FleetCheck highlights potential for cooperative approach to traffic management

A more cooperative approach to traffic management, where connected vehicles share information to optimise traffic flow across entire road networks, could help fleets reduce journey times, fuel consumption and emissions, according to FleetCheck.

The fleet software specialist said developments in vehicle connectivity could eventually enable route optimisation systems to move beyond finding the quickest route for individual vehicles and instead consider how routing decisions affect overall traffic conditions.

FleetCheck pointed to new research published in Nature examining how routing platforms could play a more active role in managing traffic across a network.

He said: “Most in-car route optimisation systems today are designed to react to congestion after it has already started to build. They’re essentially reactive and the company car, van or truck driver is relying on tech that views each vehicle as an isolated problem rather than part of an overall network.

“What’s interesting about this paper is that it explores whether routing platforms can become more active participants in managing traffic across an entire network.”

Avent compared the potential development with advances in computer networking, where predictive traffic management can be used to identify and manage bottlenecks.

As vehicle connectivity improves and technologies including 5G become more widely available, FleetCheck said vehicles could increasingly share information with traffic management systems, potentially allowing developing congestion to be identified earlier.

For fleets, the company believes such systems could eventually provide more predictable journey times while reducing time spent in congestion and the fuel consumption and emissions associated with stop-start traffic.

Avent said: “The real opportunity isn’t simply finding a better route for an individual driver, it’s creating a less selfish, more cooperative transport network where routing decisions help improve conditions for everyone using the road.

“If approaches like those explored in this research prove successful, they could ultimately lead to measurably more predictable journey times, lower emissions from stop-start traffic and less time lost in congestion.”

However, FleetCheck acknowledged that widespread adoption of this type of traffic management remains some way off and would depend on the continued development of connected vehicle infrastructure and supporting technologies.

Avent added: “The future of route optimisation may not be about finding ever-better shortcuts, but about helping entire transport networks operate more efficiently. It’s an area the fleet sector should monitor, becoming earlier adopters if the technology fulfils its promise.”