First the DAF Variomatic CVT transmission and now this? Woah, slow down there, Netherlands! The automotive world can only handle so much Dutch goodness! Designer Daan Roosegaard came up with the fundamental concept behind the new road designs, which will incorporate integrated glowing weather indicators, dynamic lighting, and other advanced features. More incredibly, there are plans to actually build these roads starting in 2013.
One of the first of about 20 ideas to be implemented will be temperature-sensitive, glowing snowflake icons painted on the road surface to give drivers a visual cue that the roads will likely be slippery.
Of the paint, Roosegaard says "It's like the glow in the dark paint you and I had when we were children, but we teamed up with a paint manufacture and pushed the development. Now, it's almost radioactive".
In addition to the temperature-sensitive paint, road lighting will only be activated when cars are detected on the road, saving a great deal of power, and, eventually, special inductive-charging lanes will be available for electric vehicles.
Many of these and similar ideas have been around for a while, but this installation in the Netherland's province of Brabant will mark the first time such an advanced roadway will have been implemented.
There are plans to introduce these ideas to the US, though I suspect we'll end up seeing glowing ads embedded in the road first.