Skip to main content

Qatar tests overheight vehicle detectors

The first over-height vehicle detection system (OVDS) in Qatar has been launched at the Duhail intersection in Doha. The new system will help provide greater control over trucks and protect bridges and tunnels, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) said yesterday. The system is operated and controlled by the traffic signal control room (TSCR) at Ashghal. The OVDS uses integrated sensors or height detectors, electronic message board and CCTV, to detect vehicles that violate the maximum permitted height of
January 6, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The first over-height vehicle detection system (OVDS) in Qatar has been launched at the Duhail intersection in Doha.  The new system will help provide greater control over trucks and protect bridges and tunnels, the Public Works Authority (5840 Ashghal) said yesterday.

The system is operated and controlled by the traffic signal control room (TSCR) at Ashghal. The OVDS uses integrated sensors or height detectors, electronic message board and CCTV, to detect vehicles that violate the maximum permitted height of 5.5 metres before entering tunnels, or passing under bridges. In the event of any over-height vehicle trying to enter the interchange, the system will alert the vehicle through a siren audible at the site, followed by a multi-lingual text message that appears on the electronic board at the site.

At the same time, the traffic signal at the approach will be changed to red by the control room to prevent the vehicle from entering the interchange. If the vehicle ignores the warnings, the control room will immediately contact the traffic department to take steps to prevent the vehicle from entering the interchange.

Ashghal’s Road Operation and Maintenance Department is looking at the possibility of introducing the OVDS at more intersections across Doha.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Communications for cooperative infrastructures and safety
    February 2, 2012
    Scott Andrews of Cogenia Partners, LLC details the findings of the VII Proof Of Concept work carried out to verify the effectiveness of 5.9GHz-based communication for future US cooperative infrastructures
  • Connected cones make for safer sites
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford welcomes new lives for old road safety products. Traffic cones and barrels have traditionally been on the bottom shelf of the road construction and maintenance industry, typically forming visible soft safety barriers for temporary works at a lower cost than concrete alternatives. On both sides of the Atlantic, however, they are fast gaining new roles as instrumented components in advanced construction safety arrays. The EC-sponsored €1 million (US$1.31 million) Safelane collaborative innovati
  • Dynamic lane closures cuts time, cost and congestion on Motorway roadworks
    March 17, 2014
    A combination of technologies is leading to major congestion and cost reductions during roadworks on the UK’s motorway network. Innovative construction programme scheduling technology and the deployment of moveable barriers has achieved substantial savings of money and time on UK motorway roadworks managed by the Highways Agency (HA). This combination has set the scene for a new generation of road usage analysis tools. The HA’s objective was to reduce the congestion caused by lane closures during roa
  • New Mersey crossing ends Halton’s congestion misery
    December 5, 2017
    Plagued by intolerable congestion but denied government funding for its solution, tiny Halton Borough Council relentlessly pursued its vision and achieved what many believed impossible. Halton may be a small local authority in north west England, but it had a big traffic problem. However, as the road, or more particularly the bridge, involved was not deemed a strategic route, central government would not commission or even fund a solution - a problem that many other local authorities will recognise.