German motorists are willing to accept longer journey times and even detours if it means helping to ease the general traffic situation. This emerged from a recent user study carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS in cooperation with the Technische Universität Berlin. Of 120 motorists who agreed to provide information about their driving habits and attitudes towards road traffic, two-thirds said they would rather have a stress-free trip even if it meant adding over three minutes to their journey, and 75 percent said they would even be willing to take a detour. In order to put this willingness to cooperate to good use, researchers at FOKUS are developing automotive communication technologies that will guide motorists around streets in a manner that evens out traffic flows and produces environmentally friendly traffic patterns.
For example, the scientists are working on solutions that will help motorists avoid traffic jams and take routes that result in the smallest amount of exhaust emissions by means of advance traffic warnings and driving recommendations sent to their navigation system or smartphone. FOKUS is a partner in the EU's "TEAM" project, which develops technologies for collaborative traffic management.