Skip to main content

Australia trials ‘smart’ road barriers

'Smart' road barriers that will speed up emergency response times to crash sites are being trialled in South Australia. The wire rope technology, designed in South Australia, is expected to improve crash response times by sending an electronic message direct to the city's traffic management centre when a vehicle crashes into the barrier. The technology has been installed on one of the state's most notorious roads and will be trialled for a year at a cost of US$112,000. If successful, the government wi
November 14, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
'Smart' road barriers that will speed up emergency response times to crash sites are being trialled in South Australia.

The wire rope technology, designed in South Australia, is expected to improve crash response times by sending an electronic message direct to the city's traffic management centre when a vehicle crashes into the barrier.

The technology has been installed on one of the state's most notorious roads and will be trialled for a year at a cost of US$112,000. If successful, the government will consider rolling the technology out across the state.

"The rope will detect when a vehicle has crashed into it, triggering an electronic alert to be sent to the Traffic Management Centre at Norwood," Road Safety minister Michael O'Brien said. "By knowing when a vehicle has hit the barrier, the centre can immediately alert emergency services. This will help to improve response times to crashes, rather than waiting for the police, the public or someone involved in a crash to report the accident."

The technology also allows technicians to monitor the tension of the wires.

"If there is a loosening or an impact to the wire ropes, the traffic management centre is alerted and are able to dispatch a work crew to fix the barrier if required," O'Brien said.

Related Content

  • Increased automation is already improving road safety
    April 20, 2017
    Richard Cuerden considers how many of the technologies developed as part of a move toward autonomous vehicles are already being deployed as ADAS improve road safety. The drive to create autonomous vehicles has caused a re-evaluation of what is needed to safely navigate today’s roads and the development of systems that can replace the driver in many scenarios. However, many manufacturers are not waiting for ‘tomorrow’ and are already incorporating these systems in their new cars as Advanced Driver Assistanc
  • UK to tackle US$1.6 billion cost of motorway closures
    April 25, 2012
    A UK government strategy to tackle congestion caused by motorway closures and drive down the £1 billion (US$1.6 billion) annual cost to the economy has been unveiled by Roads Minister Mike Penning, who also announced the launch of a £3 million ($4.87 million) fund for police forces to purchase laser scanning technology to speed up of the investigation process and incident clear up times.
  • Drone pics are 'extra golden nugget' for emergency services and traffic operators
    August 8, 2024
    UK city working with Vesos, Skyfarer & Haas Alert to get 'first eyes' on collisions
  • Debating the future development of ANPR
    July 31, 2012
    What future is there for automatic number plate recognition? Will it be supplanted by electronic vehicle identification, or will continuing development maintain the technology's relevance? In recent years, digitisation and IP-based communication networks have allowed Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to achieve ever-greater utility and a commensurate increase in deployments. But where does the technology go next - indeed, does it have a future in the face of the increasing use of, for instance, Dedi