1. No category

Volume 3 Number 1
The UK’s only ITS and Advanced Traffic Management magazine
Flowing
freely
THE ITS SOLUTION TO BOOTH
BARRIER BLUES AT THE
DARTFORD CROSSING
THE BIG INTERVIEW
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
THE ATKINS INVESTIGATION
WEATHER
Nick Hewitson of Smart
CCTV shows the little guy
can be a big influence
Monitoring,
coercion and
correction
Lee Woodcock
investigates mobility
as a service
Coping with the
worst nature can
throw at us!
smartHIGHWAYS
FROM THE EDITOR
+ Smart thinking
Vol 3 No 1
Paul Hutton
Editorial Advisor
Paul Hutton ([email protected])
Commercial Manager
Tom Gardner ([email protected])
Recruitment & Production
Carole Epps ([email protected])
Publisher/Managing Director
Neil Levett MIHE MIAT MAIRSO
Editorial & Sales
Tel: 01732 459683
The editor writes about survey responses,
the here and now and a new arrival
Design and layout
Ed Miller ([email protected])
Subscriptions and Circulation
Daniel Verrells,
Beeline Data Services
Tel: 01342 314812
Email: [email protected]
SMART Highways is published quarterly by
Alad Ltd, 6 Wealden Close, Bradbourne Vale
Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3QQ
© 2015 Alad Ltd Ltd. All rights reserved.
The views and opinions of the authors are
not necessarily those of Alad Ltd. Reproduction (in whole or in part) of any text,
photograph or illustration contained in this
publication without the written permission
of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
Printed in the UK by Buxton Press
Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE
Alad Ltd
6 Wealden Place,
Bradbourne Vale Road,
Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3QQ, UK
www.aladltd.co.uk
Supported by ITS UK
Alad Ltd is a member
of the Professional
Publishers Association
OUR EVENTS
www.hmea.co.uk
ithin minutes of the last Smart Highways going online we had our first survey
response, from Nicander’s Katrina Chapman who not only liked what we do in Smart
Highways, but also pointed out that she reads my foreword. Praise indeed.
Katrina’s name didn’t come out of the hat as winner of the iPad we were giving
away (check the news pages for details of the lucky winner) but her comments,
along with everyone else’s, were very useful.
We discovered that everyone agreed we fill a void in reporting UK-related ITS issues, that the
technical level is “about right” and that people would recommend the magazine to a colleague.
One interesting thing that came out of the survey was the fact that people like the news pages
we include. That’s useful for me because I’ve always wondered if news in a quarterly magazine is out
of date, but it seems people like to see key stories in one place as well as finding information online.
We’re now launching our own Smart Highways website which will include plenty of news which you
can also find on our new weekly email “7Days in ITS” which will be hitting your inbox soon.
The reaction to news hit home to me and our editorial board when we met recently. We
discussed how a lot of the issues people are getting excited about are future technologies such as
driverless cars, which are clearly very interesting for the future but not necessarily useful for people
looking for a “here and now” solution to their problems.
Clearly we’ll continue to write about driverless cars, and I’ll have several features in a
forthcoming issue of Smart Highways, but I realised that we do spend a lot of time discussing
things that won’t happen for many years when there are plenty of things now to be proud of.
Mainstream press coverage these days seems to be all about the day when a car will drive itself,
whereas how much more useful would it be if more coverage was given to the automatic driver
assistance systems which exist right now? More awareness of their benefits would hopefully push
up demand and therefore increase use and make their implementation cheaper.
So in this issue we’re looking at technology that’s here now to help understand and influence
driver behaviour and deal with the weather. Plus there’s an excellent look at mobility as a service in
our Atkins Investigation, an in-depth interview about the Dartford free flow project and a brilliant
set of thoughts from Nick Hewitson of Smart CCTV who says some particularly insightful things
about procurement.
Finally, I’d like to congratulate Smart Highways editorial board member Nabil Abou-Rahme
and his wife Ioanna on the birth of their daughter Nathalie Zoe. Those of you who read Nabil’s
Big Interview in Smart Highways last year will know what happy news that is for Nabil and sons
Kayden and Jermome.
And if Nabil is particularly kind, maybe as a bedtime story he could read Nathalie my foreword –
although if that sends her to sleep, is that a good thing?
W
www.sib.uk.net
smartHIGHWAYS EDITORIAL BOARD
Nabil Abou-Rahme
Director, Transport Technology,
Mott MacDonald
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
Denis Naberezhnykh,
Head of Low Carbon Vehicles
and ITS Technology at TRL
Sharon Kindleysides,
Managing Director, Kapsch UK
and Chairman ITS (UK)
Lee Woodcock,
Technology Director, Atkins
Highways and Transportation
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
3
LANCASTER LONDON W2
Wednesday 14th October 2015
EXCELLENCE
IN EFFICIENCY
The Highways Magazine Excellence Awards
are reviewed annually to keep the topics
current and the questions relevant. With the
support of ITS (UK), last year we introduced
the Award for Best Use of New Technology
which proved extremely popular.
For 2015, our collaboration with HMEP has
resulted in the introduction of the new
Highways Maintenance Efficiency Award,
sponsored by Kier.
This new accolade will be awarded to a local
authority highway maintenance service, team
or partnership which has developed and
implemented a transformational approach
to service delivery, resulting in service
improvement, measurable cost efficiencies
and enhanced customer satisfaction.
The award is open to all authorities in the
highways sector, regardless of their level of
engagement with HMEP.
NEW Highways Maintenance Efficiency
sponsored by
IHE Team of the Year
sponsored by
Highway Partnership Award
sponsored by
ITS (UK) Best Use of New Technology
Highway Industry Product
Platinum sponsorship
Road Marking Project
sponsored by
Environmental Sustainability
ONLINE ENTRY IS NOW OPEN
sponsored by
So why not enter today?
Or visit www.hmea.co.uk for further details
on the new HMEP award and the other ten
categories available.
Site Safety Initiative
Platinum sponsorship
Road Safety Scheme/Project
J u d g e s ’ S p e cia l M e r i t
Pick up your Invitation to Enter from
the Highways Stand Z50 at Traffex.
sponsored by
Most Innovative Highway
A u t h o r it y Schem e
sponsored by
FREE online entry open
at www.hmea.co.uk
Major Project Award
sponsored by
CONTENTS
+ Volume 3 Number 1
NEWS REVIEW
30
DARTFORD: KEEPING THE FLOW
06 TOP ITS STORIES
Change at the top of the new Highways England,
driverless car trials begin and there’s a new owner
of Vysionics
COLUMNISTS
14 JENNIE MARTIN
16 STEPHEN LADYMAN
17 DAVID BONN
18 MARK PLEYDELL
FEATURES
10 BIG INTERVIEW
Nick Hewitson on the slow pace of change in the industry,
frustration at present procurement rules and a one-off car he owns
48
20 THE ATKINS INVESTIGATION
Lee Woodcock looks at Mobility as a Service
WEATHER
24 FLOWING FREELY
Removing the barriers at the Dartford Crossing
28 ON THE TAIL OF BAD DRIVING
How radar can be used to accurately detect tailgating
32 THE GENTLE TOUCH
Using speed advisory signs as a stepped approach to enforcement
34 BRISTOL MOVERS
ANPR monitors driver behaviour in one of Britain’s biggest cities
36 HIGH (COMPLIANCE) SOCIETY
10
BIG INTERVIEW
28
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR: TAILGATING
38
TRAFFEX 2015 PREVIEW
Trevor Ellis gives his views on the challenges facing enforcement
40 INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
Utilising big data to form useful insight
43 EXPLAINING WHY
Geoff Collins of Vysionics says enforcement is not a
one-dimensional solution
46 FASTER FORECASTING
A new mobile weather sensor is analysed
48 PLANNING A WEATHER RESPONSE
How authorities are getting better at their winter planning
56 ITS UK NEWS
Two pages of information and comment from the UK’s ITS association
58 THE LAST WORD
ITS, the Italian way
EVENTS
50 HIGHWAYS MAGAZINE EXCELLENCE AWARDS
52 SEEING IS BELIEVING
54 TRAFFEX 2015
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
5
NEWS REVIEW
HA chief Dalton steps down as
Highways England comes into being
he Chief
Executive of
the Highways
Agency says
it’s been a
“privilege” to lead it through the
last seven years, describing it as
an “exciting time”.
Graham Dalton (right) will step
down in the summer, shortly after
taking it through the transition to
Highways England.
“I am leaving the business
in good shape”, he said, “with
a great team of people and an
unprecedented five year fixed
investment plan”.
During his time in the post,
Mr Dalton has led the Agency
through budget reductions.
Chairman Colin Matthews
thanked him for his work,
saying Highways England can
“confidently confront the fresh
opportunities and challenges
in the Government’s Road
Investment Strategy”.
Mr Dalton is promising
to work to ensure an orderly
handover to his successor in the
summer. At the time of writing
the successor is in the process
of being appointed.
The creation of Highways
England was confirmed in
February when the Infrastructure
Act received Royal Assent.
Highways England will be a
government-owned company
T
As well as creating Highways
England, the Act is designed to:
Q Enable surplus and redundant
which, it’s planned, will use access
to long term stable funding to
ensure improvements on the
country’s major road network are
streamlined, cost efficient and
encourage investment.
Transport Secretary
Patrick McLoughlin (pictured
above right) said: “This Act
will hugely boost Britain’s
competitiveness in transport,
energy provision, housing
development and nationally
significant infrastructure projects.
Cost efficient infrastructure
development is all part of
the government’s long-term
economic plan, boosting
competitiveness, jobs and growth.
“A key part of this act will
be the creation of Highways
England, which will for the
first time use long-term
sustained funding to deliver the
government’s roads investment
strategy, worth £15 billion, to
deliver more than 100 schemes
between now and the end of the
next Parliament.
Through the creation of
Highways England we expect to
see savings to the taxpayer of
at least £2.6 billion over the next
10 years.”
public sector land and property
to be sold more quickly by
cutting red tape, increasing the
amount of previously used land
available for new homes
Q End unreasonable and
excessive delays on projects
which already have been
granted planning permission,
by a new ‘deemed discharge’
provision on planning
conditions – this will help
speed up house building
Q Allow Land Registry to
create a digitised Local
Land Charges register that
will improve access to data,
Survey prizewinner announced
Many thanks to everyone who
completed the Smart Highways
survey, helping the editor and his
editorial board better understand
the readership and what they
need from the only UK-focussed
ITS magazine.
As promised, one of the
06 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
respondents won an iPad Mini as
a thanks for taking the trouble to
come back to us.
The winner is Alan Bradbury,
who’s a senior design engineer
at Mouchel. He has over 20
years’ experience in the design,
installation, commissioning and
=19>C5>1>35?6CB16s35>79>55B9>7
and control measures. Alan has
previously worked in the public
and private sectors.
Outside work, Alan has been
a lifelong Everton supporter and
enjoys golf and cricket.
He told us that many of
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
NEWS REVIEW
standardise fees and improve
turnaround times for property
professionals and citizens
Q Enable Land Registry to
undertake new services that
would further improve the
conveyancing process or benefit
the wider property sector
Q Give local communities the
right to buy a stake in renewable
energy infrastructure projects
Q Boost energy security and
economic growth by extracting
domestic shale gas, which
has the potential to create
jobs, making us less reliant on
imports from abroad and help
us tackle climate change, all
within one of the most robust
regulatory regimes in the world
Q Set a cycling and walking
investment strategy
Q Improve the nationally
significant infrastructure
regime by making a number
of technical administrative
improvements to the Planning
Act 2008
Q Enable the creation of an
allowable solutions scheme to
provide a cost effective way for
house builders to meet the zero
carbon homes obligation.
Highways England will be
monitored by the Office of Rail
Regulation which has been
renamed the Office of Rail and
Road to reflect its wider role.
his colleagues, who also
read Smart Highways were
particularly jealous at his win.
The survey is now closed,
but any comments and ideas
are always welcome. Please
email the editor, Paul Hutton
at [email protected].
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
Driverless car
trials are under
way in Britain
NEWS in brief
The project leader of
Greenwich’s driverless car trial
says Britain is being placed
at the “forefront of research
and development related to
automated vehicles”.
Dr Nick Reed of TRL
thinks the GATEway
(Greenwich Automated
Transport Environment
project) trial, which was
launched in February by
Transport Minister Claire Perry
and Business Secretary Vince
Cable, can “start addressing
the technical, societal and
legal barriers to automated
vehicles and create a world class,
technology-agnostic testing
environment to help deliver the
future of urban mobility.”
The GATEway project includes
the testing of a fully driverless
vehicle named the Meridian
Shuttle, which will be evaluated
in various scenarios over the
next two years, and will explore
the legal and technical changes
required to introduce automated
vehicles and also the reactions
of pedestrians, drivers and other
road users.
The GATEway project is
made up of a consortium of 11
members, led by TRL (Transport
Research Laboratory) along with
key partners including the Royal
Borough of Greenwich, which is
the location for the trials.
Other key consortium
members include RSA, the global
insurer, who will be looking at how
automated vehicles might impact
the motor insurance market, Shell
and Telefonica who will be learning
how the technology might impact
their sectors and the University of
Greenwich who will be researching
deliver” and that the technology
Q WJ ARE LAUNCHING an average
speed camera system for
temporary traffic management
schemes. It’s utilising 3M’s Home
Office Type Approved (HOTA) average
speed technology which Group
Operations Director Martin Webb
says WJ is in “a key position to
“emphasises the WJ core values
of Delivery, Safety, Innovation and
Collaboration.”
Q Northeast-based consultancy
firm NICANDER’s continued growth
how people might interact with
driverless vehicles.
Business Secretary Vince
Cable said: “The UK is at the
cutting edge of automotive
technology. It’s important for
jobs, growth and society that
we keep at the forefront of
innovation.” Transport Minister
Claire Perry added: “Driverless
cars are the future. I want the
UK to be open-minded and
embrace a technology that could
transform our roads and open
up a brand new route for global
investment.”
Further trials, being led by
three consortia and supported
by government funding, will take
place in Bristol, Milton Keynes
and Coventry. They will last from
18 to 36 months, and will assess
how driverless vehicles function in
everyday life on public roads and
their scope for making road travel
safer and more sustainable.
The next step is for the
government to introduce a code
of practice which will provide
industry with the framework
they need to trial cars in real-life
scenarios, and to create more
sophisticated versions of the
models that already exist. This
code of practice is being agreed
at present.
means they’ve taken on a bigger
office complex. They’ve doubled
their space to have more room for
staff, meetings and testing. The
company has recently celebrated
the fifth anniversary of winning
their first contract. Their office is
now at 14 Colmans Nook, Belasis
Business Park, Billingham TS23 4EG.
Q The national roadworks
portal, ROADWORKS.ORG, has been
relaunched to provide roadwork,
incident and disruption information
for the public. More than 165 local
authorities, plus national agencies
have combined to allow people to
“self serve” information. More than
five million enquiries have been
made in the last 12 months.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
07
„
NEWS REVIEW
Gotta Yotta permits
Intellicone technology
used foroverhead vehicle
detection forthe first time
Users of a new vehicle detection
device say it’s had an immediate
safety impact.
Intellicone has been installed
at roadworks on the M62 to
detect overheight vehicles
as a safety precaution for
roadworkers.
Because scaffolding installed
on bridges hangs lower than
the bridge themselves, there
is a clear risk that high-sided
vehicles could accidentally
collide with the structures,
putting roadworkers and drivers
at risk.
The Intellicone system,
supplied by temporary ITS
solutions provider MVIS and
HRS, consists of an audiovisual portable site alarm and
wireless impact sensors that are
integrated within conventional
cone lamps. It’s linked with
MVIS portable VMS
displays to provide
warnings to traffic.
There were
three overheight
breaches in the first
week of use alone,
with drivers warned
in sufficient time
to turn around and
find an alternative
route.
Intellicone
was designed to protect
workers from errant vehicles
in temporary ground based
worksites but the contractor
identified its potential to protect
bridge personnel from highsided road user vehicles during
its smart motorway project.
Signs in advance of the bridge
direct high-sided vehicles away
from the structure. An Intellicone
Sentry Beam detects errant
vehicles, activating a message on
MVIS’s VMS-A variable message
sign, alerting drivers to their
breach and enabling them to
turn round and find an alternative
route. It also warns workers of the
danger so they get to a safe place
just in case.
It’s being used on BAM
Morgan Sindall Joint Venture’s
M62 and M1 J39 to 42 smart
motorway project.
Infrastructure asset
=1>175=5>CsB=?CC19
taking advantage of a change
in legislation to take on
new and existing roadwork
permit schemes across the
country. Under new rules, local
authorities no longer need
approval from the Secretary
of State for permit schemes,
and run the approval process
themselves.
?CC13?>D<C1>C‘F9C8
extensive knowledge of street
F?B;<579<1C9?>‘@539s31<<
permit schemes, have already
helped a number of councils
prepare, approve and implement
permit schemes ensuring
technical compliance with all
B5<5E1>CB57D<1C9?>?CC1œ
Mayrise Street Works software
is also being used to manage
a number of existing Permit
Schemes providing a solution
@539s31<<4597>54C?1DC?=1C5
the permit application process.
These include approvals for
Brighton and Hove City Council,
Southampton and Knowsley
Councils, Halton and Warrington
Borough Councils and Cheshire
West and Chester Council, to
name just a few.
Prior to the recent change in
legislation a council wishing to
introduce a permit scheme was
required to submit their proposals
to the Secretary of State for
assessment and approval.
Jeff Elliot of Brighton & Hove
Council commented, “We are
3?>s45>C?DB'5B=9C385=5
F9<<@B?E945;525>5sC6?B
residents, businesses and
visitors including reduced
disruption, improved reliability
of journey times and better
communication. The Permit
Scheme will also provide the
Council with better control of
activities on the network, a
reduction in road work volume,
size and duration and a range
of other social and economic
25>5sCŸ
Jenoptik acquires Vysionics
The head of German
enforcement technology
company Jenoptik says its
acquisition of Vysionics was not
only to gain more business in
Britain, but also to complement
its existing product portfolio
with new innovations.
The deal, which happened
in November, opened the UK
08 t @SmartHighwaysM
market place up to Jenoptik
which has so far had little
exposure here.
The Company’s President
and CEO Michael Mertin said,
“the latest technologies of
ANPR and ‘section control’
are important future-oriented
products for improved traffic
safety on highways worldwide.
| www.smarthighways.net
These technologies significantly
strengthen the position of
Jenoptik in global road traffic
safety projects.”
Kevin Chevis, CEO of
Vysionics described the deal as
“an exciting opportunity” which
allowed the company to bring
its products to a wider market
place and also to offer more
products and services to its
existing customers here.
Vysionics is best known
in the UK as the company
behind the highly successful
SPECS average speed
enforcement cameras, widely
used around the UK road
network with more than 350
installations to date.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
NEWS REVIEW
New digital roadmap to help
with highway improvements
The Transport
Minister Robert
Goodwill (pictured)
says a new digital
road map developed
by the DfT and
Ordnance Survey
has the potential to
substantially improve
how we look after our roads.
He’s announced the DfT will
contribute £3 million to help
create the map to give detailed
information to councils and
emergency services.
He believes it
has the potential to
transform how all
levels of government
maintain and improve
roads by detailing
information such as
B?14F94C8‘CB16s3
calming measures and height
and weight restrictions. This
dataset could also be linked
to other information held by
government, including planned
roadworks and cycle paths.
Mr Goodwill added that the
funding “demonstrates our
commitment to funding the
technology of the future, which
will drive economic growth and
create jobs.”
