detection of light from a gravitational wave source. The event, caused by two neutron stars colliding and merging together, was dubbed GW170817 because it sent ripples through space-time that reached Earth on 2017 August 17. Around the world, hundreds of excited astronomers mobilized quickly and were able to observe the event using numerous telescopes, providing a wealth of new data.

Previous detections of gravitational waves have all involved the merger of two black holes, a feat that won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics earlier this month....

Im Focus: Smart sensors for efficient processes

Material defects in end products can quickly result in failures in many areas of industry, and have a massive impact on the safe use of their products. This is why, in the field of quality assurance, intelligent, nondestructive sensor systems play a key role. They allow testing components and parts in a rapid and cost-efficient manner without destroying the actual product or changing its surface. Experts from the Fraunhofer IZFP in Saarbrücken will be presenting two exhibits at the Blechexpo in Stuttgart from 7–10 November 2017 that allow fast, reliable, and automated characterization of materials and detection of defects (Hall 5, Booth 5306).

When quality testing uses time-consuming destructive test methods, it can result in enormous costs due to damaging or destroying the products. And given that...

Im Focus: Cold molecules on collision course

Using a new cooling technique MPQ scientists succeed at observing collisions in a dense beam of cold and slow dipolar molecules.

How do chemical reactions proceed at extremely low temperatures? The answer requires the investigation of molecular samples that are cold, dense, and slow at...

Im Focus: Shrinking the proton again!

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, using high precision laser spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen, confirm the surprisingly small value of the proton radius determined from muonic hydrogen.

It was one of the breakthroughs of the year 2010: Laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen resulted in a value for the proton charge radius that was significantly...