ITS awards for highways technology company

Two projects which highways technology company Rennicks says could set the blueprint for a fresh approach to road safety have sparked a double celebration for the company. It has landed the title of Road Marking Project of the Year at the recent Highways Magazine Excellence Awards for a ground-breaking scheme in Scotland using solar-powered active road stud technology. And the company also clinched an ITS Ireland ITS Excellence award after providing the largest solar-powered variable message signs for t
Air Quality & Weather Systems / October 31, 2014
Two projects which highways technology company Rennicks says could set the blueprint for a fresh approach to road safety have sparked a double celebration for the company.

It has landed the title of Road Marking Project of the Year at the recent Highways Magazine Excellence Awards for a ground-breaking scheme in Scotland using solar-powered active road stud technology.  And the company also clinched an 7075 ITS Ireland ITS Excellence award after providing the largest solar-powered variable message signs for the inter-urban motorway network in Ireland.

The company’s SR-15 units use LED and solar technology to create delineation shown to be far more effective than traditional retroreflective road studs.  The studs made a big impact in Scotland, where a local authority became the first in the country to install the technology on a major route. Incidents on a stretch of the A719 in East Ayrshire are said to have been reduced by 100 per cent.

Road safety expert Alan Vass, of the Ayrshire Roads Alliance, said such dramatic results could prompt a new approach to highway markings across the country.

Rennicks won the ITS Ireland award after supplying the National Roads Authority with three 5.1 x 3.6m fixed solar-powered full matrix signs capable of remote communication and control. Solar technology enables the signs to be installed in rural areas where there is limited access to electricity supplies.

The signs, which deliver VMS capability in almost any location, were installed as part of a pilot project at strategic locations on the M7, M8 and M11 in Ireland.

Group managing director Michael Flanagan says the prestigious industry prizes are rich reward for the company’s intelligent approach. He said: “We are looking to make big strides in the world of intelligent traffic solutions (ITS) so these awards are a great boost to everyone involved. Intelligent thinking is at the core of our business and this success is a clear illustration that we’re on the right track.”
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