Local and national
government currently use a
variety of maps when planning
road projects and maintenance.
The new digital mapping
will bring all existing
information together.
NEWS in brief
Q Bedfordshire based CCTV
transmission solution
manufacturer AMG has hired
ANDREW PIGRAM as Sales and
Marketing Director. In addition Sara
AGD signs major Middle-East deal
Bullock takes up a new position as
Cheltenham-based radar
manufacturer AGD has
announced a strategic new
@1BC>5B89@F9C8C85)B16s3
Tech Group to install pedestrian
detection solutions in Qatar.
)B16s3)538F9<<253?=5
AGD’s Middle East region
49CB92DC?B6?B'D6s>1>4)?D31>
crossings.
The deal comes after
successful on-street trials in
Doha last November.
)85'D6s>3B?9>7D5
a combination of nearside
signals and pedestrian ‘push
button’ demand units with AGD
640 pedestrian detectors to
try to drive the company into new
automatically vary the length of
the pedestrian period. This gives
pedestrians the time they need
to cross the road and if the
pedestrian leaves the wait area,
the demand is cancelled, freeing
D@C85CB16s3
Another radar, the AGD
226, continuously monitors
the pedestrians when they
are on the crossing, only
1<<?F9>7E5893<5CB16s397>1<
to turn back to green once it’s
completely clear.
The fact that the system
is detector-based ensures
C81CF19C9>7C9=56?BCB16s39
minimised while maintaining
safety for vulnerable road users.
This is in comparison to the
traditional time-based systems
which are still in use throughout
the region.
1B91;9B‘!514?6)B16s3
97>1<'B?:53C1C)B16s3
Tech, said: “On-street trials
?6 œ'D6s>1>4)?D31>
schemes went very well and
we are delighted they have
now received approval by the
authorities. This will open the
door for using AGD’s solutions
for existing and new projects
in Qatar and subsequently, the
wider Gulf region.
Business Development Director to
industry sectors.
Q Traffic information company INRIX
has entered a strategic partnership
with Samsung, aimed at leveraging
mobile technology to connect cars
for smarter cities. INRIX real-time
traffic and travel time insight is
being embedded in several new
apps and services on Samsung
devices.
Q A network of ELECTRIC VEHICLE
CHARGING POINTS has been installed
across Wiltshire. The rapid
chargepoints can top up a car
or van in around 20 minutes and
have been funded with £300,000
of taxpayers’ money, the majority
from Central Government.
Q Technical consultancy
JEAN LEFEBVRE (UK) has officially
opened its new, larger technical
centre in Hertfordshire.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
09
BIG INTERVIEW
+ Nick Hewitson
Small enterprise
big ideas
INTERVIEW BY PAUL HUTTON
You’re a classic
entrepreneur – and
fairly rare in our
industry which is
dominated by big
companies winning big Government
contracts. How did you end up
working in this sector?
In the mid 1980s I was working
for Fairchild Semiconductor on a
contract when they were taken
Q
10 t @SmartHighwaysM
Above:
Nick Hewitson
works through
the gear changes
in his beloved –
and street legal!
– 1994 Marcos
Mantula
| www.smarthighways.net
Nick Hewitson has been involved
in the ITS industry for more than
30 years and, as the owner of
Smart CCTV, delivers a number of
key security and detection systems
on our road network. Paul Hutton
chatted to him about the slow
pace of change in the industry,
their shared frustration at present
procurement rules, and about a
one-off car he owns
over by National Semiconductor.
I had been doing a lot of work for
the CCD Imaging Division, which
was excluded from the takeover
due to their contracts with Fairchild
Weston Systems, so suddenly
the CCD Division didn’t have any
representation and so I became their
representative in the UK. Selling
the imaging chips progressed into
cameras and then machine vision
(industrial automation) software.
Eventually we looked around to
see what other markets there
“ There seems to be a culture of just doing
it the way we have always done it ”
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
BIG INTERVIEW
+ Nick Hewitson
were for real-time image
processing and security and
resilience was an obvious choice.
That is how we have ended up doing
road and tunnel incident detection
systems and physical security
solutions for significant national
infrastructure assets.
In fact, the location of one of
?DBsBC9>C1<<1C9?>F1
involved in one of the most dramatic
TV news events of the 80s, wasn’t it?
We were asked by a major CCTV
installer to provide a video analytics
based security system for the
then Saudi Arabian Ambassador’s
residence in London. This is a terraced
property near Hyde Park and the
adjoining building was the Iranian
Embassy. In fact I believe that the
Saudis had lent the Ambassador’s
residence to the SAS when they had
to go next door so they could end
the siege. There is good TV coverage
of men with guns crossing the roof
and abseiling into the building. On
the basis that if you can go one
direction you can go the other, the
Ambassador’s security team wanted
to be able to check if anyone was up
on the roof.
Q
So Smart CCTV is a solutions
provider to more than the
transport sector?
To be successful as a small company
you have to find a niche market, so
over time we have built up more and
more experience in the transport
sector, especially in solutions to
manage and protect major assets like
bridges and tunnels, so whilst we do
some work outside the transport area,
ITS is our core market.
Q
What do you feel is the ITS
industry’s biggest challenge?
To me a really surprising thing
Q
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
is the very slow pace of change.
Since I started working for myself,
and that was a time when a state
of the art personal computer was
a ZX Spectrum, the resolution of
CCD chips has increased by about
ten thousand times. Look at the
computing power in a mobile phone
today (another mid 80s innovation)
let alone a PC. Yet the most common
Above: one of
Nick’s first CCTV
installations
was in the Saudi
embassy, adjoining the Iranian
embassy which
was involved in
the famous siege
of 1980
Below: computing development
has continued
apace since the
days of the ZX
Spectrum. Has
transport moved
as quickly since
the M25 opened?
sensor technology used on the roads
today is an inductive loop, technology
from the early 1980s. You have to
remember that 1986 was the year
when the M25 was completed, how
much has the strategic road network
developed since then?
There seems to be a culture of just
doing it the way we have always done
it - everyone knows the issues related
to using an in road technology like
the inductive loop. It is not as though
there aren’t competitive “above
ground” technologies available;
Bluetooth, laser scanners and video
analytics jump to mind. These can be
very cost effective, are reliable, used
in many other countries but take up
in the UK has been very slow and I
believe that the main reason is the
fact that the vast majority of UK end
customers are extremely risk adverse.
This becomes self-perpetuating the brightest electronics and software
engineers either don’t want to enter
the industry or become frustrated and
move to an industry where the rate
of change is high and they can make
their mark.
As you know, when I’m not
editing Smart Highways I work
with a couple of SMEs in the sector
myself. One of the things that really
irritates me is when politicians of
either colour talk about SMEs being
the bedrock of our economy, when I
feel that it’s all words and that the
odds of winning Government
contracts are stacked against us…
The first problem you have to deal
with is the definition of an SME. If
you asked the man in the street, or I
suspect most of your readers, they
would think that a small company
would employ 5 to 10 people and a
medium company maybe up to 50.
The EU definition, which is what a
Politician uses, is a micro business
is less than 10 staff and less than €2
million turnover, a small business
is 11 to 50 staff and €2million to
€10 million turnover and a medium
business is from 50 to 250 staff and
turnover from €10 million to €50
million per year (£40 million).
In the recent Highways Agency
CDF framework the smallest size lot is
up to £25 million per project. Normal
Q
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
11
„
BIG INTERVIEW
+ Nick Hewitson
“ Normal procurement rules say that you can’t
have more than 25 per cent of your annual turnover in
any given project so anyone wanting to get on the
framework has to have a turnover of £100 million
which is well above the SME threshold ”
procurement rules say that you can’t
have more than 25 per cent of your
annual turnover in any given project
(often it is lower than this) so anyone
wanting to get on the framework
has to have a turnover of £100
million which is well above the SME
threshold.
If you look at the current Traffic
Management Technology Framework
lot 4 (Traffic and Vehicle monitoring
services) which is our area of
expertise, there are 10 companies on
the framework of which 3 probably
fell into the medium definition, one of
which has recently been bought by a
very large foreign company, and none
in the micro and small definitions.
When you look at those three
companies they are, like us, niche:
one makes the Gen 2 CCTV cameras
(among other activities), one average
speed systems and one VMS signs.
They are the only traffic monitoring
camera, speed enforcement or VMS
manufacturer on the framework
respectively which doesn’t seem to
me to be a very competitive situation.
Procurement rules reinforce the
lack of innovation - you tender for
what is asked for. In theory you can
12 t @SmartHighwaysM
Below: information/ITS security
is vital for the
industry – as
Michael Caine
showed in taking
down a city’s
traffic systems
in The Italian Job!
| www.smarthighways.net
put a non-compliant tender in as well
but the cost of doing so is very high
and the chance of success is low so it
usually doesn’t make financial sense.
If there was a Micro / Small
supplier framework with a less than
£250,000 contract size it could
introduce more competition or if a
group of micro and small companies
were allowed to do a joint bid but
without having to individually
underwrite all of the other members,
as currently, I think more innovative
ideas could find their way into
the market. In reality it wouldn’t
increase the total project risk - if
a small company can’t deliver as a
subcontractor or as a main contractor
there will still be the same non
delivery problem, it’s just the liability
for sorting it out moves from a main
contractor to the highway authority.
But despite these challenges,
you’ve still thrived in the
industry. Does this sometimes involve
collaboration with the same people
you’re competing with?
Q
That’s a general theme within the
industry, which has complex supply
chains. We are often acting as a
subcontractor for company A which
is bidding against a supply chain led
by company B for one project while
we are acting as a subcontractor for
company B in another project.
So with some of your contracts,
you’ve actually ended up having
to supply someone with a Framework
agreement who then supplies
Government? Doesn’t that cost me,
as a taxpayer, more?
Prices must be higher, as there are
multiple margins in the delivery chain.
However is this offset by reduced
administration costs at the end
customer? I honestly don’t know the
answer to that question. Probably a
more important effect is again this
reduces the incentive to innovate.
If we develop new and innovative
products and processes, we have to
essentially give away a lot of the IPR
to the rest of the supply chain which
can have a much bigger effect on
the overall value than an additional
margin or two.
Q
But of course there have to be
checks and balances to make
sure we don’t go back to the days
when it was felt contracts were won
thanks to a few sneaky brown
envelopes… I feel a deeper
investigation into procurement
coming on in a future issue, and I’m
sure you’ll have some thoughts!
Happy to be involved.
Q
In addition to being MD of
Smart CCTV you are also the
honorary secretary of the ITS UK
Security and Resilience Interest
B?D@‘8?F4?5C89sCF9C82?C8
Smart CCTV and the wider ITS
industry?
Transport networks are the UK PLC’s
biggest asset and the loss of critical
parts of the network would have very
serious consequences to the country.
Risks can be caused by a wide range
of factors: crime / terrorism, weather
and poor maintenance are probably
the critical risks which need to be
managed. As already discussed
Smart CCTV has a physical security
Q
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
BIG INTERVIEW
+ Nick Hewitson
“ The brightest electronics and software engineers
either don’t want to enter the industry or become
frustrated and move to an industry where the rate of
change is high and they can make their mark ”
background, although I would
argue that the protection of key
infrastructure is only given lip service
by most transport authorities.
At least as important as physical
security to the transport sector, is
the logical security requirement for
ITS systems which seems very poorly
understood. Every tender we do asks
if we have ISO14001 or as a minimum
an environmental policy. I have yet to
be asked about ISO27001 (Information
Security Management) or even for a
policy on how we protect both our
and our clients’ data and IT systems.
After all how did Michael Caine steal
the gold in the Italian Job? He brought
the city to chaos by taking down the
traffic signal system!
I believe that this is an area which
needs to be much better understood
and managed, which is why I am
happy to put my efforts behind the
ITS UK interest group.
And your hobbies are
multimodal, I understand
because you like your cars and
your boats.
When I was single and working in the
semiconductor industry I was given
a sales job that required me to move
to the Portsmouth area, where I knew
nobody. Looking for a way to build a
social life I came to the conclusion
that I was in the prime sailing area so
I joined a sailing club. I found out that
I was rather good at it and ended up
sailing with a number of Olympians,
World, European and National
champions over a number of years.
These days it is a bit more sedate and
I mostly cruise along the south coast
of England with a trip to Normandy
or Brittany or two thrown in. If there
are any sailors out there who would
like to be involved in an ITS sailing
competition, Smart CCTV would be up
for the challenge – give me a call.
Q
For someone involved in
intelligent transport you have
maybe what some would say is an
unintelligent car for some of the
CB16s3F581E5C?@DCD@F9C8l
I have heard my Marcos called many
things – beautiful, loud, brutal but
never unintelligent before. I have a
midlife crisis 4.5 litre Marcos Mantula
which was built in 1994 for Hill Climb
competitions but is street legal.
It is a one off as the gear ratios
are unusual so the top speed is down
but it gets there very quickly, or
would do if I could change the gears
fast enough!
The engine with race-track
specification exhausts sounds brilliant
as you drive through the Hindhead
tunnel and if you work for EM
Highways in Area 3 – I am sorry.
Q
Sounds like fun, will you take
me out for a spin sometime?
Just make sure you keep to the rules
of the road, you may be caught on
camera….
Actually the fun is the sound and
the acceleration rather than the top
speed, anyway the car is a bit of a
Traffic Police magnet, if only because
they want to see what it is!
Q
Nick picked up
the sailing bug
upon moving to
Portsmouth for a
sales job
“ If there are any
sailors out there
who would like to
be involved in an ITS
sailing competition,
Smart CCTV would
be up for the
challenge ”
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
13
THE VIEW
+ ITS UK
Jennie Martin
Jennie Martin is Secretary General of ITS (UK)
[email protected]
ITS (UK)’s Secretary General looks the TN-ITS initiative,
making it easier to exchange spatial data
“ It is important that digital
maps for ITS are up to date for
attributes that are critical in
terms of safety and efficiency.
The map providers cannot easily
keep their maps up to date for
such attributes, while up-todate maps are a key asset
for ITS applications ”
he TN-ITS (Transport
Network Intelligent
Transport Systems)
deployment platform
is an independent
membership organisation hosted by
ERTICO ITS Europe, and works to
facilitate the provision and exchange
of ITS spatial data between public
authorities and third parties. TNITS aims to create and promote a
harmonised framework to enable
this to happen seamlessly and with
minimum effort across the EU.
The EU ROSATTE project (2008 – 2010) developed
a complete framework to enhance the quality of road
safety data and facilitate Europe-wide access to it. The
ROSATTE framework includes procedures, quality principles,
specifications, and technical and organisational guidelines.
See http://tn-its.eu/rosatte-project for a set of the key
ROSATTE documents.
While considering the European Commission’s ITS Action
Plan and ITS Directive, particularly Action 1.3 in the former, and
the objectives of the latter, it became clear that the ROSATTE
framework and procedures can provide a direct contribution,
and resolve many issues which will need to be tackled in the
process of implementing the ITS Directive.
It also became clear that creating an alignment with the
EU’s INSPIRE Directive would be helpful. INSPIRE entered into
force in May 2007, and established an infrastructure for spatial
information in Europe to support the European Community’s
environmental policies, and other policies or activities which
may have an impact on the environment.
Aligning with INSPIRE would maximise synergies and
also minimise the administrative burden on highways
authorities, data providers and map makers. The TN-ITS
specification is being standardised in CEN TC278 Working
Group 7, and forms an extension of the INSPIRE spatial
data infrastructure Transport Network data specification.
This latter specification became legally binding on Member
States during 2014.
TN-ITS is concerned with the exchange of information
on changes in static road attributes. We mean static in the
sense that the attributes are of a more or less permanent
nature, even though they may sometimes change. TN-ITS
is not concerned with the exchange of dynamic information,
for which other channels are being used. A good example
T
14 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
(but no more than that) of a static
road attribute is speed limits.
The focus is in general on road
attributes based on regulations,
but may extend to other road and
transport-related features. It is
important that digital maps for
ITS are up to date for attributes
that are critical in terms of safety
and efficiency. The map providers
cannot easily keep their maps up
to date for such attributes, while
up-to-date maps are a key asset
for ITS applications.
The solution is to retrieve the information on changes
from the road authorities. As they create the changes,
they are the most efficient and immediate source for such
information. This requires digital storage and maintenance
on the side of road authorities, and some kind of flagging of
changes. With governments going more and more digital,
systems for such digital storage and maintenance are
increasingly available.
However, a multitude of solutions are in use that are
different in terms of GIS and data models applied. Therefore
a common exchange format is needed, enabling creation
of plugins to existing (legacy) systems for extraction of
information on changes in road attributes. Immediate updates
from authorities to map makers only make sense if the second
half of data chain from map makers to end user devices will
also be in place. The good news is that substantial progress on
incremental updating to the end user is being reported by the
map makers.
TN-ITS is a membership organisation with current Public
Sector members including the Norwegian Road Transport
Administration, the Swedish Transport Administration, the
Finnish Transport Agency, the UK Department for Transport,
the Belgian Department of Mobility and Public Works
and the Irish Department of Transport Tourism and Sport.
Map maker members include Nokia/HERE and TomTom.
Membership is open to all organisations which provide or
use ITS spatial data. TN-ITS follows a not-for-profit business
model governed by a Board and a General Assembly. The
current leadership is Kees Weevers (independent consultant)
and Maxime Flament (ERTICO).
To find out more about TN-ITS and how you can get
involved, see www.tn-its.eu or contact ITS (UK), which supports
the UK involvement in this valuable initiative.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
Transport
Network
Resilience
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THE VIEW
+ Enforcement experience
DrStephen Ladyman
Dr Stephen Ladyman was the UK Minister of State for
Transport between 2005-7. Today he is the Smart City
Ambassador for the Clearview Traffic Group. He can be
contacted at stephen.ladyman@clearviewtraffic.com
and Clearview Traffic can be contacted at 01869 362800
The former Transport Minister discusses how driving laws are useless
unless there’s a way of ensuring they’re enforced
hen the editor suggested I
discuss ‘enforcement’ in
this article I wondered
if he knew that I’m on
nine points! My own
fault, I know, but courtesy of Avon and
Somerset Constabulary I will be the one
holding up the traffic for the next few
years by rigidly sticking to the speed limit.
While technology often allows driving
rules to be enforced cheaply, law makers
sometimes have to look at the bigger picture and
take into account public opinion and the need to target
resource where it can do most good.
A draconian punishment even if there is a relatively low risk
of being caught will often deliver a good level of compliance
with the law. Allied to public opinion in favour of compliance
and you have a relatively effective
enforcement strategy without the
cost of deploying technology or
calling on too much police time. More
or less, this is the approach taken
nowadays with drink driving. In the
early years after drink driving laws
came in there was a lot of activity to
breathalyse people. These days other
than at Christmas, if you are driving
erratically or if you are in an accident
there is a much lower likelihood of
being breathalysed but the threat of
a driving ban, the possibility of prison
and the opprobrium of your friends and family is enough to
make most people comply.
On the other hand a more modest punishment with a high
level of being caught will also work if the modest punishment
tots up into a serious sanction. In effect, that’s the system we
use for minor speeding offences and my nine points and the
risk of a ban if I’m caught again will ensure I stick to the speed
limits from now on.
What doesn’t work is a low level of punishment and a low
level of enforcement. This strategy sends a signal that the
offence is not regarded as serious. Unfortunately, using a
mobile phone while driving nowadays falls into this category.
Hands-free equipment comes as standard in many cars
and if not you can buy a kit for a few quid, yet many people
don’t bother, even though the consequence of losing control of
your car can be catastrophic. I was the minister that upped the
W
punishment to three points when previously it was a
fine alone. I would have preferred to authorise the
police to drag people caught doing this out of
their cars and give them a good slap but three
points was all I could get through Parliament.
