Artificial intelligence is increasingly taking control of traffic lights on Israel’s intercity roads, with approximately 170 adaptive systems already installed and initial data indicating that the technology can significantly reduce congestion and travel times.

Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Netivei Israel have been expanding the use of AI-powered adaptive traffic signals in recent years. Unlike conventional traffic lights, which generally operate according to schedules programmed in advance, the new systems analyze traffic conditions in real time and adjust the length of red and green lights according to actual demand.

Early results from approximately 25 intersections where the technology was analyzed have shown substantial savings. On average, an estimated 400 vehicle-hours are saved each day at every intersection equipped with the system.

At the Fureidis Junction, the estimated savings reached approximately 800 vehicle-hours per day. At the entrance to Kiryat Tivon, meanwhile, travel time through the intersection was reduced by as much as 56 seconds per vehicle.

Across the intersections studied, the average reduction amounted to approximately 25 seconds for each vehicle. While that may appear modest for an individual driver, intersections handling thousands or tens of thousands of vehicles each day can collectively save hundreds of hours of travel time.

The impact can become considerably greater for motorists traveling along routes containing several adaptive traffic lights. Netivei Israel estimates that when the systems operate across multiple intersections along a driver’s route, the cumulative savings could reach approximately 10 minutes per trip.

Over the course of a year, officials estimate that those savings could add up to the equivalent of approximately two weeks of working days. The goal, therefore, is not simply to shave several seconds off the wait at an individual red light, but to create meaningful reductions in travel times across entire routes.

The primary advantage of adaptive traffic signals is their ability to react immediately to changing conditions rather than relying primarily on historical traffic patterns.

Traditional signals often operate according to predetermined programs based on traffic measurements taken previously. Actual road conditions, however, can change from minute to minute. Traffic jams form and dissipate, the dominant direction of traffic can shift, and accidents, construction or even relatively minor disruptions at one intersection can quickly produce backups elsewhere.

The AI-powered system uses cameras and computer-vision technology to detect vehicles, measure the length of traffic lines and determine the level of demand from different directions.

Algorithms then analyze that information and continuously adjust the traffic signal, allocating additional green-light time to the directions where it is most needed.

The technology was developed in recent years by ITC in cooperation with Netivei Israel’s Operations and Maintenance Division, Traffic Management Division and Engineering Research and Development Division.

With approximately 170 systems now deployed, officials say the project has progressed beyond the experimental stage and is being used routinely at a variety of intersections under differing traffic conditions.

The broader objective is to determine not merely whether AI traffic management can improve conditions at one particular intersection, but how the technology can eventually be incorporated throughout the country’s transportation network.

Officials say the project could also deliver substantial economic benefits.

According to current estimates, installing the technology at 100 intersections could generate more than half a billion shekels in annual economic benefits to the Israeli economy through the value of time saved alone.

That calculation is based on the methodology used by the Transportation Ministry and Finance Ministry to assess the economic viability of transportation projects.

The estimate does not include other potential benefits associated with shorter waits and reduced congestion, including lower fuel consumption, decreased wear and tear on vehicles, reduced air pollution and possible improvements in road safety.

{Matzav.com}