Can the internet of things save us from traffic jams?

Experts have given the green light to a traffic light revolution - but we're still some distance from a queuing-free future

Traffic is getting worse. It doesn't just feel that way, the stats prove it: commuters in 2014 spent an average 66 more hours stuck in traffic than they did in 2013, according to navigation tech firm TomTom. So when internet of things technology is disrupting every part of our lives, when will traffic lights be rethought and rebuilt?

Well, the traffic light revolution is already underway. It is all part of the promise of connected and self-driving cars, which allow data about individual journeys, routes and vehicles to be centrally monitored, controlled and systematised.