Of course, technology could help with
this one, it would be an easy matter to
photograph drivers and trace them through
ANPR if they are using a mobile but ‘spying’
into vehicles in this way would be seen as
intrusive and infringing the right to privacy of the
majority of drivers who are not using their mobile at
the wheel.
In general, technology that diminishes the driving
experience will also be unpopular with Ministers because it
will be unpopular with the driving public. When I was in the
Department we commissioned research to demonstrate
the practicality of intelligent
speed adaptation (a system of
automatically preventing cars
exceeding the speed limits by
controlling their speed with
reference to digitised speed limits). I
suspect making it mandatory would
not only send Jeremy Clarkson
apoplectic but many other drivers
too and I doubt that any minister
would risk the political fallout from
making it mandatory.
Alcohol locks that immobilise a
vehicle if the driver is over the limit
are now available. Indeed the legislation is already in place
(Road safety Act 2006) to allow the courts to impose them on
drivers prosecuted for drink driving when they get their licence
back. Again I cannot see them becoming mandatory for
everyone because the public would see it as heavy handed.
On the other hand, technologies used to encourage, but
not enforce, road laws are popular with drivers. Speed warning
signs are one such, but I have my doubts as to how effective
they are once people become accustomed to them.
At last year’s ‘Seeing is Believing’ event vehicles entering
the site had their tyre pressure measured automatically and
without the need to stop their cars. If this was used to penalise
people with low tyre pressures it would be unpopular but if
it simply triggered a signal giving the driver information and
encouraging them to pull into a garage and inflate their tyres
then that would be very different.
“ When I was in the Department
we commissioned research to
demonstrate the practicality of
intelligent speed adaptation... I
suspect making it mandatory
would not only send Jeremy
Clarkson apoplectic but many
other drivers too ”
16 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
THE VIEW
+ In my experience...
David Bonn
David Bonn is a Director of Bonn Business
Solutions Limited based in Glasgow.
[email protected].
Bonnbusinesssolutions.co.uk
David Bonn argues that it’s time to think again about
an “old” strategy for “new” control centres
014 will live long in the memory of many in
Scotland and beyond: the hugely successful
Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and
a collection of other international events
staged across the country for the Year of the
Homecoming. The common element for these events was the
successful movement of significant numbers of people and
large quantity of goods without it having an adverse impact on
the country’s business as usual activities.
For many months, teams of people were working hard
behind the scenes to prepare the transport networks. Significant
money was spent addressing issues where bottlenecks and
other problems were known to exist. Considerable planning was
undertaken to understand how and when people would travel,
and how that would affect business-as-usual travel.
The centre of Glasgow saw a significant increase in the
number of signalised junctions under SCOOT control. CCTV
coverage of key junctions was enhanced, adding to the legacy
benefits from the Games. Capacity planning was undertaken
with resulting route strengthening carried out on the rail
network, and actions were taken to
reduce the potential for cable theft.
Demand management messages
went out to encourage businesses and
visitors to plan ahead.
To co-ordinate the transport
domains during the Commonwealth
Games, a Transport Co-ordination
Centre (TCC) was established,
with staff from all the major
transport stakeholders - Glasgow
City Council, Transport Scotland,
Scotrail, Network Rail, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
(representing the bus operators and the underground in
Glasgow), Police Scotland, British Transport Police, the Games
Organising Committee, the security team, the Travel Demand
Management Team plus, on key days, staff from affected
Local Authorities. This group co-ordinated the responses of
the individual control centres whenever an unplanned incident
occurred on any of the transport modes.
Key to this was the speed at which the team gained
situation awareness, achieved through verbal communication
to/from the individual control centres followed by the internal
sharing of that information between the different TCC coordinators using an incident management software package.
Once aware of the issue and with the potential solution
identified, the agreed mitigation strategy was implemented
2
by the individual control centres in a co-ordinated manner.
The impact on the travelling public was a transport network
operating in a co-ordinated way, supporting the travelling
public through actions and information provision. If, as
happened, a rail link became unavailable, buses were waiting
outside the station to enable the passengers complete their
journeys with associated delays kept to a minimum.
Many of the unplanned incidents dealt with during the
Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup could be classed
as business-as-usual. That is these disruption incidents can
and do happen during normal day-to-day operations. But
the coordinated response meant there was a reduced impact
on the travelling public. Also senior management across the
transport domains were much more aware of the contribution
other transport modes could make in support of specific
unplanned incidents and any associated constraints.
It was clear to me that good situation awareness is key to
making the right decisions. Understanding what supporting
actions can be undertaken by other transport operators was
critical. Away from event and weather-related situations, there
are a number of such events occurring
every year where a co-ordinated
response from travel operators would
be beneficial. How can we achieve
this utopia on an on-going basis? The
co-location of control centres would
facilitate much greater integration at
an information and operational level;
the sharing of facilities, technology
and operational practices would
reduce operating costs and the cost
of the unplanned incident on the
economy. Reducing the number of national and local control
centres would give significant savings.
Having all transport domains co-located, access to the
complete picture would be a given, providing that enhanced
level of situation awareness we want. As new control centres
are planned then the potential for co-location should be
seriously considered.
Next time mother nature decides to hit parts of the country
with low temperatures, high winds or heavy rain think how a
truly integrated control room would manage better the impact
on the road, air and rail networks, sending common messages
out through social media. With all the transport operators
co-located, establishing a multi-agency response team to brief
ministers would be easy as all the required information would
be available in front of them.
“ It was clear to me that good
situation awareness is key
to making the right decisions.
Understanding what supporting
actions can be undertaken
by other transport operators
was critical ”
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
17
THE VIEW
+ From the engineer...
Mark Pleydell
Mark Pleydell is owner of Pleydell Technology
Consulting Ltd, drawing on 18 years of practice in
the traffic industry. [email protected]
Leading British consultant Mark Pleydell considers how ITS could help with better
managing transport through bad weather events such as floods
ach quarter the editor, Paul, suggests a few
themes for the forthcoming issue. This time
around ‘weather’ leapt from the email and
started a chain of ideas. I am Somerset-based
so perhaps inevitability my thoughts turned to
rain, or more specifically to the consequences of rain.
Flooding affects people in many ways from at the worst
level loss of life, through loss or devastation of homes and
businesses to widespread disruption to day-to-day activities.
In the context of Smart Highways, mobility is often severely
affected. The effect on journeys can be significant. In rural
areas the loss of even a relatively insignificant lane may require
an extensive change of routes, requiring long diversions,
leading to traffic congestion on routes that in normal
circumstances have no such issues.
Even now here in Somerset there are roads (for example
the A372) that, due to flood alleviation works provoked by the
floods of winter 2013 and spring 2014,
remain closed to traffic. Other routes
are known locally as very susceptible
to flooding and when they’re closed,
remain closed for long periods.
So how can we, the traffic control
and ITS community, make a positive
contribution? Well we can’t make
the water vanish, however we can
perhaps address one part of the
effects. As is often the case, the
provision of relevant timely accurate
information to road users, network operators, the media and
other stakeholders can at least minimize the consequences.
What constitutes a flood? Before we can address the
consequences we should have some idea of the phenomenon.
To assess the risk posed by a flood, both the depth and speed
of the water should be considered and ideally should be known.
Few people would chance taking an average saloon car into
standing water of 1ft (30cm) depth.
More might venture into 6” (15cm) of still water, but what of
a stream or river that has over-topped a bridge and is moving at
10mph? It doesn’t sound much until you do some sums when
it starts to look like about 1/3 of a tonne of continuous water
pressing on the sides of the wheels of a vehicle. For road use,
flooding is likely to be identified as some combination of depth
and speed.
In reality this will probably devolve into knowing the location
and using that knowledge to define an acceptable threshold for
the depth of flooding there.
E
What then to do with this knowledge? Consider how
much road users could benefit from the use of flood related
message signs. If these were to be placed at both ends of
vulnerable road segments then as soon as flooding is identified
on that segment the signs could be activated. This simple
deployment of technology could provide an immediate
local relevant warning. Such a system would require sensors
which could monitor water depth and ideally water speed.
When the sensors detect a flood condition they can alert the
appropriate signs to display a suitable message. This could
address all types of flooding from at one end of the range, the
slow insidious rise of rivers or ground water (encountered so
unexpectedly 200m above sea level in the South Downs at
for example Hambledon in Hampshire), through winter rains,
saturated grounds and rising rivers to the rapid flash flooding
that comes from summer thunderstorms.
However such systems could go beyond this tactical step
and report the flood state to an instation. This allows strategic use
of the data.
Either central or local data
could be sent to any signalised
junctions affected to run
alternative plans. (Such a system
recently was put out to tender in
Warwickshire.)
In-station services can inform
the wider community, perhaps
providing subscription alerts (SMS
services), media notification, influencing network wide traffic
information and control strategies.
Once flooding has occurred then, perhaps, coupled with
data from traffic detection it could be possible to assess traffic
disregarding the signs to indicate kevels of risk to road users.
Many possibilities emerge.
Of course there is a lot of detail and many factors
and constraints that I have not even thought of, let
alone addressed. But on the up side solutions like these
are being asked for by users and are being developed
by manufacturers.
And why stop at flooding? Going back to Paul’s email,
what about black ice, deep snow, or many other conditions?
And yet further ahead these same data may be needed to
inform that autonomous vehicle on trial in Milton Keynes,
Greenwich or, closer to home, Bristol, that has never visited
the Somerset levels in winter. Or of course buoyancy aids
may be built-in!
“ So how can we, the traffic
control and ITS community,
make a positive contribution?
Well we can’t make the water
vanish, however we can perhaps
address one part
of the effects ”
18 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
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THE
INVESTIGATION
+ Getting to the core of the issue
Mobility as a
service
INVESTIGATION BY LEE WOODCOCK
ith smartphones
becoming more and
more prevalent and
technology playing
an ever greater role
in helping us with our daily routines,
the transport sector is starting to go
through significant change. One key
emerging trend is the increasing use
of access to transport options, such
as car sharing or bike hire, and the
move by a number of major players
such as Daimler, Ford and BMW, to
offer new services to customers that
are a radically different business
model to solely making and selling
cars. But what does it really mean for
us? I caught up with leading experts
in the market to get their views.
W
Above: today’s
travellers are
better informed
and connected
than ever before
Right: could cars
of the future
interact across
junctions without
reliance on
traffic lights?
Neil Ross Principal Policy and
CB1C57?6s35B‘,5C$94<1>4
Integrated Transport Authority
The increasing use of smart
technology in personal mobility
20 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
brings with it significant potential
to improve and enhance people’s
lives. However, as we in the strategic
transport planning sector plan for
the future we need to ensure we can
accommodate the increasing number
of smart vehicles and in time ‘fully
autonomous’ smart vehicles.
This poses some fundamental
questions for us. We will, for instance,
even need traffic lights? Could cars
of the future not simply interact with
each other across junctions without
the need to stop? That could reduce
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
“ The biggest
challenges we will
face will be... the
interim period between
conventional and new
smart vehicles ”
our urban congestion pressures but
how would this impact on people
walking and cycling across our
urban landscapes?
But perhaps the biggest challenges
we will face will be closer than we
perhaps realise - the interim period
between conventional and new smart
vehicles where both will be present
on our highways. We may well need
to establish clear new rules for smart
vehicles to ensure they can operate
equally on our highways. This means
we should now plan for a period where
new vehicles are sold ‘smart ready’ for
a grand switch over from conventional
to more autonomous control but
will people buy technology they can
not use fully or indeed could a single
switch over from conventional to smart
vehicles even be achievable? Indeed in
this period, who is liable in an accident
– the owner who’s not driving or the
smart vehicle’s software company?
Finally the challenges we face will
not simply be about infrastructure.
The increasing availability of smart
vehicles could very likely influence
people’s travel habits. For instance, how
will sectors of society such as older
people respond towards the use of
public transport if owning autonomous
vehicles makes people feel safer driving
on the roads?
This is the debate we need to
develop. In the end we will need
to work in partnership with vehicle
manufacturers, the government,
providers and technology companies
to identify and provide the transport
infrastructure required to be smart
vehicle ready.
Paul Blakeman !514?6}>>?E1C9?>‘
}=C538)B16s3À}>6B1*"1>4}B5<1>4
“Mobility as a Service” business
models will not just fundamentally
change how individuals use transport
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
ABOUT THE ATKINS INVESTIGATION
)"}%}&$'%F8938F9<<1<F1F?B;6?B
its clients to understand the issues involved and
@B?E9455G@5BC95‘1>F5B1>494519>})‘1>4
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transportation network for the 21st century is an
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Atkins has a proven track record of successfully
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environmental improvements across all scales of
45E5<?@=5>CD3356D<CB1>@?BCCB1C57955G1=9>5
the journeys that people need to make in all aspects of
C859B<9E51>4@B?E945B51<9C93CB1E5<?@C9?>)85
services provided to clients range from strategic policy
14E9351>4@5B6?B=1>35=1>175=5>C‘C8B?D781<<
1@53C?645=1>46?B531C9>7‘2581E9?DB1<1>1<9‘C?
1335929<9C‘CB1>@?BC6?B<1>445E5<?@=5>C‘
CB55C31@51>4CB16s35>79>55B9>74597>
Atkins supports the Atkins Investigation in Smart
!978F12531D5C859>E5C971C9?>‘<9;5C;9>‘75C
C?C85851BC?61>9D59>?B45BC?D>45BC1>49C‘1>4
then utilise the knowledge and understanding to help
9C3<95>CCB1><1C51>4>1E971C5496s3D<C9D59>?B45B
for them make the right decisions safe in the knowledge
C8581E5C85613C
but will have an impact on the
whole supply chain. In the case of
technology infrastructure companies,
such as Imtech Traffic & Infra, the
shape of the customer may change
significantly. As service companies
take responsibility for the provision
of mobility, as particular
modes become increasingly
irrelevant, and as the whole
system becomes set up
to enable the mobility
experience of individuals,
what is the role of the
network operator and the
technologies that they use
to manage the network?
And what about the
actual systems that are
used? Many of the emerging
services will require levels of
accuracy and coverage in
Contributors in
this article write
on their own
behalf and not on
behalf of Atkins.
Editorial control
remains with
Smart Highways
the real-time data collected and insight
garnered greater than we’ve ever seen.
Versatile telecommunications
networks are needed to support
it as well as a far greater level of
integration across the systems than
currently exist. Adding to the mix the
emergence of the Internet of Things
(below) and cooperative vehicle-toinfrastructure systems, how should
technology infrastructure companies
be responding?
The answer is simple, as business
models and products are changing
the emphasis is naturally – and
rightly - shifting from the systems
that are provided to the service
that they provide. Embracing such
a shift, as a lot are now doing, will
lead to both innovation and closer
collaboration with network operators.
The shared role of network operator
and their technology service providers
becomes crucial in making sure that
data and information flows effectively
to and from all parties.
But also in ensuring that transport
is managed such that, while the
service for individuals is provided,
environmental impact is managed,
safety is maintained and priorities
are balanced fairly across the whole
range of different mobility users.
Alex Burrows )538>931<9B53C?B‘
Atkins Transportation
Mobility as a Service is an immense
opportunity for the transport
sector to respond to the shifting
requirements and expectations of
users. The transport network needs
to provide a more integrated offering
and embrace the new possibilities
that technology is providing – the
alternative option
is to stand still and
watch new entrants
come into the sector
bringing a number of
disruptive solutions
that will blow away
the traditional
transport services
and business models.
Putting the
user at the heart of
product and service
design and provision,
as well as prioritising
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
21
„
THE
INVESTIGATION
+ Getting to the core of the issue
“ Digitisation is
sweeping across
all market sectors
and in its wake is
opening up new ways
of thinking that have
not been witnessed
since the birth of
industrialisation ”
an integrated network and experience
for customers, must be at the top of
the to-do list for the transport sector.
As well as understanding how social
and economic trends are impacting
on what customers want. The rise of
the sharing economy, the preference
for access to mobility over ownership,
mobility on-demand – as well as new
entrants already changing behaviours
and expectations – mean that the
change has already started for the
transport sector.
Digitisation –
opening up ways
of thinking at a
pace not seen
since the birth of
industrialisation
– is changing
how businesses
operate and
how people
communicate
and travel
B"5E9>$?1C
DCDB5?<DC9?>‘
D293)B1>@?BC1C9?>C5=
“})$”#C4
Digitisation is sweeping across all
market sectors and in its wake is
opening up new ways of thinking that
have not been witnessed since the
birth of industrialisation.
Over the past 50 years there has
been an explosion in car ownership as
people have been able to take control
of their lives in terms of flexibility,
experience, journey time, sense of
ownership and more. Digitisation is
changing how businesses operate,
people (families and friends)
communicate and how they lead their
lives (particularly with the impact of
the web on retailing).
People spend an average of 6.5
per cent of the day in their car,
which takes up 11 per cent of their
income costs from car ownership
22 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
alone (excluding fuel & maintenance
costs). Car selection is made to
ensure all aspects of a person’s
life are considered from the daily
commute through family obligations
to recreation and holidays.
This affects the car size,
performance and distance it must be
able to travel.
This problem is further
exacerbated where two or more cars
within a household are purchased
so that each family member can
maintain the same level of control
as each other within their separate
/ shared lives; this change has been
rapid over the past 20 years now we
exist in a more equitable society.
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) has
the potential to provide travellers
with what they need, when they need
it - and for a fraction of the cost.
Service users can make better use of
their money and improve quality of
life for all. People are becoming less
orientated around “car ownership”
and more focused on the “value add”
they receive.
As automated vehicles replace
taxis in urban areas, the cost of
taxis will reduce (through removal
of the human operator) making
it a cost-attractive option for the
commuting public.
The ease and flexibility of this
service will be achieved through
smart digital devices that will engage
in variable pricing mechanisms to
better manage peak demand periods
of travel. Mobility service providers
will be able to offer competing
services that offer various packages
that could include vehicle sharing
and points scoring of passengers
all aimed at improving the travel
experience in balance with flexibility
and cost of using the service. In high
demand areas the flexible bus may
be used and in low demand areas a
small electrical vehicle may be all
that is required.
The public sector is likely
to need a shift in focus from
providing solutions to enabling and
encouraging innovation across the
private sector.
This will require a combination
of regulation and de-regulation
(where social innovation is required);
with a technical focus towards
standardisation and open data in
an attempt to drive forward the
“internet of everything” and
promote further growth within the
global economy.
The public sector will have
a challenge on enabling the
“point scoring of people” and
maybe this is better achieved
through de-regulation?
This would embrace social
integration and critical appraisal of
everything; akin to the buyer and
seller scoring model used by wellestablished auction sites without the
complexities of regulation.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
PAUL BLAKEMAN is Head of Innovation at Imtech Traffic & Infra
UK, based in Basingstoke. Before this he spent eight months as
Head of Innovation Projects at the Transport Systems Catapult
and has also been a Senior Consultant at TRL.
ALEX BURROWS is a Transport/mobility expert with particular
interest and experience in policy, strategy, stakeholder
engagement, technology and innovation. He’s also a part-time
PhD student in transport policy at University College London.
His specialist areas are Transport/Mobility, Infrastructure ,
Cities, Government and Governance. Alex has previously
worked at the Transport Systems Catapult.
DR KEVIN MOAT has been responsible for the Programme
Management of three strategic accounts (Transport
Scotland, TMC & Hong Kong) within the CTS portfolio over a
seven-year period. He has also been responsible for driving
forward innovation within the Glasgow smart cities initiative,
providing key programme management/system integration
experience. This work has enhanced understanding of CCTV
Multi-modal solutions are essential for future mobility
#œ*$$(
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hire and the greater focus on the
25>5sC?613C9E5CB1E5<‘9C<??;<9;5
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away from the norm of car ownership?
