With the booming population and rise in urban and smart living, traffic management is no longer an option. The current challenge of sustainable living is to optimize traffic flows on road while ensuring safety of the driver as well as passengers. This manuscript explores the techniques for optimizing traffic flow and ensuring passenger safety using Wireless Sensor Networks. The work highlights that in the current scenario intelligent transport and sensor technologies can play a crucial role in enhancing traffic management and ensuring passenger safety. The manuscript also evaluates various traffic sensors, the benefits of WSNs, and their applications in traffic management and emergency response through specific case studies.