Smart traffic system can ease Beijing congestion: Ford chairman

A smart traffic system that connects cars through sensors, and informs drivers instantly on traffic jams and free parking could be the first step out of Beijing's chronic traffic problems, said William Clay Ford Jr., the executive chairman of the US automaker Ford Motors on Wednesday.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Dubai chamber of commerce and industry on the future of mobility, Bill Ford Jr. said "in Beijing the average driver has a daily five-hour commute. " Yet, the answer to the problem is not more roads, said Ford, but a smart, integrated and connected traffic system.

In order to ease traffic and reduce smog in the Chinese capital, car companies will have to develop smart cars and trucks with sensors that connect each vehicle on the road. An information system installed in cars could tell drivers when there is traffic jam ahead, where there are road works or if there is an accident ahead so the driver can react and change his way he planned to drive accordingly, said Ford.

The executive chairman went on to say that UCLA found that up to 74 percent of city congestion is caused by drivers who are looking for parking.

"It is a huge waste of time and energy. And it only will get worse," said Ford. This is why his vision was a traffic system consisting of smart cars.

"We need to build smart roads, smart parking, smart public transportation systems and more, and we need to connect them all using wireless telecommunications," said Ford.