But this trend could in itself see even
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emphasis on customers wanting on45=1>4=?29<9C5BE935F9C8<5
priority on owning one meaning that
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LEE WOODCOCK is Director, Highways &
Transportation at Atkins
Email [email protected]
systems, rule-based systems and video and data analytics.
NEIL ROSS works in the West Midlands Integrated Transport
Authority’s Policy & Strategy Team which was established
in August 2014. The team’s primary function is to lead on the
development of policy and strategy for the ITA and provide
a single voice on transport for the West Midlands. Within
his role as Principal Policy & Strategy Officer he leads or
supports transport strategy documents development as
well as projects in fields such as High Speed Rail, Freight and
Highways. Neil was Principal Transport Strategy Officer for
Cento and was previously Technical Officer at Birmingham
City Council.
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ROAD CHARGING
+ Case study
Removing the barriers
For those who don’t
know the crossing
very well, remind us of
the history of charging
there, the way it was
and the problems it caused?
There has been a charge to use
the Dartford Crossing ever since
the first tunnel opened to traffic in
1967. Between 1988 and 2003 the
charge took the form of a toll, paid
to a company called Dartford River
Crossing Limited (a consortium
of builder Trafalgar House - later
Kvaerner - financiers Kleinwort
Benson and Bank of America, and
Prudential Insurance) to fund the
construction of the QEII Bridge.
A Road User Charge was
introduced in 2003 to manage the
high demand for use of the Crossing
after a study carried out for the
Department for Transport indicated
that, without charges, the level of
traffic using the crossing would
increase by over 17 per cent.
Parliament agreed the powers for
the charging regime in the Transport
Act 2000. Under the terms of the Act,
all revenues from the road user charge
at Dartford are passed in full to HM
Treasury, where they are ring fenced
for transport improvements.
The Crossing was designed to
handle up to 135,000 vehicles each
day bit it is not uncommon for 160,000
to use it. The charge still provides a
worthwhile demand management
purpose by incentivising drivers to use
Q
For whom the bell tolls: the Dartford Crossing toll
barriers (in action, below) are reduced to rubble
INTERVIEW BY PAUL HUTTON
Drivers no longer have to queue to pay with cash or tags at the toll booths
for the Dartford Crossing with free flow payments replacing the previous
system. This can certainly be seen as a major triumph for intelligent
transport systems over “old” technology. But how was it done? Paul Hutton
caught up with the Highways Agency’s Project Director Nigel Gray to find out…
24 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
ROAD CHARGING
+ Case study
Union and suppliers were asked to
respond through the Highways Agency
procurement portal.
Left: Nigel Gray,
the Highways
Agency’s project
director
“ While we are aware of some negative
comments we have also seen positive
national and local media coverage about
the improvements ”
it at less busy times, but the process of
stopping at a barrier to pay the charge
was in itself contributing to delays and
congestion.
Now under Dart Charge drivers
no longer pay at the barriers. Instead
they pay in advance or by midnight
the day after crossing. Payment can
be made online, by phone, or at one of
thousands of retail outlets.
When was the decision made to
try to remove the barriers?
The decision was announced as part of
the Government’s Spending Review in
October 2010.
Q
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
Without giving away
commercial secrets, take us
through the tender process?
We ran an open, fair and transparent
procurement process to get the best
solution for taxpayers’ money. We
chose a procurement route laid out in
the Public Contract Regulations 2006.
In summary the process was:
Q
Advertisement in the Official Journal of
the European Union (OJEU)
In compliance with EU regulations, the
procurement was announced through
the issuing of a contract notice in
the Official Journal of the European
Pre-qualification exercise
The pre-qualification stage allowed us
to identify those applicants who have
the necessary capability and capacity
to deliver the scheme and select for
tender those most likely to meet the
requirements of the contract. Those
that expressed an interest submitted
pre-qualification packs. The prequalification packs included evidence
of technical and financial capacity
together with evidence of relevant
past experience. These were evaluated
covering company checks, technical
ability, past performance and added
value to determine the agreed tender
list of the top scoring applicants.
Invitation to tender
Following pre-qualification, we invited
the top scoring applicants to tender,
the next stage of the procurement.
They submitted their tenders against
the contract requirements and
evaluation questions that we set them.
Tender assessment
The evaluation at this tender stage
examined each proposal for the
provision of services and their costs
specific to this project. The evaluation
was carried out based on quality
and cost to ensure we got the most
economically advantageous tender.
Contract award
The contract was awarded to the most
economically advantageous tender
and announced in the Contract Award
notice through OJEU.
In some outsourcing,
authorities hand over
everything from customer engagement
to delivery, but I understand the HA
wanted to be involved in a lot of the
processes, why was that?
As the Highways Agency is the
Charging Authority, there are
some obligations that cannot be
outsourced. For example, where we
have an arbitration role where cases
get escalated. Moreover, the HA is a
customer-focussed organisation and we
have a relationship with our customers.
Q
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
25
„
ROAD CHARGING
+ Case study
The Agency also took the decision
to develop and deliver the public
information campaign itself – with
support from delivery partners. This
is because communications spanned
the life of the project from before
the contract to after. Also the HA
has extensive experience of running
public sector campaigns in line with
Government best practice.
You chose Sanef to do the
charging – did they deliver a
@539s54?<DC9?>?BF5B5C8512<5C?
propose their preferred one?
All suppliers in the tender process had
to bid against a set of output-based
requirements, so we did not specify
the solution. We wanted the expertise
and skills of the market to propose the
best solution to meet our requirements
and performance regime. We set the
standards that needed to be met, but
the specific nature of the solution
was tendered during the procurement
process, and that has been is
implemented now.
Getting the
information out:
this poster was
one of numerous
elements of
the public
information
campaign
Q
After the announcement was
=145C81C9Cœ47?6B55t?F‘C85
Daily Mail ran a critical article about it
saying all sorts of things about Big
Brother. Did you maybe not get the
message out well enough about the
Q
26 t @SmartHighwaysM
Now let’s move onto the
technicals of the project
because a lot of readers will want to
know about it. How does the charging
actually work?
We have vehicle detection systems
mounted in gantries at the crossing.
As you pass them, number plate
recognition cameras will identify your
vehicle registration, and - if you have a
DartTag – this will be detected too. In
addition, a camera will take a snapshot
of your vehicle which can be used to
determine your vehicle type in case
this needs to be cross-referenced or
validated later in the process. This
data is then validated against the
DVLA vehicle database to ensure
that vehicles have the correct charge
applied. The system then debits your
Dart Charge account or checks to see
if you have already made a one-off
payment. If neither of these apply, the
vehicle details are held in the system
as awaiting payment. If no payment
is received by midnight the day after
the crossing, we begin the process for
issuing a penalty charge notice. This
applies to both UK and foreign vehicles.
Q
Our contract with Sanef is a single
managed service contract, which
means that Sanef take on most of
the customer service roles to do with
payment of the road user charge at
the Dartford Crossing. The contract
covers the development as well as the
ongoing operation of the new payment
system. It includes:
Q Implementation of vehicle detection
solutions which will be used to detect
and capture vehicles and registration
marks (in effect number plates).
Q Design and delivery of back office
services required to manage the
remote charge collection, and where
necessary enforce the road user
charging scheme;
Q Operating the back office
services (such as charge payment
processing, account management,
enquiry handling, and enforcement
management services) for the life of
the contract.
25>5sC?61B54D3C9?>9>3?>75C9?>š
Dart Charge’s main objective has
always been to reduce congestion at
the Dartford Crossing for the millions
of people who use it every year and
this has been made clear ever since the
project was announced.
We have been running a public
information campaign since April 2014,
to help explain the changes and the
benefits they will deliver. While we are
aware of some negative comments
we have also seen positive national
and local media coverage about the
improvements, received
overwhelmingly
positive feedback from
partners and seen a
large volume of positive
comments from road
users (particularly
about the journey time
savings they are now
benefiting from) on
social media. However
we are not complacent
and recognise there
is more to be done
which is why our public
information campaign
is ongoing.
“ We understand
that Dart Charge
was a big change
for drivers using
the Crossing and
wanted to make
the transition to
then new system
as easy as possible
for everyone ”
| www.smarthighways.net
So it’s a mixture of tags and
ANPR – why do you need both,
DB5<%'(F?D<4D6s35š
We understand that Dart Charge
was a big change for drivers using
the Crossing and wanted to make
the transition to then new system as
easy as possible for everyone. Tags
are an established system that some
customers have used for years – many
feel comfortable using a Tag and are
reassured by the bleep sound when a
crossing is made.
Q
What sort of disruption did the
installation cause? It seemed
relatively straightforward?
We worked very hard to keep any
disruption to a minimum. The work
was carried out overnight, when traffic
flows are lowest, and the majority of
the work was done using lane closures
with contraflows in place through
the east tunnel when the bridge was
closed. Thanks to our careful and
detailed planning when Dart Charge
went live at 6am on 30 November 2014
there were four lanes of free flowing
traffic southbound as we planned. This
Q
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
ROAD CHARGING
+ Case study
Has it all settled down now?
We are pleased with progress
to date. Both account registrations and
the proportion of drivers paying the
charge are increasing. Construction
work is also progressing well. We are
particularly pleased with the positive
comments from drivers on social
media about how their journeys have
improved following the introduction of
Dart Charge.
Q
meant that drivers were benefitting
from the changes from the very start of
the new system.
Q
)85CB16s37?9>7>?BC8
through the tunnel still had to
stop at barriers going up and down,
why was that?
We need to be able to prevent
dangerous loads or oversize vehicles
(and the height limits are different
in each of the two tunnels) from
entering the tunnels and the barriers
are the only mechanism we have
for doing this. We’re building a new
system at present to identify vehicles
which may be at risk of either using
the wrong tunnel or need an escort
or be barred from driving through
completely. When that’s completed,
the barriers will be removed.
The publicity for the new
system seemed relatively late,
is that me who missed it or did you
only really start to push it about a
month before?
We launched our Dart Charge public
information campaign in April 2014. The
campaign grew gradually and used
a range of channels to communicate
with drivers, including:
Q
Q press and broadcast media
Q digital and social media
Q leaflets and posters at key locations
(including translated material for
overseas drivers)
Q radio, poster and digital advertising
Q work with campaign partners
including Bluewater, FTA, AA,
Eurotunnel etc
Our £1.1 million advertising campaign
started in November 2014, and by 17
November more than 100,000 vehicles
had already been registered for a Dart
Charge account. Some
570,000 accounts have now
been registered and the
number of drivers paying
the charge is currently over
90 per cent. We believe this
shows the message is getting
through. But we are not
complacent and recognise
there is more to do which is
why our public information
campaign is ongoing.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
There was some backlash
about putting the price up at
the same time as the change, even
though if you register you get it
cheaper. In hindsight was the timing
wrong, or is there never a good time to
put up the price?
The decision to increase the charge
was taken by the Department for
Transport. It was announced in
October 2010 and confirmed in May
2012 following a public consultation.
The increase was introduced in two
phases; the first in October 2012 and
the second to occur at the same
time that Dart Charge went live. All
revenues from the road user charge
at Dartford will continue to be used to
fund transport improvements.
Q
“ Early data suggests drivers
are already experiencing
significant improvements ”
How was the take-up?
More than 570,000 accounts
have been set up covering over 1.3
million vehicles.
Q
How many people didn’t pay,
1>45>454D@259>7s>54‘1>4
what sort of complaints did that lead to?
Early indications show that to date
around 90 per cent of crossings have
been paid for.
To give these drivers a further
opportunity to pay the charge, the
first penalty charge notice issued for
each vehicle will include a warning
letter giving the driver an extra 14 days
in which to pay their original crossing
charge without a penalty. In addition,
any further crossings made in that
vehicle can also be paid at the standard
rate as long as payment is received
within the same 14-day period.
Q
The concept for
the new barrierless Dartford
Crossing,
showing rerouted lanes in
the entrance to
the tunnels
The most important question,
what’s the effect of the
CB16s3255>š
Early data suggests drivers are already
experiencing significant improvements,
with average journey times between
7am and 7pm cut by more than nine
minutes southbound, and more
than four minutes northbound when
comparing the first two weeks of
December and the end of November.
Q
Barriers go
tumbling as
cars continue to
make use of the
crossing on ‘Go
Live Day’
Now you’ve learned from doing
this, are there other
?@@?BCD>9C95C?45<9E5B6B55t?F
charging elsewhere in the country on
the HA network? I can’t really think of
any big places, but you could maybe
have something to help out, say the
Severn crossings and M6 Toll?
The benefits of installing this type of
charging at the Dartford Crossing was
to reduce the congestion associated
with paying at the barriers and since
it was introduced has already reduced
journey times. There are no plans to
introduce this technology elsewhere.
Q
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
27
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Detecting tailgating
On the tail of bad driving
If drivers can be encouraged not to tailgate, then accidents and their impact can be significantly
reduced. Fully understanding and monitoring tailgating behaviour has been difficult, with technology
proving unreliable. However, a new solution using scanning radar technology, called ClearWay, is now
being deployed on smart motorways in the UK and across the globe. We explain how this scanning
radar solution could also play an important role in collecting data on tailgating events on our roads
WORDS BY VIBEKE ULMANN
ailgating is the
practice of driving too
close to the vehicle
in front. It is the fifth
most frequent cause
of accidents on UK motorways. A
2014 survey by road safety charity
Brake stated that 3 out of 5 drivers
interviewed admitted to tailgating
on motorways. Furthermore, 95% of
drivers interviewed said that they are
“at least occasionally concerned”
about vehicles driving too close behind.
Driving too close to the vehicle in front
is not only a major safety risk - it is
also a violation of the Highway Code.
To combat tailgating, the Highways
Agency has recently decided to
commission a study into the subject.
Tailgating comes in many forms.
Often, it is simply undertaken
unconsciously or negligently because
of a lack of perceived risk. Curiously,
tailgating is very often done by
T
28 t @SmartHighwaysM
Dangerous
driving –
including
tailgating
(not leaving a
sufficient gap
to the vehicle
in front) – are a
frequent cause
of accidents,
leading to injury,
death and
disruption, with
a consequential
impact on
families, local
services, GDP and
wider society at
large
| www.smarthighways.net
“ The scanning radar system detects and
tracks objects over a distance. These tracks
are then processed by our software to check
if it has broken certain rules ”
people who consider themselves safe
drivers whom generally observe the
other rules of the road. However, in
its worst form, tailgating can be a
particularly violent form of road rage
and intimidation. An example would be
where the tailgating driver (the driver
in the following vehicle) threatens
damage to the leading vehicle and its
occupants by driving aggressively —
perhaps also using the headlights and
horn — to bully the leading vehicle’s
driver to move aside. The driver being
tailgated might not wish to comply,
especially if doing so would involve
breaking the law, such as by increasing
speed beyond the speed limit or
changing lanes without due regard
for safety. Tailgating can also be
dangerous to the tailgater, especially
if he or she is driving closely behind a
large vehicle (such as a tractor-trailer,
or gas tanker). If the leading vehicle
decelerates suddenly - such as when
encountering a traffic jam, traffic
lights, or avoiding pedestrians – there
is a high risk of collision. Another
form of deliberate tailgating known as
‘slipstreaming’, ‘draft-assisted forced
stop’, or ‘draft-assisted forced auto
stop’ (D-FAS) is a technique which
has been used by people known as
‘hypermilers’ to achieve greater fuel
economy. D-FAS involves turning off
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Detecting tailgating
the engine and gliding in neutral while
tailgating a larger vehicle, in order to
take advantage of the reduced wind
resistance in its immediate wake. This
practice is extremely dangerous; while
tailgating itself is inherently risky,
the danger of collision is increased
further with D-FAS as power for
assisted brakes can be lost after a
few applications of the brake pedal
and, with older cars, the pressure that
causes power steering to function can
be lost.
Luca Perletta explains, “For several
years, we have used scanning radar
systems to automatically detect
incidents, both on surface roads and in
tunnels. This includes slow or stopped
vehicles, unauthorised pedestrians,
or debris (lost cargo) both above
ground and within a tunnel bore. For
instance, we have started to use the
system to detect stopped vehicles
quickly and reliably to maintain safety
on the country’s Smart Motorways.
The scanning radar system detects
and tracks objects over a distance.
These tracks are then processed by
our software to check if it has broken
certain rules. It has proved to be a very
reliable AID solution when compared
to traditional video based detection
systems, but we think it has much
more to give.
“To detect incidents, we monitor
vehicle paths and trajectories
accurately. We can use this same
information to allow driving behaviour
to be analysed. Because we have an
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
accurate position of each vehicle on
the road we can calculate the distance
between them, and hence monitor for
tailgating events.”
The ClearWay
radar installed at
roadside
SYSTEM DESIGN
Navtech’s ClearWay solution is based
on the combination of a high frequency
radar sensor and an advanced signal
processing software suite.
“The principal component in our
ClearWay radar detection system is
the scanning radar sensor hardware,”
explains Luca. “The sensor is designed
to cover up to 360 degrees at a rate
of 4 rotations per second, hence
providing a quick revisit time which is
necessary for fast moving traffic. At
every rotation, 400 samples of data
are captured at an angular resolution
of approximately two degrees. Signal
returns are sent to the processing
system every 0.25 meters from the
sensor itself up to the maximum sensor
radius of 500 meters. So in theory,
we are able to detect a vehicle up to
Night-time image
showing the
ClearWay radar
mounted at a
tunnel entrance
500 metres in range from the sensor
in each direction. The high resolution
of the sensor is crucial for accurate
measurement of the vehicle position
and dimension”.
The second key technology is the
Witness processing software suite. The
radar data is passed to advanced signal
processing software that removes
the background static infrastructure
to detect only the moving targets.
At this point, a tracker associates
the movement of targets to produce
‘tracks’. The location, lane, speed, size
and trajectory are all known at this
point, for each vehicle. Based on the
track characteristics, specific events
can be monitored, such as vehicles
slowing down or stopping.
“This is at the base of our
Automatic Incident Detection solution.
The rule service runs in the background
and can ‘look’, for instance, when two
tracks are close to each other within
the same lane. Rules are configurable,
so it is possible to define what the
threshold separation between two
vehicles actually is,” adds Luca. “If the
distance is shorter than the predefined
threshold the event is registered in a
database. To improve the accuracy of
the measured distance between two
tracks the software collects and stores
the estimated size of each vehicle
which can then be used to calculate
the effective bumper-to-bumper
distance. Due to the radar’s high
resolution, we can get an accurate
measurement”.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
29
„
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Detecting tailgating
“ Using a digital
camera alongside
the radar it was
possible to capture
an image every time
a tailgating event
was registered by
the radar ”
Above: tailgating evidenced
by video. Below: radar tracks
showing tailgating behaviour
INSTALLATION AND TESTING
Navtech’s ClearWay system has been
used for automatic incident detection
at more than 25 different sites
worldwide. On occasions, they have
also looked at additional functions.
Luca explains, “Navtech have been
involved in a trial to monitor driving
behaviour in Taiwan, where a radar
was installed in a two lane tunnel.
In this tunnel, it is mandatory to
maintain a safe distance to the car in
front and to stay in the designated
lane. Using a digital camera alongside
VIBBEKE ULMANN
is a freelance
reporter
vibeke.ulmann@
catalystpr.com
the radar it was possible to capture
an image every time a tailgating
event was registered by the radar.
