Once the self-driving cars rule the roads, lots of things will be different: You won't have to worry about finding a parking spot, it will be hard to earn a speeding ticket, and, according to some forward-looking thinkers, there will no longer be a need for traffic lights. Researchers at the MIT, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETHZ), and the Italian National Research Council (CNR) have developed slot-based intersections that could replace traditional traffic lights, significantly reducing queues and delays. According to people behind this idea, when sensor-laden vehicles approach an intersection, they can communicate their presence and remain at a safe distance from each other, rather than grinding to a halt at traffic lights. By removing the waits caused by traffic lights, slot-based intersections create a system that is much more efficient. http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2016/03/28/bye-bye-traffic-lights/8HSV9DZa4qPC1tH4zQ4pTO/story.html
