A considerable amount of the pollutants in the atmosphere originate from traffic-related emissions. As we strive to find ways to limit the adverse effects on our living environment, more attention is being paid on finding ways to lower pollution from traffic. By finding ways to ease congestion and use the existing road network more efficiently, we can make a real contribution to lowering traffic-related emissions.

Over the past years, much research has been done on the impact of traffic on our environment trying to answer the question of how to manage road congestions more efficiently. Most findings conclude that there must be a holistic approach rather than individual solution elements. Looking into the future, the congestion problem looks to get worse. The European Commission predicts road traffic to increase by 50% over the next 50 years and CO2 emissions to increase by 12 % by 2015 and 30% by 2050. This would mean that the real cost of congestion could double in the next decade.

It is clear that transportation is an irreplaceable part of our life today. This is why a realistic transportation plan is necessary in order to combine a range of private and public interests. The need to continue prosperity and economic growth and the resulting quality of live must be weight against the respect for the environment and long term sustainability.

A long term vision must look at transport as an integrated system that takes into consideration technology, infrastructure, land use, pricing, and management. Decell Technologies and its Autoroute-1 product can lend itself very useful in the technology, infrastructure, and management aspects in order to help build a cost-efficient traffic management system, make more efficient use of roads, and increase the road system capacity. By providing continuous real-time information on the entire road network, public entities can provide better road planning, therefore making existing roads more efficient. At the same time, individual drivers can get real-time traffic information and plan there routs according to where traffic is less dense. This in turn makes the road system more efficient, resulting in less congestion and less pollution.