To support the trial, painted lines on
the road surface were used to check
The Construction Industry Helpline provides
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www.constructionindustryhelpline.com
24/7 helpline available to the industry’s workforce and their families
the ClearWay Witness reported
vehicle separation with the actual
vehicles’ separation, as evidenced in
the recorded camera images. In all
cases during the trials, the tailgating
detected distances by ClearWay
proved to correspond well with the
physical separation of vehicles seen in
the recorded camera images.”
Monitoring driver behaviour is
the first step in the direction of
prevention and education. To date,
the lack of automatic technology
has made it very difficult to monitor
these types of events and truly
understand their impact. “We believe
that ClearWay, alongside the proven
incident detection capabilities, can
help significantly in understanding
drivers’ behaviour. In particular, the
Taiwan trial proved that it is possible
to use the ClearWay radar technology
for automatic detection of tailgating
instances” Luca Perletta concludes.
Navtech Radar is currently in
talks with a number of clients for
including tailgating detection in
ClearWay applications.
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DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Influencing motorists case study
The gentle touch
How the use of speed advisory
signs offers a stepped
approach to enforcement
WORDS BY JASON BARNES
“ A smiling or frowning face
leads to a less confrontational
and more anonymous
exhortation to drivers to
regulate their speed ”
n line with the ‘Three
‘E’s’ philosophy
- Engineering,
Education and
Enforcement relating to road safety, Dacorum
Borough Council in Hertfordshire is
using a series of moveable TruSign
speed display signs from Truvelo (UK)
to increase community involvement in
speed awareness schemes and realise
a stepped approach to dealing with
the issue of excessive speed.
“The signs are an important part of
the education process and are partfunded by the local parish councils”,
says Dave Moore, Safety Coordinator
for the Dacorum Community Safety
Partnership. The ability of TruSign to
host pictographs, such as a smiling
or frowning face, leads to a less
I
32 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
“ They’re far safer than having groups of
people standing at the roadside in high-viz
jackets with a speed gun”
confrontational and more anonymous
exhortation to drivers to regulate
their speed, he says, and is helping
Dacorum to achieve very good levels
of compliance - around 86 per cent.
The signs have proven to be
robust and effective in operation,
he continues. “They are mounted
on standalone poles and are solarpowered. They’ve worked perfectly.
As long as they’ve got sky, they’ll
charge - they don’t need direct
sunlight. The large battery pack
means we get 24-hour operation with
the right levels of brightness right
around the clock. The signs are a
great way of involving the community
in speed watch campaigns. They’re
far safer than having groups of people
standing at the roadside in high-viz
jackets with a speed gun. What I
particularly like is the flexibility of
siting: we can still put a sign into
a location where there isn’t a high
enough vehicle collision rate, and
which wouldn’t quality for remediation
such as road geometry re-engineering
or an enforcement camera.
“Local residents can put in a
request and see that their concerns
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Influencing motorists case study
over too-high speeds or other dangers
are being addressed.”
PUTTING SAFETY IN CONTEXT
With pressures on budgets everpresent, it is often difficult for
Community Safety Partnerships
to prioritise their activities. Set
against burglary or drug and alcohol
problems, road safety can often be
the poor cousin. Reduced numbers
of police officers can mean that
enforcement activities are
therefore unsustainable.
“These signs are a compromise
between nothing and a speed
camera,” Dave continues. “We
currently have four signs in operation,
with two more on order. We’re not
restricted by road safety statistics
which govern how many we have
and where we site them, but we have
to retain balance. The data capture
feature allows us to assess whether
drivers have become blasé with regard
to signs’ warnings. At that stage, you
might look to move them in order to
retain impact.”
A two-tier local authority sees
Hertfordshire County Council take
responsibility for highways, with
Dacorum being responsible for
the non-strategic elements of the
local road network. Moore, a former
traffic officer with Hertfordshire
Constabulary, says that sites
are chosen following a visit by a
group consisting of a local elected
member (councillor), police traffic
officers and the Safety Partnership.
“It’s a good example of partnership
working,” he says.
“The Truvelo signs are competitively
priced and the data capture and
download capabilities [speed, direction
of travel, time of day and date] mean
that up to 400,000 records can be
transferred via Bluetooth to any
Windows-based laptop.”
TARGETED MARKETS
Truvelo (UK) has over the last 18
months been actively targeting a
wide variety of potential customers
with its TruSign speed display
signs. This, says Sales Manager
Calvin Hutt, offers some distinct
deployment advantages over larger,
previous-generation speed advisory
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
“ You can measure such things as
the 85th percentile and then take
the results to a Safety Camera
Partnership to support your
request for a mobile or permanent
spot speed camera ”
road infrastructures’ posts. We’ve
also combined battery-only power
and low-consumption technology
with the result that a battery can last
up to 10 days before needing to be
replaced. Some of our customers are
running off-grid using two batteries
which they alternate weekly and
where the sign is mounted on existing
infrastructures’ poles it can still be
independently powered.”
DATA CAPABILITIES
signage products. A near-absence
of the need for civils for installation
- TruSign can be mounted on a
simple, inexpensive pole - combines
with energy-independence and the
ability to rapidly and simply download
traffic profile data via Bluetooth.
TruSign also features a multi-colour
(red, amber, green) capability as an
option, as well as the ability to display
custom-designed pictograms in
addition to alphanumeric information.
The emphasis has been on
supplying a good-value speed
advisory product which takes forward
the state of the art, says Calvin, “The
game-changers are the TruSign 30R’s
low weight, energy efficiency and
flexibility. The more traditional metal
and perspex boxes tend to need a
permanent power connection and a
greater level of civil engineering work;
typically, installation could easily
cost £4-6,000 per site, whereas the
4kg Trusign needs only a single pole
costing in the very low hundreds of
pounds to install and it can be moved
between sites by a single operative.
We’ve been very creative in terms of
deployment methods. Trusign can
be installed on permanent posts
which have been specifically placed,
on moveable tripods, or on existing
The TruSign
system not
only displays
the speed, but
captures and
logs the data for
later analysis
JASON BARNES is a
freelance journalist
FURTHER INFO
calvin@truvelouk.
com
www.truvelouk.com
Calvin Hutt emphasises the
less heavy-handed approach to
enforcement which TruSign facilitates
and notes that its data-gathering
capabilities can be used to build a
business case for locations where a
fully fledged Type-Approved speed
enforcement camera installation may
in fact be necessary.
“Often, a given location’s speed
‘problem’ remains only a perception
until data can be produced which
shows otherwise. We’ve made it very
easy to access speed profile data
within the area covered by a speed
advisory sign - you can actually see
the speeds in and out of a targeted
zone. You can measure such things
as the 85th percentile and then
take the results to a Safety Camera
Partnership to support your request
for a mobile or permanent spot speed
camera,” he continues.
Datalogging also supports
targeted mobile enforcement
activities which are less resourceintensive as well as safer, by virtue of
the shorter periods which operatives
have to spend at the roadside. Calvin
points to there often being a speed
problem only at specific points in the
day, such as during rush hours.
Trusign is as applicable on private
as on public property/roads, he
says, “There’s an onus on owners
and operators of private property to
maximise health and safety. That can
include large areas of real estate such
as quarries or refineries. It can also
include university campuses and such
as the Ministry of Defence.
“We’ve identified a number of
key audiences, including county
and parish councils, with an
emphasis on promoting police and
community engagement.”
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
33
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Case study
Bristol movers
WORDS BY JACKIE DAVIES AND DAVID RICHMOND
f you want to influence
future driver behaviour,
you firstly have to
understand present
driver behaviour. Well,
that’s the premise that Bristol City
Council has taken anyway, so took the
decision to improve the way that traffic
conditions, particularly journey times,
are monitored and reported. In doing
so, accurate journey time predictions
could be provided to motorists via
the regional Travel West website and
automatically detect incidents in the
city centre and main arterial routes,
enabling faster reaction to incidents
that may impact on traffic flows. The
Council also wanted access and use
journey time, traffic count and origindestination data for understanding
modelling major future highway
schemes across central Bristol.
The council undertook an
extensive review process to
I
34 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
As the seventh largest English city outside London, with
more then 600,000 vehicle movements a day, keeping traffic
moving in Bristol is a challenge. But, as explained here, ITS
is helping us understand how and when people travel
determine what would be the
most appropriate solution. This
included the full range of ANPR,
Bluetooth and a myriad of single
point solutions, each of which would
require separate systems presenting
significant integration challenges.
In this case, ANPR was the
preferred solution, with the council
concluding it was the best way to
provide origin-destination data.
However, lacking the necessary
funding to install the system, the traffic
signals team sought to bring on board
additional partners to make the project
possible. They included:
Q the city’s major projects team,
which required data for microsimulation modelling;
Q the transport monitoring team, which
needed journey time and traffic flow
data; and
Q the public transport team, which
wanted journey time comparisons
between park and ride buses and
general traffic.
Avon and Somerset Police and
the Safer Bristol Partnership also
contributed to the project in return
for receiving real-time VRM data from
each of the camera locations that are
useful to them. This approach has
enabled budgets to be combined to
scale the project up and deliver the
effective results needed for all partners.
Bristol City Council’s solution was
to install a network of analogue ANPR
cameras that would send back video
feeds via its existing private fibre optic
communications network to a centrally
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Case study
located image processing and data
management server with the ability to
add digital cameras as required. The
tender prepared by Bristol specified
that any new system must have the
ability to handle and process video
from 125 analogue cameras and
generate VRM data for use in a number
of key applications:
Q Real-time data to UTMC database
Q Near real-time aggregate data to
UTMC
Q Real-time police ANPR data to BOFII
Q CSV data to SCOOT/Paramics traffic
modelling systems
Q CSV data to car park operators
Q Online data access
Videalert’s intelligent digital video
platform was chosen after the Council
concluded that it provides a more
cost-effective solution compared to
traditional single point CCTV systems.
This innovative multipoint solution uses
standard off-the-shelf equipment and
seamlessly integrates with existing
CCTV systems and infrastructure used
by local authorities.
According to Duncan Laird, Group
Manager – Transportation at Bristol
City Council: “We wanted to engage
a single supplier to implement a
back-office hardware and software
solution that would give us the
flexibility to support multiple traffic
management applications and
disseminate information to the council,
Avon and Somerset Police and other
stakeholders. The Videalert platform is
highly scalable, supports our existing
analogue cameras and allows us to
progressively migrate to a mixed
analogue/digital camera environment.”
This wireless-based solution
can be deployed without impacting
the council’s existing CCTV and IT
infrastructure, offering the flexibility
to support a full range of deployment
options including wired LAN, Wi-Fi
LAN, 3G-WAN, mobile, attended and
unattended as well as analogue and
ONVIF-compliant digital megapixel
cameras. What is more, the Videalert
platform will allow Bristol City Council
to adopt a phased migration from
analogue to digital without requiring
additional major capital expenditure.
The first phase of the project
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
“ This innovative multipoint
solution uses standard off-theshelf equipment and seamlessly
integrates with existing CCTV
systems and infrastructure ”
went live in March 2014 when the
Videalert platform was integrated
with 65 strategically-located ANPR
and context view cameras at fifteen
sites with real-time data transmitted
to the council’s CCTV control room
over the B-Net optical fibre network.
This initial phase was fully operational
within just eight weeks, thanks to the
close working partnership that quickly
developed with Videalert’s experienced
project management team.
The delivery of real-time VRM
data to Bristol’s central Urban Traffic
Management Control system assists
with understanding behaviour for
use in traffic modelling and journey
time information. The data collected
and analysed by the system provides
essential intelligence used to optimise
the design of transport schemes
in central Bristol as well as helping
to better predict the impact that
business or retail developments will
have on future congestion levels. It will
also provide the Travel West website
with real-time mapping updates on
congestion hotspots, influencing
driver behaviour and enabling them
to avoid unnecessary delays to their
journeys. Data delivered to Avon and
Somerset Police’s BOFII database is
Data gathered
will be used
to optimise
transport
schemes in the
city
used for crime prevention initiatives
and investigations including the
identification and monitoring of
suspect vehicles after leaving the
surrounding motorways.
Avon and Somerset Police and
the Safer Bristol Partnership have
also found the data to be extremely
valuable on a number of anti-crime
initiatives including the identification
and tracking of vehicles that are stolen,
uninsured, untaxed or likely to have
been used in suspected burglaries.
In fact there have already been a
number of key arrests as a result of the
deployment of this system.
The Videalert platform provides
significant cost savings and high
levels of future proofing by allowing
additional traffic and data applications
to be added as required. It is the only
digital video platform that can run
multiple civil traffic enforcement, traffic
management, community safety and
crime prevention applications from
a single CCTV infrastructure without
requiring specific equipment for every
point solution.
What makes the platform different
is that it combines ANPR with
video analytics enabling additional
intelligence to be used to track
moving or stationary vehicles. This
supports a wide range of additional
applications including:
Q moving traffic offences including bus
JACKIE DAVIES is
Senior Technical
Officer (ITS/UTC)
Traffic Signals, Bristol
City Council
Jackie.Davies@
bristol.gov.uk
DAVID RICHMOND
is CEO of Videalert
drichmond@
videalert.com
lanes, banned turns and yellow box
junctions;
Q parking offences on school keep
clears;
Q continuous video recording outside
schools;
Q real-time vehicle data for average
journey time monitoring through
UTMC;
Q real time vehicle count data;
Q real-time data to identify suspect
vehicles through BOFII; and
Q automatic car park entry/exit and
tolling.
With the ever-increasing pressure on
funding, it is partnership initiatives
of this kind that will become more
commonplace to maximise the
effectiveness of CCTV infrastructure to
reduce costs and make our cities safer
places to live and work.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
35
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Opinion
High (compliance) society
WORDS BY TREVOR ELLIS
Over the past 15 years, there have been huge changes in technology, and huge organisational
and institutional changes around the business of maximising compliance to traffic regulations
and traffic law. Yet, when we consider the way we, as a society, think about compliance and
enforcement, it seems very little has changed, and we are still struggling to balance the need
to have compliance to the law for reasons of safety, improved traffic flow or other objectives,
with the one of the greatest freedoms we have – the freedom of the road
o-one likes being
told what they can
and cannot do. This
is human nature,
however we are a little
inconsistent about it. We want to be
free to do things ourselves, but want
others to obey the law. So the same
driver that believes that they have the
right to drive at whatever speed they
see fit, may be incensed at vehicles
driving at excessive speed past their
house, and endangering the life of their
children. Similarly we would all like to
park whenever we want to within a few
N
meters of our destination, but we are
infuriated when inconsiderate parking
causes congestion, holding us up.
We all think that we are good
drivers, and I have lost count of the
number of times I have seen the
argument advanced that drivers
will naturally do the sensible / right
thing without enforcement. There
are many drivers that will, but if there
is ultimately no sanction, there is a
substantial sector of society that will
ignore the law or regulation. Just look
at what happened in Aberystwyth
when they stopped enforcing parking
regulations. Within a year all the
local residents and businesses were
begging the council to reinstate
the enforcement due to widespread
illegal parking bringing the town’s
traffic to a standstill.
The anti-enforcement lobby is
vocal, eloquent, disproportionately
male, and well-connected. This leads
to a perception that most people are
against traffic enforcement, despite
strong evidence to the contrary. This
bias can sometimes lead to politicians
proposing what they see as populist
anti-enforcement policies.
“ The anti-enforcement lobby is
vocal, eloquent, disproportionately
“ The anti-enforcement lobby is vocal,
male,eloquent,
and well-connected ”
disproportionately male, and well-connected ”
36 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Opinion
Even senior politicians advance
the argument that authorities only
carry out traffic enforcement to make
money. I often wonder if this is put
forward in an attempt to take the moral
high ground, rather than admitting that
they just do not like being issued with
a penalty, and so in reality want to be
able to disobey the law / regulation
without any penalty.
Anyone working in the industry will
tell you of the extraordinary lengths
that people will go to in order to get let
off penalties, often on minor procedural
technicalities. Such people are often
popularly portrayed as heroes, despite
the fact that they may have put
people’s lives in danger, or caused
congestion misery for hundreds of
other road users.
As these fundamentals have not
changed significantly over the last
fifteen years, it seems likely that we
will be living with them for a while to
come, although society’s attitude to
drink-driving and seatbelt laws do show
that over a long time period, attitudes
be changed. And although we tend to
think that these forces are unique to
traffic laws and regulations, in fact the
same factors are present in many other
walks of life.
As an example, in the UK, we
have the “Protection of Freedoms
Act 2012”, which places limitations on
the practices that certain authorities
have in terms of surveillance, data
mining and data retention. This act
was created in response to concerns
that authorities were using surveillance
and investigatory powers in a more
intrusive way than was necessary to
protect the society against threats
ranging from minor crimes like theft, up
to international terrorism.
Given these facts, my argument
is to bring a degree of honesty and
pragmatism into the discussion on
traffic compliance and enforcement,
and the relationship between road
users and the traffic authorities. What
follows is a blueprint for this.
COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
We should never forget that the
objective is not to catch offenders,
but to get compliance to the law or
regulation. If this can be achieved
with a combination of persuasion,
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
arrangements that would torpedo the
“money making scheme” arguments?
The flip side of this is that
authorities should not become
too dependent on income from
enforcement activities, however much
it may be convenient to do so. Best of
all would be if the money could be ringfenced and allocated to a worthwhile
cause that may not have otherwise
been funded. This may be a way to regain the moral high ground.
reminders, and a minimal amount of
penalising those contravening, then we
should recognise that this is good.
If heavy-handed enforcement is not
necessary for high compliance then
we should be more honest about this
and decide what level of enforcement
is required. The discussion should be
around “what is the minimum level
of enforcement needed to gain the
required level of compliance?”
Aberystwyth:
local residents
and businesses
begged for
parking
enforcement
to return
FUNDING
We should also ensure that the funding
arrangements encourage the most
appropriate behaviour. I know of
speed-enforcement schemes that have
achieved fantastic results in terms of
lives saved, with incredibly low levels
of prosecutions. This is a showcase
result, but a funding disaster under the
funding arrangements in place in most
countries. Gaining financial rewards for
high levels of prosecution just plays
into the hands of the sceptics. Surely
we must be able to think of funding
Speed
enforcement
courtesy of
SPECS3 cameras
on the A9
“ We should never forget that
the objective is not to catch
offenders, but to get compliance
to the law or regulation ”
BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Governments are prone to bringing
in populist arbitrary legislation to
limit traffic enforcement activities.
The latest example in the UK is the
legislation banning the use of CCTV in
most types of parking enforcement,
and forcing authorities to use on-street
Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs). This
is very muddled thinking. It means that
for authorities that had judged the
correct minimum level of enforcement
to keep their roads running, they
are either faced with significantly
increased costs to the taxpayer to
keep the same level of enforcement, or
reducing the level of enforcement to
the detriment of all other road users.
Imagine if the same approach was
enacted for burglary, banning CCTV
and only allowing security guards to
detect the crimes. I suspect the proburglary lobby is not as well-connected
as the anti-traffic enforcement lobby!
To my mind, if the parking
regulations are correct then
efficient, but not excessive,
enforcement should be allowed. If
the parking regulations are incorrect,
then they should be changed. But
to discourage enforcement
by making it too expensive for
authorities to enforce doesn’t seem
to be an honest approach.
