Traffic cruise control

I live in Boston. I also commute via automobile. Thus I frequently find myself stuck in traffic. Bad traffic. The kind of traffic that will be stop and go for 45 minutes. I know that there are millions that share my predicament because, well, if there weren't then there wouldn't be any traffic.

There are several perils of the stop-and-go traffic situation. You can zone out and tap the car in front of you, you can just tweak out from stress (have seen it happen myself), or your leg can cramp up from repetitive stress.

My solution is a sort of slow-speed cruise control. You can have a laser distance sensor that can interpret how fast you are closing the gap between yourself and the car in front of you. This data can be transmitted to a regenerative braking system (always incorporate energy efficiency where possible), which will slow you down at the appropriate rate. The data will then be used conversely to smoothly accelerate you to an appropriate speed. The cycle continues all while your legs are resting stationary on the floor

-Christopher Paul