Good Vibrations: Road Sensors May Convert Traffic To Electricity
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A local lawmaker wants to turn traffic jams into electricity generators.
Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Burbank) says AB 306 would pave the way for tiny sensors to be installed in the roads that would turn vibrations into energy.
Gatto tells KNX 1070 the installation would cost roughly $500,000 per mile over a project estimated to take about eight years.
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The traffic vibrations necessary to fuel the energy conversion can reportedly be found in every road in California.
"If you've ever stood on a bridge or in a parking garage, you've probably felt the structure vibrate. Our roads do the same thing," Gatto says.
The bill calls for sensors to be installed only when roads are being resurfaced anyway to reduce extra costs beyond the connection to the state power grid and the sensors themselves.
An assembly committee is set to take up the bill this week.
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