Surely a better approach in this
instance would have been to allow
CCTV, but for example only enabling
the cameras at selected times, and at
an offence capture level tested to be
the minimum required to discourage
illegal parking. Or better still, if we
think road users are being penalised
for acceptable practices, we should
change the law to reflect this, and not
just make it easier to get away with
breaking a bad law.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
37
„
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Opinion
“ There cannot
be many other
industries that save
hundreds of lives
every year, yet whose
employees hardly
dare tell people their
occupation at dinner
parties ”
FAIRNESS
Any form of enforcement has to be
seen as fair and impartial. There are
a number of aspects to this. The first
is that it is important that you do
not unduly penalise those willing to
comply with the law or regulation. If
someone receives a penalty charge
notice (PCN) for illegal parking, and
they genuinely did not know they
were doing anything wrong, due to
poor signage or markings, it causes
resentment. If a speed limit is set
unnecessarily low for a stretch of
road, it causes resentment to those
that are prosecuted for excessive
speed. It is exactly these sorts of
situations that fuel the “money
making scheme” arguments.
high priority. Again there should be
more honesty in this discussion. In
terms of gaining high compliance,
pursuing foreign violators may not
be cost-effective, but the perceived
unfairness of foreign vehicles
“getting away with it” may push
cross-border enforcement higher up
the priority list.
STATE THE CASE
REDFLEXhadecs3
uses nonintrusive dual
radar for the
detection of
speed offences
in all weather
conditions
TREVOR ELLIS has
been Chairman of the
ITS UK Enforcement
Interest Group since
its inception in 1999
trevor@trevorellis.
co.uk
time to come into force. Any
such cooperation on civil offences
such as parking and road-user
charging related offences is pretty
well non-existent.
This is a huge subject in its own
right, but suffice to say that most
authorities make do with trying
to ensure that information on
the regulation or law is clear and
available to foreign road users, and
some authorities attempt to pursue
civil violators through European Debt
Recovery Agencies.
Trying to back this up with legal
powers, however, is fraught with
institutional difficulties, and the
uncomfortable truth is that most
governments do not see this as a
Finally, we should keep up the public
information battle, and although
public perceptions can be slow
to change, they will certainly not
change at all unless authorities and
the industry state their case at every
opportunity.
There cannot be many other
industries that save hundreds of lives
every year, yet whose employees
hardly dare tell people their
occupation at dinner parties for fear
of being bombarded with a host of
myths and misconceptions around
the what they do!
Recognising how society views
traffic compliance and enforcement,
and bringing this type of more open,
honest and pragmatic approach to
enforcement may finally change
the sometimes-fraught relationship
between the road user and the
traffic authorities.
FOREIGNERS
One of the largest areas of perceived
unfairness of traffic enforcement
is the issue of foreign vehicles. I
regularly see newspaper articles
here highlighting the number of
uncollected speeding and parking
fines imposed on foreign vehicles.
Anyone working for an enforcement
authority will be aware of the number
of Freedom of Information (FOI) and
other information requests that are
received relating to foreign vehicles.
All of this is significantly out of
proportion to the size of the issue,
but it is seen as unfair, and in fact,
it is. Across Europe, there are some
bi-lateral and some multi-lateral
agreements on cross-boarder
enforcement, mainly relating to
safety-related offences such as
speeding, red light, alcohol and
seat belt-related offences. New EU
legislation in this area will take some
38 t @SmartHighwaysM
Foreign
vehicles
‘getting
away with it’
is perceived
as unfair
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
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DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Benefitting from technology
Information
super
hig way
h
We are at an exciting juncture in the
evolution of smart technology and in an age
where the popularity of wearable tech is
booming, these devices are fast becoming
an indispensable presence that encourages
us to make real improvements in the way
we live our lives. Utilising big data to form
useful insight is still an emerging science
but one that is constantly being explored
and trialled. How can such a disparate
selection of the latest developments be
harnessed to improve our experience and
safety on the UK road network?
WORDS BY DR KEVIN MOAT
e are at a crucial
stage of the evolving
urban planning
environment where
smart technology will
significantly change the way we get
from A to B.
By 2050, it’s expected over two
thirds of the world’s population will
inhabit urban environments, adding
almost 2.5 billion people to the global
tally of city dwellers. Right now
London’s population has reached its
highest level since 1939, after surging
past the 8.6 million mark early this year.
With growing populations leading
to more vehicles you would think the
number of accidents on our roads
would increase accordingly. But
the opposite is true – the number of
accidents has actually been in decline
for some time.
It’s thought that improvements
in technology along with changing
driver behaviour through education
W
40 t @SmartHighwaysM
Driverless pods
are set to be the
first driverless
vehicles to
be used on UK
footpaths. Milton
Keynes is one of
the UK key cities
where driverless
technology will
be tested
| www.smarthighways.net
have played a role. As senior project
manager with Cubic Transportation
Systems (ITMS), I find the future of
integrated transport solutions driven by
data fascinating. Government statistics
show accidents in which someone has
been seriously hurt or killed have fallen
steadily over the past three decades
by around 70 per cent, from around
80,500 in 1979 to around 21,700 in 2013.
In the near future we may well see
the emphasis on ‘driver safety’ shifting
away from enforcement through
punitive measures towards encouraging
people and changing their behaviour on
our roads with the help of technology.
This could mean monitoring driver
safety will rely less on dedicated
infrastructure such as roadside
cameras and more on a combination
of more personalised methods such as
wearables with in-vehicle technology.
WEAR TO GO
Wearables are extremely popular at the
moment. In Japan, IT companies are
already beginning to market wearables
that use sensors to detect driver
drowsiness based on pulse rates. You
can see how this would have major
benefits for commercial fleet managers
in detecting fatigue.
Once sleepiness is detected, the
driver is alerted with a vibration or
noise and simultaneously an alert is
then sent in real-time to management
at another location. The immediacy
of the response helps the driver, while
simultaneously the data collected can
help with detecting trends to better
manage fatigue in the future.
In the UK, accidents caused by
impairment such as fatigue account
for around 13 per cent of all reported
accidents. Driver error is the biggest
reported cause, accounting for over 70
per cent. It is disturbing that more than
half of all accidents where driver error is to
blame are caused by drivers failing to look
or pay attention to their surroundings.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Benefitting from technology
“ It’s about striking the right
balance between driver safety and
ensuring the technology doesn’t
make drivers feel like they are
being spied on ”
With this in mind, it is possible to
imagine how video analytics could be
used to monitor driver eye movements
and detect distractions. Once an
unusual pattern is detected, a reminder
in the form of a noise or vibration could
be sent to the wearable device to get
the driver to then pay attention.
There’s also the idea of syncing the
technology to a smart phone app to
collect data and offer insight or identify
trends. The intention here is to change
driver behaviour by encouraging them
to pay more attention.
CARROT NOT STICK
Incentivisation is also one of the most
important aspects for the success of
any kind of smart safety solution – in
that it must appeal to drivers on a
personal level. People generally do
not want to feel these kinds of safety
measures are being forced on them.
They also do not want to feel as
though Big Brother’s watching them.
If the perception is that technology is
there to support rather than to censure
chances then are that it will be more
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
successful in influencing
a positive and long term change
in behaviour.
A case in point is the
example of insurance
companies which encourage
young drivers to install
“black box” telemetric devices
into their cars to monitor
their speed and acceleration.
If the driver agrees to have the
equipment installed into their
car, then the company lowers the
insurance premium paid each year by
a significant amount. The incentive
here is that by driving in a safe and
responsible manner, young drivers
can limit the otherwise prohibitive
cost of insurance – and hopefully
establish lifelong good driving
behaviour in the process.
To build on the black box idea you
could also get the device to link up
with a wearable to test alertness and
even intoxication levels. The benefit
of this kind of safety enforcement is
that it influences driver behaviour. If
the technology is issuing alerts as it
happens you can provide real-time
insight into driver behaviours and
act accordingly. If done right, once
the black box kit is removed from the
vehicle then you would have already
influenced and changed dangerous
driving behaviour.
HERE AND NOW
Yet, currently the information collected
in this instance can’t be updated to a
remote server automatically or provide
real-time insights. In the future it is
likely we will see more examples of
how collected data like this can be
combined with real-time analytics to
provide better insights drivers can act
on instantly. Intelligent systems like
these are already a reality in some
cases with more improvements likely
on the way.
However, it’s about striking the right
balance between driver safety and
An example
of wearable
technology
that could
change driver’s
behaviour
dramatically. Big
data analytics
could be an
effective tool
to implement
safety measures
and reduce
congestion in
urban centres
By providing a
safe and efficient
way to travel,
driverless
vehicles will
improve they
way we move
and live in
the urban
environment
ensuring the technology doesn’t make
drivers feel like they are being spied on.
If the driver feels technology is there to
support them they will be more open
to alerts telling them they should not
be driving. It’s all about encouragement
and finding some clever way to
be safer. For example, MercedesBenz has developed a data driven
system intended to help drivers
recognise when they’re sleepy or
distracted. The system creates
a profile of the driver (similar
to the black box system that
some insurance companies
use) by recording habits such
as speed when changing gears,
braking and switching gears. It
alerts the driver with a visual light
on the dashboard and with an audio
alarm if the system identifies a steering
pattern that is distinctive to sleepy
driving and out of character. If the
driver ignores the alert the warning will
continue after 15 minutes.
VEHICLE VERSUS INFRASTRUCTURE
Another reason why developing
technology like this will be increasingly
important in shaping the future of
road safety is the cost of public
infrastructure. For example, while it
is possible for us to install roadside
cameras to detect drivers who are
driving dangerously or disobeying
safety rules like wearing seat belts,
the question is whether that would
be the right approach due to the cost
implication of additional infrastructure
and the maintenance thereof.
It has been suggested that the
global yearly spending on traffic
management systems alone could
exceed US$10 billion by 2020. With
this in mind, we have to ask whether
a better approach to safety lies with
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
41
„
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Benefitting from technology
car manufacturers. With commercial
driverless cars and semi-driverless
cars expected to be on the road
within the next 10 years it lead to
fewer collisions and help ease traffic
congestion which would not only
improve safety, but would also save
people billions each year.
AUTONOMY
In the UK the push for a driverless
future has already begun. Late last
year the government announced £10
million in funding to test driverless
cars in four cities; Greenwich, Milton
Keynes and Coventry (working
together as one project) and Bristol.
By testing driverless cars in the realworld greater levels of understanding
is expected of how to achieve the
incorporation of these vehicles into
everyday life.
Meanwhile the automotive
industry is still determining what a
driverless future will look like. At this
year’s Detroit Motor Show in the US
Mercedes-Benz unveiled its vision,
with a concept car that combines
driverless technology with comfort.
The carriage-like vehicle has four
seats that can swivel to face any
direction and still features a steering
wheel for moments when passengers
want to take control and drive for
themselves. In contrast to this,
Google’s idea of a driverless future is
more minimalistic and involves smaller
two-seater vehicles where all driving
mechanisms are replaced by a simple
touch screen.
With the future of driverless
technology being shaped as we
speak it opens up the possibility for
further collaborations with industries
that never used to be connected. In
fact we are already witnessing this
with the recent announcement of
the collaboration between Nissan
and NASA in the development of a
driverless vehicle by the end of 2015
and its preparation for commercial
application of driverless technology.
The five year research and
development partnership between
Nissan and NASA will focus on
autonomous drive systems, humanmachine interface solutions, networkenabled applications and software
analysis. The most exciting aspect
42 t @SmartHighwaysM
Driverless cars
are predicted
to significantly
ease commuter
routes and
decongest city
centres
about this collaboration is it will
combine technology already used in
road and space in ways we possibly
have not yet seen.
BIG DATA
DR KEVIN MOAT
is senior project
manager at Cubic
Transportation
Systems (ITMS)
Limited
ctscubic.com
| www.smarthighways.net
When considering the future of smart
technology it is impossible not to
study how data analytics is used and
shaped in improving driver safety and
changing behaviour. Companies are
already exploring ways to generate
traffic service information in-car that
can be shared with other vehicles
in the area. Once more the data
collected from these networks
could become useful information
that can be shared with traffic
management agencies.
Using vast quantities of data to
derive useful transportation insights is
something Cubic is already offering.
With Urban Insights (UI), a big data
and predictive analytics consulting
and services subsidiary that was
launched last year, Cubic has taken
steps to deliver data-driven insights
to shape the urban transportation
network of the future, improve
mobility and the efficiency of city
transport services.
Today’s city transportation
networks collect large amounts
of data every day. With the huge
volume and variety of data collected
by the transportation industry there
is limitless potential for using this
information to form insights that
can provide better planning and
management of transport networks.
By better planning you improve
efficiency which then has a positive
flow-on effect on safety.
In the US there are systems
in development which will enable
existing traffic sensors to distinguish
bicycles from other vehicles. The
purpose here is to collect enough data
to gain a better understanding of how
cyclists use infrastructure. This data
will help influence safer cycling routes
in urban environments. It is also
likely that we will see transport data
being integrated with data from other
sectors (such as energy and utility),
along with an increasing variety and
volume of user-generated content.
Systems like these are proving
there are boundless ways that
data can be engaged to shape
smart safety solutions. These could
include systems that detect and
determine the likelihood of everyday
unplanned service incidents like traffic
accidents or vehicle breakdowns and
recommending appropriate action in
real-time. These alerts could be issued
via a wearable or through smart
phone apps and therefore it doesn’t
matter which vehicle the driver is in,
because the technology can be taken
with them.
Whatever the stance of safety on
our roads in future there is no doubt
we are currently at an important
crossroads with determining that
future. As the importance of big data
analytics increase and growth areas
like wearable technology expand the
possibilities for smart solutions are
endless. What is encouraging is to put
ideas like this out there and continue
the dialogue. In the end, all this is just
data and it’s about working out how
we use it to produce personalised,
predictable and actionable
information to help make our journeys
easy and safe.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Getting the message across
Explaining why
The vast majority of transportation professionals will agree that a well-designed enforcement scheme
will make a road better. It starts to get a little more interesting when you delve into what the measure of
‘better’ actually is. A significant part of this is the wide range of motivators and justifications behind the
implementation of an enforcement scheme, for it is not a one-dimensional solution that either succeeds or
fails; rather like the images captured by a digital enforcement camera, there are many shades of grey.
WORDS BY GEOFF COLLINS
y personal
experience of
enforcement
schemes is
shaped through
the design, implementation and
analysis of hundreds of SPECS
average speed enforcement
installations, starting from a time
when there were just a handful of
sites, through to the present day,
where more than 350 schemes
have been operated. A review
of these projects give a clear
insight into what works best, and
it certainly isn’t simply putting
cameras at the side of the road
that delivers results – the most
effective schemes will include a
more holistic solution, supported
by a clear communications
strategy that engages with the
users of the road.
If you were to mount a small,
unobtrusive speed enforcement
camera at the side of the road,
it would prove very effective
M
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
in identifying speeding drivers. If
the objective of the enforcement
authority was to catch people (but
not to modify behaviour or reduce
casualties), then is this camera
successful? Alternatively, if the
camera installation was large, bright
yellow and visually distinctive,
the number of road users ‘caught’
speeding would be substantially
lower. In addition, the number of
collisions would also drop, resulting
in fewer casualties and more reliable
journey times. In this scenario, the
measure of success is much greater,
with the majority of drivers having a
better experience along that route.
The result? The road would be better,
because driver behaviour has been
changed.
Changing driver behaviour is the
most cost-effective and rapid way
to improve a route with a casualty
or congestion history. Engineering
works can certainly make things safer
and carry more vehicles, but the cost
and the lead time involved can be
prohibitive.
EVIDENCE BEYOND
REASONABLE DOUBT
Scotland’s
beautiful but
notorious A9
where a stretch
of the road has
seen speedenforcement
help reduce
casualties
Some commentators suggest that
changing behaviour for the majority
of drivers is virtually impossible long
term, but there is overwhelming
evidence that enforcement schemes
do just that, as demonstrated by
SPECS installations across the UK.
A recent and high profile example is
the A9 in Scotland, where a 220km
section of road is monitored with
SPECS average speed cameras
– representing Europe’s longest
enforcement scheme. Along this
route, a number of loop-based
speed monitoring sites have been
in operation before and after the
installation of the highly conspicuous
cameras, supported by ‘Average
Speed’ camera signs.
The graph over the page shows data
for six sites along the route, indicating
the percentage of vehicles exceeding
the 60mph speed limit. Before any
camera columns appeared, up to 40%
of vehicles were speeding at some
locations. Once the camera equipment
43
„
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Getting the message across
“ Changing driver
behaviour is
the most costeffective and
rapid way to
improve a route
with a casualty or
congestion history ”
started to appear (from May 2014), this
had dropped to up to 30% of vehicles.
However, from the ‘go live’ date of
1st October 2014, the proportion of
speeding vehicles had dropped to
between 2% and 9% at all locations –
a hugely significant reduction. Why
were drivers no longer speeding? It
was simply because they understood
that their speed was being monitored,
which backed up by a potential £100
fine and penalty points, proves a
strong motivator to change behaviour.
BACKGROUND EXPLANATION
The A9 is only unusual in the length of
road that is monitored – the changes
in driver behaviour are predictably
seen whenever an obvious and
well-signed scheme is put in place.
The A9 info
dedicated
website
However, the camera columns were
not installed in isolation, they were
supported by a significant publicity
programme, which included; a media
SPECS SAVES LIVES ON THE A9
A 220km long SPECS average speed
enforcement scheme on the A9, Scotland, is
delivering fewer casualties, improved journey
reliability and better driver behaviour.
A Vysionics-supplied point-to-point
enforcement system was installed between
Dunblane and Inverness, covering 220
kilometres of road along this beautiful but notorious Scottish route. This intervention will
B5=19>9>@<135D>C9<C85B?DC594D1<<54‘F89389C1B75C546?B3?=@<5C9?>9>)85sBC
5C?641C19<<DCB1C9>78?FC855@55431=5B181E59>tD5>3544B9E5B2581E9?DB?>C85Œ
between Dunblane and Inverness has been published.
)85=19>s>49>78?F
Q fewer than four vehicles per day have warranted further enforcement action
Q overall speeding is down from around one in three drivers to one in 20
Q examples of excessive speeding (10 mph+ above limit) are down by 97 per cent
Q journey times have increased in line with predictions (three to 14 minutes)
Q journey time reliability has improved
Q there is no evidence that drivers are avoiding the A9
Q6554213;6B?=81D<95BD775C197>9s31>CB54D3C9?>9>:?DB>5C9=56?B! +
44 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
launch, roadshow, advertising,
dedicated website and a high
profile PR campaign amongst other
activities.
One of the lessons to learn from
an effective scheme such as this is
the clarity of message that is given
out to road users. If an enforcement
scheme is to work, and achieve its
objectives (e.g. reduce killed and
seriously injured), it is far more likely
to be effective if drivers understand
exactly why these measures are being
taken. The alternative is the court of
public opinion, incorrectly deciding
that cameras are being installed as
a revenue raiser, when that is a long
way from the truth.
Another key factor to consider
regarding enforcement awareness
is the level of enforcement that
actually takes place. For example, by
one measure, if only 1% of drivers are
speeding, that is a win. However, if the
daily traffic volumes on a monitored
route are 150,000 vehicles, that
could potentially equate to 500,000
offenders per year – that is not a win,
because the perceived purpose of the
scheme would be to catch as many
people as possible, most of whom
will then question the validity of the
enforcement scheme. Considerations
like this must be taken into account
when designing and operating an
enforcement site. Ideally, there
should be flexibility that allows the
operator to maintain an appropriate
and manageable level of enforcement:
too much breeds mistrust, not enough
decreases compliance. A good
example of the risks here are signs
that proudly display “1,000 drivers
caught speeding here”. On one hand,
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
DRIVER BEHAVIOUR
+ Getting the message across
“ Unfortunately these savings are purely
theoretical because there is no local or national
government department that actually holds a
‘casualties saved’ budget ”
this demonstrates that something is
being done to address speeding, but
conversely, it also demonstrates that
the system has failed to prevent the
issue, as well as generating large fine
revenues for the operator.
