Graphic: seeing the light before you do

The lights ahead are green but, without any input from you, your car is gently braking. The driver behind hoots impatiently but you resist the temptation to accelerate because you trust your car. It knows the lights are about to turn red.

This is the future of motoring, according to a research project funded by the Government and the car industry. As well as safer trips, drivers can expect a 25 per cent reduction in their fuel bills.

By being able to anticipate red lights and congestion well before the driver can see them, cars can brake smoothly and minimise fuel consumption. The driver simply steers the car, keeping his feet well away from the brake and accelerator pedals, overriding the system only in an emergency, such as a pedestrian suddenly stepping out.

The system, known as Sentience, will ensure that drivers are no longer caught out by road humps (Sentience slows the car before each hump and then accelerates back up to the limit) or get a speeding ticket.

Sentience, which is expected to be available in new cars from 2012, uses an on-board computer to read a digital map of the road network containing information on all speed limits and physical features such as hills and chicanes. The driver taps the postcode of his destination into the sat-nav and the car not only selects the fastest route but chooses the optimum speed to minimise fuel consumption.

Tom Robinson, leader of the Sentience project, said that journeys might take a couple of minutes longer but drivers would accept this in return for safer journeys and cheaper fuel bills. A driver who spends about £50 a week to fill their fuel tank would save more than £500 a year.

The greatest savings are achieved with hybrid cars, which have petrol engines and electric motors. Sentience can make full use of the battery and ensure that as much energy as possible is captured during braking.

Phil Pettitt, the chief executive of InnovITS, which contributed £400,000 to the project, said the technology would help elderly motorists by reducing the cognitive workload.

Philip Gomm, of the RAC Foundation, said: “The results in terms of fuel savings look pretty impressive. There is a question mark about whether drivers will be lulled into a false sense of security and start to become too reliant on technology.”

— Senior managers in the car industry were accused by the Science Minister yesterday of denying that climate change was happening or that it was caused by mankind. Lord Drayson, a keen racing driver, said: “It really shocked me. I was surprised that there are people who just don’t believe it’s happening, people who would say it’s all down to sunspot activity — which is wrong.” Road transport accounts for 12 per cent of Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions.