Features

Wisconsin's four-year HOT lanes pilot project, launched in May 2008, cost US$18.8 million to construct. Halfway into the project, which uses variably priced, or dynamic, tolling to improve highway efficiency, the benefits are mounting. The problem was obvious, and frustrating, to anyone who ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on State Route 167 and watched a lone car whiz by every 20 seconds or so in the carpool lane. But for planners at the Washington State Department of Transportation, the conundrum was

Last year, the County of Lancashire, in the north-west of England, repaired a total of 15,000 potholes on its network of roads. In 2010, that number is likely to significantly increase as Lancashire, along with local authorities throughout the UK, deals with the after-effects of a record cold spell in December and January with prolonged snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures.

Telematics Technology's Peter Billington describes the effort to give English local authorities and police forces a UTMC ANPR open communication protocol. The story of the impact of communication protocols on the development and utilisation of intelligent equipment is a familiar one both inside and outside the ITS industry. At the outset, a company pioneering its latest technology invariably develops a proprietary protocol. This enables the company's products to talk to the customer systems which need to a

Traffic flow has been improved, congestion eased and safety increased - by a system of 'stepped speed limits' introduced to UK roadworks. URS Scott Wilson principal consultant Jamie Uff reports

The County of Los Angeles is widely known for having among the worst traffic problems and the most road congestion in the US. To combat these problems, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works decided to deploy a wireless communications system to connect over 1,000 of the most congested intersections so they could dynamically monitor and manage the congestion and reduce commute times.

Transportation agencies and governments are using ITS technology to protect critical infrastructure from terrorist attack and other threats to economic security and public safety. Andrew Bardin Williams reports. It is no secret that we live in a potentially dangerous world. Terrorism as seen on 9/11 in the United States, subsequent attacks in London, Moscow and Madrid and other acts of violence across the developing world have made vigilance the watchword for ensuring security. Key infrastructure is now bei

Machine vision systems offer great variety of function and performance. Teledyne DALSA product manager Manuel Romero describes 10 key criteria to aid selection of advanced camera technology for safety or security applications. There are many ways in which machine vision systems can enhance safety and security in transportation, but the ultimate results will only be as good as the image produced. Success relies on correct selection of the camera of such systems, as the features and performance required vary

The announcement that, in 2012/13, work to extend Managed Motorways to Junctions 5-8 of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands is scheduled to start marks the next step for the UK's hard shoulder running concept, first introduced on the M42 in 2006. The M6 scheme is in fact one of several announced; over the next few years work will start on applying Managed Motorways to various sections of the M1, M25 London Orbital, M60 and M62. According to Paul Unwin, senior project manager with the Highways Agency