A flexible approach to enforcement
levels allows for this sensitive issue
to be effectively managed, because
public opinion can be fickle; it is all
too easy to lose hard won public
acceptance through a negative story
that makes it to the front page of the
Daily Mail.
CASUALTY REDUCTION OVER CASH
A common criticism of enforcement
schemes is that they are simply
put out there as a cash cow; an
alternative form of taxation on the
driver. It should be easy to address
this misconception through a review
of the casualty reduction benefits
that are delivered, and for SPECS
average speed cameras, this is
clear and unambiguous. Casualty
reduction schemes are usually
measured by comparing a three
year baseline (pre-installation) with
three years of post installation
data – the Killed or Seriously Injured
(KSI) figure is monitored and allows
the effectiveness of a scheme to be
calculated. A review of SPECS sites,
where they were installed as part
of a casualty reduction measure,
shows a better than 70% reduction
to the KSI figure on average. This is
hugely significant and based on DfT
figures for the theoretical cost of
casualties on the UK roads, equates to
a saving of around £1.5m per site, per
year! There are very few alternative
interventions that could deliver such
GEOFF COLLINS is a
chartered engineer
and a director at
Vysionics
Geoff.Collins@
vysionics.com
Technology:
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a fast return on investment.
Unfortunately, these savings are
purely theoretical because there
is no local or national government
department that actually holds a
‘casualties saved’ budget.
The best enforcement scheme
is one that delivers excellent
compliance, reduced casualties
and captures few offenders; whilst
also delivering wider benefits such
as improved journey reliability
and reduced emissions. This has
proved to be the case time and
time again with a well-designed
average speed enforcement
solution, which accounts for their
proliferation on our road network.
A major part of their
acceptance is because each driver
has a positive experience where
they are used, coupled with an
understanding for why such a
measure is in place. As long as the
design is right, clarity of purpose
is maintained and road users are
engaged, enforcement solutions
continue to offer a powerful and
cost-effective tool.
See us at
Traffex
2015
Stand D10
WEATHER
+ Case study
Accurate, reliable
monitoring of road
conditions can be vital in
improving road safety,
and technology now
allows this to be done
remotely in real-time.
The Lufft product MARWIS
was introduced last
October and more than
200 were in use over
the winter. So why is it
‘revolutionary’?
MARWIS in action
under snow
conditions
in Italy
Faster
forecasting
WORDS BY KARL-HEINZ WOSCHÉE
ARWIS - the Mobile
Advanced Road
Weather Information
Sensor - improves
road safety with the
help of remote real time road weather
data collection. When the days get
cooler and the roads tend to have
temperatures below four Degrees
Celsius, MARWIS recognises dangerous
road weather factors. These include
friction, water film height, road surface
temperature, ice percentage, relative
humidity above the road surface, the
dew point temperature and the road
M
46 t @SmartHighwaysM
Above: the
vehicle-mounted
MARWIS is able to
take readings at
any speed
The MARWIS
sensor up close
| www.smarthighways.net
conditions itself (whether the road is
frozen, critically wet, chemically wet,
wet, moist or dry).
MARWIS is mounted on rooflines,
aside or on rear panels of different
vehicles at distances between 80 and
150 cm for the 1 metre version, and
between 1.6 and 2.2m for the 2m version.
It can be attached to almost every kind
of vehicle. This is important especially
with regard to the big amount of
application fields: road maintenance
services, public works
departments, company fleet
managements, the Department
of Transportation and airport
officials are target groups for this
multifunctional device.
Because the unit is mounted on a
vehicle, it can accurately and quickly
monitor large stretches the roadway.
The innovative measurement device
works with eye safe and cost-effective
LED transmitters, which don’t need a
laser protection class. MARWIS issues
all LED related measurements with
a rate of hundred times per second
(water film height and ice percentage)
and all Pyrometer and infrared
temperature-humidity sensor related
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
WEATHER
+ Case study
values with ten times per second
(surface temperature, relative humidity
above road surface, road conditions,
friction and dew point temperature).
Within this rate several different road
conditions can be measured, even
when the vehicle is travelling quickly.
For example a speed of 50 miles
per hour results in a measurement
every eight inches. However even in
this relatively short distance there
may be different water film heights,
so it’s necessary to determine the
output data of these several values. In
order to solve this problem, there are
three methods available: the output
of the maximum, the minimum value
or the average value of the whole
distance within one measurement
period. The user can choose, which
version fits the best for his or her
intentions. The presetting of the
sensor upon delivery is the average
value, which considers all micro
climates within the ten Hertz period.
It “saw” its first Canadian snow last
October, where the long term Lufft
distributor Sam Aebi gave satisfying
feedback about the new helpful tool: It
recognises snow packed roads reliably.
Before, it was put through its paces in
various laboratory environments such
as in a special climatic chamber, which
can simulate all kind of winter conditions
such as snow, ice and black ice.
Also here, MARWIS showed its
reliability. But the final proof under real
conditions when moving, confirms that
the big effort lying behind the long
product development period was worth
it. Compared to similar approaches of
competitors, I believe MARWIS offers
more important capabilities improving
the predictability of micro climates for
a very attractive price.
The development project started
in 2011, when NIRS31-UMB was on
the market. NIRS31-UMB was the first
spectroscopic road weather sensor from
Lufft. It is installed at bridges or masts
and measures the road conditions
such as water film height and freezing
temperature from several feet above the
road surface. The idea to invent a mobile
optoelectronic solution for road weather
applications was a logical advancement
of the first non-invasive solution. It
needs to fulfill the preconditions that
it needs to have the same or at least
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
similar features as the stationary
solution NIRS31-UMB, just with the
possibility to mount it on a moving
vehicle. The thought behind it was that
this sensor would come with the big
advantage of a gapless and fast weather
data collection, the data’s wireless
transport and an immediate evaluation.
It also was expected to bring us a step
further to the automatic vehicle.
In order to set the algorithms,
the responsible Lufft developers
used modern software methods and
tools, such as one which already
proofed as very reliable and resistant
to breakdowns and is used for the
automotive industry a lot. Through
computer simulations, the calculations
were optimised even before applying
them for real measurements.
From the beginning, the aim of
the algorithm’s development lying
behind the data output was to
optimise the raw measurement data
results obtained from test drives via a
computer simulation and transfer them
only when the appropriate maturity of
the sensor was achieved. This makes
the generation of algorithms faster
and more flexible. The deployed
analysis and database software
has to handle data which grew to
aound 1.5 terabytes in this winter
alone, because Lufft still collects
as many diverse road weather
statistics as possible.
Early in the development
process, the winter maintenance
services as main target group
came into focus. The dialogue with
municipalities showed the need for a
better road monitoring and evaluation
system, which eases decision making
about salt spreading on cold surfaces
in danger of freezing. Up to now, these
decisions depend from the control car
driver’s sense of proportion – a risky
method, not because the drivers are
MARWIS mounted
on a car’s
rooflines
The iPad app
makes MARWIS
a truly portable
solution
KARL-HEINZ WOSCHÉE
is a product
developer at Lufft
www.lufftmarwis.com
clueless but because of the fact that
road climate can change fast and the
exact temperature is hard to estimate
but crucial for dangerous events
such as black ice. Besides winter
applications, MARWIS can be useful
in any kind of vehicle and for any kind
of climate, also because of the precise
water layer recognition for heights up
to 6mm. Especially for areas with high
precipitation probability along with a
high aquaplaning risk such as in the
UK, this is a big improvement.
The sensor itself is a great tool,
but without a way to visualise and
process the measured values, it’s quite
useless. For this purpose, Lufft created
an iOS app for all Apple devices and,
at time of writing, is in the process
of delivering an Android version. The
app shows all measurement data, can
be adjusted to the user’s needs and
transfers all data to a road weather
information system. It also is able to
calibrate the sensor and change the
set roadway model. On the other side
of the monitoring process, software
solutions like Lufft’s SmartView and the
Glance software from the US American
based company Applied Information
can localise different mobile sensors
on a map, show the various values,
such as the road surface temperatures
of each sensor in use and collect all
data in order to analyse and save it.
The whole IT system behind MARWIS
updates itself automatically and is thus
highly customer friendly. Moreover, it
is quite robust against interferences
such as power cuts. The data transfers
are carried out either via Bluetooth,
the app or the internet directly.
The accuracy in the production
procedures leads to a product
with an approved protection class
of IP68, and which passed the
vibration and shock tests as well
as the EMC test (Electromagnetic
compatibility).
Mobile weather data collection is
clearly a key part of future road safety
monitoring and the data collected over
this winter can now be analysed, and
no doubt more interesting features will
be found from this year’s information.
MARWIS delivers accurate weather
data in all conditions in real time
and for that motorists and highways
authorities can feel safer.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
47
WEATHER
+ Opinion
Severe weather events and a changing climate mean
authorities have to be cleverer with their winter
planning than simply stockpiling salt. TRL’s climate
change impacts and adaptation specialist looks at
some things that have been done this winter
Planning a weather
response
“ The Department for Transport
estimates that the welfare
cost of domestic transport
disruption from severe winter
weather is around £280m
per day in England ”
WORDS BY DR SARAH REEVES
eather resilience
is a topic at the
forefront of many
people’s minds. A
series of severe
weather events such as flooding in
the winter of 2013/2014, high winds
in autumn 2013 and snow in 2010,
and the impacts these had on the
transport system has instigated
a number of government reviews
(Quarmby, Brown) on transport
resilience and it was also the topic of
this year’s World Road Association
UK’s congress. Whilst coping with
W
48 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
severe weather is nothing new for
the highway industry, it has become
an increasing issue due to pressures
such as reduced maintenance
budgets, high public expectations
and the increasing frequency and
severity of weather events due to
climate change.
Exactly what is meant by
resilience is often difficult to define;
it is a many faceted concept
which can mean different things
to different people. However, it is
generally accepted that improving
resilience includes elements of both
pro-actively reducing vulnerability
to future severe weather, and also
effective management and quick
recovery when events do occur. In
some ways it is easier to identify
when something isn’t resilient – for
example when a small, but key part
of the network fails with severe
repercussions for the local area or
even whole country.
THE COST OF RESILIENCE
Realistically it is not possible to
retain a full level of service on all
highways in every type of weather,
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
WEATHER
+ Opinion
Photo © Perthshire Picture Agency, PPA: www.ppapix.co.uk
Network planning must
include consideration of
alternative routes if a
key route fails
but establishing the severity of
weather the infrastructure should be
able to withstand is not easy. The
public often have high expectations,
whereas highway budgets are
limited, forcing authorities to make
difficult decisions on how resources
are employed. Obtaining funding
to mitigate possible future events
can be problematic when there are
urgent definite requirements today.
However the impacts of severe
weather on highways can have
enormous implications not just for
highway authorities, but also on local
communities and businesses, and in
very severe cases the whole country.
The interdependencies between
sectors, such as utilities which use
highway bridges and so are affected
if the bridge fails; and the need
for access to ports, sub-stations,
railway depots, hospitals etc mean
that there is a cascade of impacts
in addition to the direct congestion
and repair costs. The Department for
Transport estimates that the welfare
cost of domestic transport disruption
from severe winter weather is around
£280m per day in England1.
“ Improving resilience includes
elements of both pro-actively
reducing vulnerability to future
severe weather, and also effective
management and quick recovery
when events do occur ”
CRITICAL ROUTES AND RISK
MANAGEMENT
INTEGRATION INTO ASSET
MANAGEMENT
Obtaining a level of resilience which
balances the potential implications
of future events against today’s
stretched budget is challenging.
One approach is to consider the
resilience of the network as a whole,
and rather than trying to achieve the
same level of robustness throughout,
It therefore follows that resilience
is something which needs to be
integrated into asset management
plans, rather than considered as a
separate issue. A strategic, holistic
approach, planning and managing for
resilience will be more effective and
less costly than reacting to events as
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
to prioritise a critical network which
allows access to strategically
important services and identifies
critical points such as key junctions
which affect the surrounding
network. The vulnerabilities of
this critical network can then be
assessed, and resources focused
on improving and maintaining this
network to cope with a higher level
of severe weather. The network
needs to include consideration of
redundancy or diversionary routes
if one of the key routes should fail.
In this way a risk management
approach can be taken, with
resources focused on the most
vulnerable areas on the most critical
routes.
they occur. This includes considering
how resilience could be improved
when planning maintenance for
example by changing surfacing
type, increasing drainage capacity
or protecting ICT from flooding
or overheating (see the guidance
document2 produced by TRL). Also
thinking about how quickly an
asset will recover after a weather
event, and ease of emergency
maintenance. It is also worth noting
that better maintained highways
are more resilient, so strategic
application of routine maintenance
is a key part of resilience. Timing of
maintenance is also important, for
example asphalt surfacing will not
cool sufficiently for trafficking on
hot, calm days3.
Management of weather events
includes providing public information,
identifying diversionary routes which
are not vulnerable to the same
weather impact as the main route,
checking vulnerable drains when
heavy rain is forecast, and liaising
with local businesses in adverse
weather to recommend employees
do not to come in to work.
FUTUREPROOFING
DR SARAH REEVES
is a TRL consultant
specialising in climate
change impacts and
adaptation
[email protected]
www.trl.co.uk/
solutions/transportfutures/climatechange
An integral part of resilience is
understanding and planning for
future risks. The future is always
uncertain, and the UK weather very
variable. General trends can be
projected, but ultimately the key is to
be prepared as much as possible, and
be flexible and adapt when required.
Improving resilience is as much
about a change in mind-set and
management, as it is engineering
and physical action. It involves
identifying and planning for future
risks, thinking holistically about
independencies and wider impacts,
and reviewing and improving
procedures after each severe
weather event. Increasing highway
resilience is an on-going operation,
and it is likely to become increasingly
important in the future.
FOOTNOTES
1 Department for Transport, 2011. Winter Resilience in Transport: an
assessment of the case for additional investment.
2 Department for Transport (2008). Maintaining Pavements in a Changing
Climate, TSO.
3 Nicholls J C, Daines M E (1993). Acceptable weather conditions for laying
bituminous materials, TRL Published Report PR13.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
49
EVENTS
+ Highways Magazine Excellence Awards
Rewarding innovation
Enter now at www.hmea.co.uk
t’s time to start
thinking about
your entry for this
year’s Highways
Excellence Awards
at the Lancaster Hotel in London on
Wednesday 14th October.
Entries close on the 26th June.
Remember there’s the second ITS
(UK) Award for the best use of new
technology in the highways industry,
which last year was won by Jacobs
for Development of origin-destination
matrices using mobile phone data for
the M25 Junction 30/Lower Thames
Crossing transport model.
Opposite, there is a flavour of the
entry which won Jacobs the award,
giving you an idea of what’s expected.
Good luck!
I
50 t @SmartHighwaysM
Above:
Last year’s
successful
awards – make
your name at
2015’s event...
Right: Our venue,
the Lancaster
Hotel in London
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
The winning Jacobs team from 2014
OUTLINE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ITS OR SOFTWARE SOLUTION
Jacobs were commissioned by the Highways Agency (HA) to
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@B?3554D9>79C41C16D9?>@B?35)9œ6?BC8545E5<?@=5>C
of base year demand matrices for this model. As this was a new
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?6C8521551B45=1>4=1CB935F1D>45BC1;5>C?E5B96C85=
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
51
EVENTS
+ Seeing is Believing
Seen forthemselves
Seeing is Believing once again proves to be a unique event in the UK highways industry | www.sib.uk.net
he ITS and highways
industries gathered
in Leicestershire in
November to spend
two days at in and
outdoor exhibitions for Seeing is
Believing 2014.
There were 10 different outdoor
attractions each day, including a safety
demonstration by the Traffic Managers’
Contractors Association showing the
new way to lay out a lane closure on a
motorway without any need for a road
worker to cross the live carriageway.
TMCA Secretary, Richard Pearson
said, “We get the opportunity to play on
a motorway which isn’t a motorway, and
we’re filming the demo to make into a
safety video, and there’s no other event
in the country that we could do this at”.
T
More pictures
and a video of
the event are
available on the
Smart Highways
website
52 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
EVENTS
+ Seeing is Believing
Visitors got to
see a variety
of indoor and
outdoor exhibits
and displays,
plus attend
seminars and
networking
events
All visitors who went out onto the
track saw the displays of products
outside, and all got the opportunity
to drive through the Safelane Traffic
Management System displayed by
Intellicone and M-Vis.
Inside the exhibition hall the cycle
simulator and the driving simulator
operated by TRL had a constant
stream of visitors testing their
driving skills at either a dutch-style
roundabout or on a smart motorway.
ITS was well represented, which
pleased ITS (UK) Secretary General
and Smart Highways columnist
Jennie Martin, “It really enabled our
members to interact with the civil
engineers, and the more interaction
between those two groups of people,
the better.”
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
There were seminars too,
with more than 200 visitors
attending one of the eight
seminars over the two days.
Tom Merry’s presentation on the
road worker safety challenge being the
most popular.
All visitors who arrived by car
had their tyre pressures checked
automatically by WheelRight. They
found 12 per cent were significantly
under-inflated. This had an immediate
effect on road safety as affected visitors
could be warned and take action.
Robert Goodwill, the Roads Minister
opened the event and said: “This event
provided a great opportunity for those
within the highways industry to see a
wide range of products in action in
real life working environments”.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
53
EVENTS
+ Traffex
With 10,000 visitors seeing 400 exhibits
showing off the latest innovations, newest
products and features, Traffex is our
industry’s must-attend event this year.
Traffex 2015
aking place at
Birmingham’s NEC
from the 21st-23rd
April, Traffex will
highlight new
legislation, new materials, new
technology, new products, new
innovation and new thinking. As well
as the exhibits there’ll be seminars too,
T
This is the
27th time the
Transport and ITS
industries have
met at Traffex
and a great opportunity for networking.
In fact, the organisers promise to bring
together the industry’s biggest suppliers
and most senior professionals for
three days of smarter thinking, smarter
networking and smarter business.
Here Smart Highways highlights
some of the must-see exhibitors at this
year’s event.
SMART CCTV ON STAND J61
New road management regimes like Smart
Motorways, requires that the Highway
Authorities and their supply chain introduce
technology on to the road network to enable
more vehicles to be carried by the same
amount of road space.
While today this technological advance is
being introduced on the busiest parts of the
CB1C5793B?14>5CF?B;‘?E5BC9=59CF9<<t?F
down through the trunk road network to local
roads. Anyone working in the ITS and highway
9>6B1CBD3CDB51B51F9<<s>49>3B519>745=1>4
for technology as part of their solutions over
the next few years.
Smart CCTV is a value added reseller
?612?E57B?D>4CB16s341C13?<<53C9?>
technologies, incident detection systems
and high end safety and security systems.
Our solutions allow you to understand the
>?B=1<CB16s3t?F?>1@539s353C9?>?6
road. Identify when the operational state
starts to become abnormal, and to provide
54 t @SmartHighwaysM
Heralding a breakthrough in
portable UTMC control, Pike Signals
Ltd. are proud to announce the
launch of the latest addition to the
Evolution controller series.
Pike Signals Limited, a
Birmingham based family business,
has been at the forefront of
C85@?BC12<5CB16s3<978C97>1<
market for over 40 years. The
manufacturing experience and
expertise accumulated over the
period, coupled with innovative
design and the use of leading edge
technology, ensures Pike Signals
C85CB16s33?>CB?<35>CB5F9C81>1<5BCC?
identify that there is a problem as well as
providing feedback as to the effectiveness of
the mitigation strategy. We also provide high
end security solutions for the protection of key
infrastructure assets on the highway network.
