“They are incredibly important to addressing traffic flow.” Smart traffic signals, also known as intelligent traffic lights, have sensors that detect volume and velocity of approaching traffic.

A program is underway in Texas in which trucks coordinate with smart traffic signals to keep freight rolling rather than stopping for red lights.

The signals will retime themselves about every three to five minutes, to perform at the optimal level. The usual way to retime traffic lights is to collect and analyze traffic count data.

The city of Moorhead was awarded a $2 million federal grant to create a coordinated SMART traffic signal system with Fargo and West Fargo.

A spokesperson for the city's Department of Municipal Development says the smart traffic signals are just one piece of the puzzle in getting drivers to slow down.

The installation of smart traffic signal systems at 72 major intersections in Bangkok has helped reduce travel delays by an average of 10-41%, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Thursday.

Last week, Mobile unveiled its new "Smart City" traffic program on Government Street, synchronizing and monitoring 13 traffic lights so they can be adjusted based on traffic flow.

System designers hope that this anonymous statistical data could soon help urban planners better coordinate traffic light systems, or even eventually redesign entire smart light schedules.

UC San Diego has proposed a system of adaptive “smart” traffic signals intended to aid traffic flow, a university representative told the La Jolla Town Council at its March 11 meeting.

The county engineer’s office has already received approval to launch a pilot program in Palm Beach Gardens that will feature smart, synchronized signals at five intersections.