Classification & Data Collection

An ambitious programme of new and upgraded interoperable toll systems has been launched in India, featuring far-reaching technology developments. David Crawford reports. In April this year, Indian Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways CP Joshi inaugurated a new era of electronic toll collection (ETC) in India when he unveiled the country’s first RFID-based tolling installation. This was at a recently-completed plaza at Chandimandir, near the city of Panchkula in the northern state of Haryana. The sys

San Mateo County in California is to implement a US$35 million dollar smart corridor project which will apply the latest management technology along twenty miles of El Camino Real from San Bruno to Menlo Park and on local streets in San Mateo County. “We’re working together to help people get to where they are going easier and faster,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This is a good example of how technology can help us make better use of the roads we already have.” The Intelligent Transportation

Siemens WiMag wireless traffic detection, which is an alternative to conventional loop and radar traffic detection systems, uses magnetic disturbances to detect vehicles and low power wireless technology to transmit data to host controllers. The company says WiMag can offer a more flexible solution than traditional loop detectors, particularly where detection is required at significant distances from the traffic controller. Battery-powered, wirelessly linked and smaller in size than traditional loop detecto

High resolution cameras, video motion detection and modems are being fitted to school buses in Maryland, as part of a system designed to enforce and deter stopped-bus overtaking violations. A new video enforcement system is being installed to record drivers illegally overtaking school buses in Frederick County, Maryland. It is against the law to overtake a parked school bus that is loading or unloading students, yet a 2011 survey for the Maryland Department of Education found 7,000 cases of drivers illegall

The latest study by IHS Research estimates detection sensor revenues declined by 4.3 percent in 2011 to US$102.2 million. However, recent events suggest demand for detection sensors, which are used to help optimise traffic flows and reduce roadway congestion, is likely to improve over the near term. The main cause for optimism is the recent and unexpected passage of the MAP-21 act by the US congress. MAP-21 legislation will set aside US$105 billion for improvements to America’s surface transportation infras

Finland-headquartered environmental and industrial monitoring specialist Vaisala is to take to the road to demonstrate the functionality of its new mobile sensor technology to its customers in Europe during the winter. Starting in Vienna, Austria, Vaisala’s Tracks Across Europe mobile road weather tour will take vehicles equipped with the new Vaisala Condition Patrol DSP310 road surface monitoring technology through fifteen European countries that are especially prone to snow and ice. The tour will end at V

US based toll collection and traffic management consultants, JAFA Technologies, have announced that Austrian company IPTE Schalk and Schalk has completed development of DeerDeter, claimed to be an intelligent, cost-effective, next generation animal-vehicle collision avoidance system that has additional intelligent transportation and roadside communications capabilities. In addition to significantly reducing animal-vehicle collisions, DeerDeter can be configured to provide additional feedback on the system’s

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is to install an advance warning system on the Interstate 277 (I-277) outer loop between Tryon Street and Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This system will detect traffic data such as volume and speed, alerting motorists to backups that frequently occur on the ramp from I-277 outer to I-77 north. The $188,000 project was awarded to Consolidated Power of Mooresville, who will install the detection warning system, consisting of two microwave

A new cycle counter on the north end of the Fremont Bridge in Seattle will help the city gather better data about bike traffic along one of the city's most popular routes for two-wheeled commuters, Seattle Department of Transport (SDOT) officials say. Supplied by European company Eco-counter, an Eco Totem, a seven-foot high totem with electronic counter that uses sensors in the road to count cycles in both directions, and feed a real-time digital display of that number during the day. The year-to-date total

Nearly a year after the I-95 Corridor Coalition, the University of Maryland (UMD) and Inrix announced a three-year expansion of the Vehicle Probe Project (VPP), the coalition and its partners are expanding their collaboration once again. Through a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Awards Grant, the coalition will use Inrix traffic information to expand coverage to over 40,000 miles of roads across fourteen states.