AN IMPROVED TRAFFIC LIGHTING SYSTEM

We have all heard drivers complain of the annoyance of traffic signs and signals, but we must realize that the regulations provided by these signals are absolutely necessary if today's traffic continues to move with safety. However, the increasing population has led to several inconsistencies of traffic lights. This work presents the design and construction of an improved digital lighting system for the Government Reserved Area (G.R.A.) junction, Aba – Port Harcourt expressway, Nigeria based on a principle of generating electrical pulses that are counted and decoded with Johnson counters. The CD4017 counter and decoder forms the heart of the circuitry which is driven by pulses from a signal generator (NE555).Based on the traffic flow data collected from the junction, timing was allocated to each of the roads to show improvisation. This timing was assigned to pulses from the synchronous counters. Radiant light and heat from the sun is harnessed and used to charge a 6v battery using photovoltaic cells. This powers the circuitry in the event of power failure.