Skip to main content

GPS-guided gritters deployed in central London

Westminster City Council, in the heart of London, has invested around US$800,000 in new GPS-guided gritting trucks for winter road maintenance.
March 14, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Westminster City Council, in the heart of London, has invested around US$800,000 in new GPS-guided gritting trucks for winter road maintenance.

The new machines – six 18 tonne payload and two 10 tonne payload gritters - will be controlled from a central command centre as they operate throughout some 1,000 kms of road and pavement in Westminster borough.

Each truck will be tracked by the on-board GPS unit, while sensors will indicate whether or not each vehicle is spreading salt or just travelling. An on-board satellite navigation unit allows drivers to be given visible instructions of where to go and the best route to get there, delivering greater round efficiency and ensuring salt is spread where it is most needed.

Related Content

  • Island Radar: safely crossing continents
    August 6, 2020
    There is a safety flashpoint wherever roads cross over railways. Island Radar is using well-established traffic technology to keep all parties safe from harm.
  • Rapid growth makes Texas an incubator for tolling innovation
    September 8, 2014
    As the IBTTA’s annual meeting and exhibition heads for Austin, Mitchell Beer, president of Smarter Shift, considers the role of Texas in the development of tolling strategies and technology. The State of Texas has always prided itself on being ‘larger than life’. From the sprawling geography of the state itself with its wide open skies, to its entrepreneurial ‘get-it-done’ attitude, Texas exudes an impatient restlessness that pushes businesses and public agencies to deliver faster, better results. More ofte
  • MDOT recognised for ITS technology leadership
    September 18, 2014
    Two high-tech projects championed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) have been recognised by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) with ITS America's Best of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Awards. MDOT earned an award in the Best New Innovative Practice-Partnership Deployment category for its automatic vehicle location (AVL) and maintenance decision support system (MDSS) project and was a finalist in another category, Best New Innovative Practice-Susta
  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi offer new options for travel time measurements
    November 20, 2013
    New trials show Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals can be reliably used for measuring travel times and at a lower cost than an ANPR system, but which is the better proposition depends on many factors. Measuring travel times has traditionally relied automatic number plate (or licence plate) recognition (ANPR/ALPR) cameras capturing the progress of vehicles travelling along a pre-defined route. Such systems also have the benefit of being able to count passing traffic and have become a vital tool in dealing with c