As part of our value added proposition we
can undertake system design, build, testing,
commissioning and handover along with the
required project management to ensure that
projects are delivered on time and within
budget.
;525>5sC?6F?B;9>7F9C8=1BC)+
is our ability to identify suitable technologies
from around the world, bring them to the UK
markets and support them.
This means we are able to react quickly
to changes in both market requirements and
technologies available. We will be showing
5G1=@<5?62?C8C85<1C5CCB16s341C1
collection and incident detection solutions at
Traffex this year.
| www.smarthighways.net
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
EVENTS
+ Traffex
SEE VYSIONICS ON STAND B22 – TOGETHER WITH JENOPTIK TRAFFIC SOLUTIONS
Vysionics are long established
as leaders in ANPR and average
speed enforcement technology,
with TRAFFEX being the perfect
opportunity to showcase our
latest solutions. Following
our acquisition by Jenoptik in
November 2014, visitors will be
able to see an even wider range
of cutting edge and innovative
technologies on display.
SOLUTIONS ON SHOW
Vysionics will be showing a wide
range of current and future
technologies, including:
Q SPECS3 VECTOR – the very
latest HOTA average speed
solution;
Q VECTOR – the highly
successful integrated ANPR
camera unit;
Q VORTEX – a complete parking
& access control suite of
cameras and software; and
Q)B16s)?F5BpC851F1B4
winning design housing for red
light and speed enforcement.
VECTOR (pictured right)
is the core ANPR product
behind many of our highly
successful solutions, with
more than 800 camera
units delivered to date.
Applications are as
diverse as average speed
enforcement, Police ANPR,
HGV levy monitoring, Access
Control and more.
Vysionics offer a full end
to end, turnkey solution, from
manufacture, initial design
& installation through to
maintenance and support,
?C?s>4?DC:DC8?FF5
could improve your roads, visit
TRAFFEX and talk to one of our
specialist Account Managers on
stand B22.
SEE THE PIKE EVOLUTION UTC CONTROLLER* ON STAND F30
manufacture to the very highest
standards. The results are
D@5B9?BAD1<9C@?BC12<5CB16s3
signals and proven product
reliability. Pike Signals have
developed an outstanding range
of portable and temporary
CB16s397>1<5AD9@=5>CF8938
is designed to meet and exceed
the needs and expectations
of their customers and the
industry as a whole.
The Pike Evolution UTC*,
offers a truly portable, fully
radio linked UTMC solution.
Working from a universal
connection protocol and
offering both digital and
analogue compatibility, the
Pike Evolution UTC offers
C?C1<t5G929<9C‘F?B;9>79>
conjunction with the standard
existing battery powered Pike
Evolution controllers which are
now common place with many
<5149>7CB16s3=1>175=5>C
providers, and can be seen
on many complex work zones
up and down the length and
breadth of the nation. The Pike
Evolution UTC provides the
most cost and time effective
solution to this area of the
industry. Simple site by site
3?>s7DB1C9?>‘D9>7C85
specially designed software,
facilitates easy transfer onto a
USB stick. Supplied in a small
lightweight industry standard
standalone cabinet, the
controller requires the minimum
of space and can be located
anywhere within the work zone.
The cabinet has the ability to
be powered from either a mains
supply or the internal battery
(12 volt DC) for the ultimate
portable solution. Be one of the
sBCC?55C85<1C5CE?<DC9?>
in portable signal control.
*patent applied for
RITHERDON – STAND J50
Having been established since
1895, Ritherdon are still listening
to their customers and coming
up with innovative ideas. The
Passively Safe cabinet has been
tested by TRL to BS EN12767
at 35 and 100kph. The cabinets
shears off upon impact and by
using pole plugs the electrical
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
CLEARVIEW TRAFFIC
GROUP – STAND E21
supply is immediately isolated.
This eliminates the requirement
of crash barriers, therefore,
providing savings of up to £20K
as well as on-going maintenance
costs. A new cabinet can be
installed immediately after
the impact. Visit the website
www.ritherdon.co.uk.
With over 60 years of road
165C1>4CB16s341C13?<<53C9?>
5G@5BC95‘<51BE95F)B16s3œ
award winning pedigree as a
<5145B9>C85s5<4?69>C5<<975>C
mobility is founded on offering
answers to real world problems
today that deliver superior
accuracy, reliability and durability.
<51BE95F)B16s381
innovative solutions that focus
on improving road safety, reducing
congestion, enhancing journey
predictability and reducing
environmental impact.
Our technology, deployed
across the UK and the globe
continues to innovate. We were
1=?>7C859>4DCBœsBCC?
offer a Data as a Service business
model using our cloud-based
Insight data analysis software
platform, a game-changing
offering allowing customers to
=1;55>5?6F81Cœ81@@5>9>7
on their roads.
C)B1665G‘F5œ<<81B5<51BE95F
)B16s3œE99?>?68?F39C951>4
areas can become smarter and
highlight the small, practical
steps that can be taken, without
dominating the expenditure of
declining budgets, including our
new smart parking solution that
optimises the management of on
and off-street spaces.
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
55
ITS UK
+ News round-up
SHARON KINDLEYSIDES is Chairman of ITS UK and is
View from the Chairman
Managing Director of Kapsch TrafficCom Ltd
Who is transport really for?
truggling through a ticket
barrier at King’s Cross
(pictured) with a tea in one
hand, the Evening Standard
under my arm and my
computer bag generally getting in the way,
one could almost imagine that the purpose of
our transport network is to actively discourage
the traveller from making their journey. All that
is missing are signs saying Abandon Hope
All Ye Who Enter Here above bus and coach
stations the length and breadth of the country
to confirm this view.
Lovely shiny new buses look great;
Council staff enjoy being photographed
with their glitzy new Passenger Information
Systems and the debates over HS2 have
grabbed the headlines for months. Should
we believe that these projects are really
what the traveller needs or is it simply the
big projects with good PR mileage that are
adopted while no-one is going to champion
fixing the door lock on a toilet at a rural train
station or finding a clever way of carrying a
pushchair, a small child and a bag down the
stairs in an underground station.
I am a fit(ish), physically able, reasonably
travel-savvy individual, if I find the public
transport network off-putting what hope is
S
there for the less able bodied or those who
perhaps don’t have the confidence in English
to take ask for help if something goes awry?
There are many examples of good planning
and amazing facilities, just think of the success
of TfL during the Olympics and the amazing
work performed by the Travel Ambassadors.
However on a day-to-day basis, it does seem
that not considering the range of individuals
who travel seems prevalent in parts of the
industry. I recently saw a brochure for
company who provide Passenger Information
Systems. They had a lovely graphic showing all
of the services and information they provided
and in the middle of the diagram stood big
and bold that these were provided
to the “Commuter”. I am sure that
they were not intentionally ignoring
all other types of travellers, but this
illustrated the mind-set that some
transport professionals seem to have:
that the transport network is there,
in the main, to serve those who travel
for work. To unashamedly generalise,
this travelling elite are young to middle
aged men, able-bodied and with full
access to the mobile internet via
smart-phone, tablet, Google glasses
and the microchip in-plant that is most
certainly on the verge of being developed
by Amazon. In essence, the image of the
travelling public is generally seen as being the
same as the one seen when one looks around
an office in the transport industry.
My apologies to all the amazing people who
work in the Transport industry and do not fit this
stereotype, but my feeling is that there is still
an attitude in the industry that it is something
of a gentlemen’s club. The demographic of the
profession seems to be that it is somewhere
between 90-95% male, computer-literate,
technology-savvy and relatively fit. And this
doesn’t reflect the population. It’s a thought I’ll
pick up on next time.
INTEREST GROUP ROUND-UP DECEMBER 2014
Q The Smart Environment Interest Group
joined up with ITS (UK) Foundation
Members in October for the “A
Smarter Way to Lower Emissions”
5=9>1B1CC85)B16s3?>CB?<
5>CB51C?DC8‹D55>65BB2
the Firth of Forth crossings (inset).
The audience of around a hundred
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6B?=C85CB1>@?BC‘@<1>>9>7‘@?<93‘1>4
>E9B?>=5>C1<!51<C8@B?659?>
The Seminar discussed current progress
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presented recent successes in managing
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1>4493D54@B?@?1<6?BC856DCDB51>4
opportunities for joint working. Speakers
9>3<D454'B?65?B$1B71B5C5<<1>4B
'1D< ??4=1>6B?=%5F31C<5*>9E5B9C‘
56 t @SmartHighwaysM
Š13AD5<9>51BB?6}} B?D@‘B
(9381B45<<9>781=6B?=C85
*>9E5B9C?6CB1C83<45‘
"5>>95CC?6965?D>39<‘
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)8?>=?>1>4$93815<
Foster from Transport
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?6(931B4?‘1>4B<1>!9<<
6B?='
)B1>@?BC3?C<1>41>4})“*"”F5B5E5B
@<5154F9C8C85AD1<9C?6C855=9>1B
3?>C5>C1>4C85CDB>?DC‘1>4@<1>C?2D9<4?>
the event during 2015.
Q In another new cooperation initiative, the
ITS (UK) Automotive User Interest Group,
which covers HMI and Human Factors issues
for ITS, found a new partner in the Institute
| www.smarthighways.net
of Ergonomics and Human Factors (IEHF) for
a very interesting event hosted by ITS (UK)
Foundation Members the Transport Systems
Catapult in Milton Keynes. The Automotive
User IG has for several years included a report
from the standards mirror group BSi EPL/278//23 in its meetings, but with the collaboration
with the IEHF a group of professionals were
brought together who would not ordinarily
meet, something which all present agreed
was very useful. The meeting heard reports
from relevant ISO and CEN standardisation
committees working mainly on in-vehicle
interfaces. Also included in the agenda were
talks on the LUTZ pathfinder autonomous pod
transport trial in Milton Keynes, and a section
on Human Factor aspects of automated
vehicles. The Automotive User IG is led by the
University of Coventry and MIRA.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
VIEW FROM AN SME
Are we really looking after
ourcountry roads properly?
1F‘61C1<9C951>4Œ‘5B9?D
injuries occur from accidents on country roads.
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DC96F545<E51<9CC<5455@5B‘C85B59CB?>7
5E945>359>?=51B51?63<51B9>E5C=5>C9>
56653C9E531D1<CB54D3C9?>385=5‘F89389>
CDB>81E581414B1=1C939=@13C?><?F5B9>7
the number and seriousness of accidents.
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>?C>5351B9<=19>C19>54
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or authority recognising an upward trend in
133945>CB1C51C1@1BC93D<1B<?31C9?>‘<5149>7
C?9>E5C971C9?>1>4D<C9=1C5<12D9>5
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385=5)855C@931<<9>E?<E59>C1<<1C9?>?6
1449C9?>1<8978<E992<5=51DB5C?1<5BCB?14
users to the hazards ahead. These range from
E5893<513C9E1C5497>C?25CC5BF89C5<9>9>7
1>4#215413C9E5B?14CD4C538>?<?7
&>359>C1<<54‘B?14D5BC1;58554?6
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driving behaviours. Over time, these measures
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133945>C<5E5<}>?=5315‘13C9E5CD4
C538>?<?781255>@B?E5>C?B54D35>978C
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year period.
!?F5E5B‘?>35C85385=581255>
monitored for some time and been deemed a
Fifteen
not
out
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
WAYNE STANT is Head of
Product & Marketing at
Clearview Traffic Group
D335‘9C75C81>454213;9>C?C853?>CB?<
of the road maintenance contractor. When it
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or preventative maintenance to the road
DB6135‘C85=19>C19>5B9>?CDD1<<D>45B1>
?2<971C9?>C?=19>C19>C851=5<5E5<?6165C
measures and so after resurfacing has taken
@<135‘C85B?149B5E5BC54213;C?C85@539s54
standard set out by the terms of the contract.
!?F5E5B‘23?=@B?=99>7C85165C
651CDB59>C896?B=5B31D1<CB54D3C9?>
scheme area, the accident rate starts to
9>3B5151719>‘?C8533<52579>1719>1>4
5E5>=?B55G@5>51>4<??6<96599>3DBB54
C25C‘C893?D<425453B92541214
practice…at worst, some may argue that this
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@1B5>CF8?5389<4F1;9<<54?>1CB5C38?6
road after the road had been resurfaced and
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<?>75B9>@<135‘?165CF13?=@B?=954‘
8?FF?D<4?D655<š,8?F?D<4?D2<1=5š
}6651CDB51B5C85B56?B1B51?>C85>DB5<
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and supported within the contracts with
the road operators. So the message is that
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3?C?6<?9>71<965“31<3D<1C542C856)1C
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Connected Vehicle
Interest Group TS
Catapult, Milton Keynes
CpB4@B9<
ITS (UK) Stand at Traffex
– NEC Birmingham
)D541@B9<
ITS (UK) Traffex Dinner Birmingham
Thursday 7th May
Enforcement Interest
Group Meeting - IBI
Group, Birmingham
ITS (UK) AGM –
)D541ŒC8$1 Transport Systems
Catapult, Milton Keynes
Thursday 21st May
A Visit the DigiSim
Car Simulator, TRL,
Wokingham
Wednesday 3rd
June
Road User Charging
Interest Group annual
conference - Thales,
London E1
B941B4ŠD<
Automotive User Interest
Group - University of
Nottingham
,54C85@
tember
Automotive User and
Inclusive Mobility Interest
Groups Joint Meeting London
C8pŒC8&3C?25B
ITS (UK) Exhibition Stand
at the World Congress Bordeaux
ITS (UK) recently celebrated the 15th birthday of its Public Transport Interest
Group. The PTIG covers all aspects of using Intelligent Transport Systems
technology for public transport: ticketing, information, fleet management, safety
and security, and so on.
The Group was founded in 1999 by Dr Chris Querée, then of MVA. Chris was
at the birthday celebrations, with three more attendees from the 1999 meeting:
John Austin of Austin Analytics, Peter Warman of WarmanConsult, and Jennie
Martin of ITS (UK).
Gary Umpleby of Hogia, the current PTIG Chairman, said “I consider it a
privilege to have been Chairman of the Public Transport Interest Group at this
prestigious ‘15th Birthday’ meeting, and to be able to share the occasion with the
Interest Group Founder and the first Chairman of twelve years’ standing, Dr Chris
Querée. Chris confirmed: “ITS (UK), underpinned by a dedicated and enthusiastic
staff, provides the UK ITS industry with a unique opportunity for open discussion,
review, and comment on important issues affecting our industry. The ‘15th Birthday’
meeting of the Public Transport Interest Group was certainly no exception,
with a day of excellent presentations from both UK and international speakers
accompanied by lively debate and discussion around a range of key issues.”
Daniel Hobbs of AECOM, Honorary Secretary of the PTIG said “It was a great
opportunity to look back at the amazing developments that have taken place in
passenger transport, information and technology over the last 15 years, but also
demonstrated the exciting opportunities ahead. I am looking forward to the next
15 years.”
t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
57
THE LAST WORD
+ ITS in Italy
How the Italians do the ITS job
WORDS BY TTS ITALIA
taly is one of
the European
countries with the
highest density
of internal traffic.
This is irregularly distributed across
its transportation network including
263 ports, a rail network of 16,742km,
a road network of approximately
253,730km, of which 6,726km is
motorway (5,724.4km toll road), 44
airports and 26 freight hubs.
In 2012 the volume of
passengers and goods for distances
greater than 50 km was 795,916 million
passenger-km and 182,604 million of
freight ton-km [source: National Accounts
of Infrastructure and Transport, 2012-2013],
showing a system with high mobility,
but at the limits of saturation.
Furthermore, road transport is the
prevailing mode, causing a heavy
imbalance that makes increasingly
real the risk of collapse of road
transport, since more than 90 per
cent of passengers and 55 per cent of
goods are conveyed by road.
Particularly serious is the problem
of traffic in urban areas, in which
more than 50 per cent of the Italian
population live and over 70 per cent
of production activities take place,
and where three fifths of vehicles are
concentrated. The abandonment of
large cities, especially in the last two
decades determined an increase in
commuting to work sites located in
the city, resulting in growing pressure
on street access to urban centres.
Regarding the major road network
operators, in Italy the main actors are:
Q ANAS, a national public operator
that manages more than 25,300km
(about 1,000km being motorways);
Q 26 private motorway operators,
that manage more than 5,700km.
Among them, Autostrade per l’Italia
is the main motorway operator that
manages about 3,500km; and
Q authorities that manage local roads.
I
“ The
deployment
of ITS for the
next shortmedium
period has
been defined
by the Italian
ITS Action
Plan adopted
in February
2014 ”
The motorway sector is one of the
most advanced in Italy as regards
58 t @SmartHighwaysM
| www.smarthighways.net
the deployment of ITS. In the last 20
years, the motorway operators have
implemented several ITS solutions as:
Q the national road tolling system
(Telepass);
Q traffic information through
variable message sign, mobile
devices apps, radio, etc.;
Q traffic and infrastructures
monitoring systems through
cameras, sensors, etc.;
Q enforcement systems such as
video surveillances systems specially
in the parking sector, and systems
for the detections of spot (autovelox)
and average (Tutor) speed;
Q dangerous freight transport
monitoring; and
Q automatic incident detection and
management systems.
Concerning the rest of the major road
network, the ITS in widespread use are:
Q traffic information through
variable message sign, mobile
devices apps, radio, etc;
Q traffic and infrastructures
monitoring systems through
cameras, sensors, etc; and
Q enforcement systems for spot
speed detection (autovelox).
Telepass is the road tolling system
used in Italy. Telepass has been
developed by Autostrade per
l’Italia and adopted by all Italian
motorway operators and at the
moment has more than 8 million
users. Telepass enables dynamic toll
collection using DSRC (Dedicated
Short Range Communication)
microwave frequency of 5.8 GHz
for communication between onboard units (OBU) and devices at
toll gates. The main advantage of
Telepass is to significantly reduce
waiting times at toll gates, easing
the traffic flow with a positive
impact on emissions and fuel
consumption, and on the efficiency
of the entire motorway network.
The deployment of ITS for the
next short-medium period has been
defined in the Italian ITS Action Plan
adopted in February 2014 by the
Italian Ministry of Infrastructures and
Transport, and foresees the following
implementations:
Q V2I and V2V systems
Q Reservation and information
services for safe and secure parking
places for trucks and commercial
vehicles;
Q eCall;
Q National ITS Logistics Platform
(UIRNet), a project promoted by the
Italian Ministry of Infrastructures
and Transport with the aim to
provide services to all freight
transport and logistics operators
and stakeholders (ports, freight
hubs, logistics centres, transport
operators, …), in order to improve
the efficiency, safety and security of
logistics processes; and
Q smart mobility solutions for smart
cities
The availability of updated traffic and
transport information is a key priority
for Italy. A recent decree ordered
the Italian Ministry of Infrastructures
and Transport, through the CCISS
(Centro Coordinamento Informazioni
Sicurezza Stradale) to:
Q collect travel, traffic and mobility
information from motorway
operators, mobility agencies, local
administrations, infrastructure
managers, etc. These entities are
obliged to have a DB of updated and
correct information; and
Q make this information freely
available on the CCISS web site to
the final users and service providers
Finally, it is important to underline that
Italy adopted strict rules about Open.
In compliance with this legislation,
some cities (Rome, Milan, etc.) have
added specific sections on Open data
to their websites where information is
already available for service providers,
app developers, sat nav companies,
etc. The same process is happening in
other cities.
smartHIGHWAYS
Vol 3 No 1
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