First product to undergo Technology Partnerships

A Technology Partnerships study has been announced to evaluate the safety benefits of a solar-powered traffic signage system designed to minimise crashes on horizontal curves in the US. Part of the US FHWA Highways for Life initiative, evaluations will test the effectiveness of innovative road infrastructure safety technologies that are fully developed and market ready, but have had little use on US roads. Although horizontal curves make up a small percentage of total road miles, they account for 25 per cen
June 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Tapco's sequential dynamic curve warning system will be evaluated for two years in several US states
A Technology Partnerships study has been announced to evaluate the safety benefits of a solar-powered traffic signage system designed to minimise crashes on horizontal curves in the US. Part of the US 831 Federal Highway Administration Highways for Life initiative, evaluations will test the effectiveness of innovative road infrastructure safety technologies that are fully developed and market ready, but have had little use on US roads.

Although horizontal curves make up a small percentage of total road miles, they account for 25 per cent of all highway fatalities with the majority of crashes on curves involving lane departures. US company Traffic and Parking Control Company (989 TAPCO) has developed the sequential dynamic curve warning system which consists of a series of solar-powered, LED-enhanced flashing signs that are installed throughout a curve. Approaching vehicles, sensed by radar or other ITS device, trigger the controller that wirelessly activates the LED signs to flash sequentially through the curve to warn speeding drivers to slow down. The two-year Technology Partnerships field study will evaluate the effectiveness of the system in reducing vehicle speeds and in reducing the frequency and/or the severity of curve-related crashes. Participating State DOTs include Missouri, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Colorado.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Driver training saves lives, increases profits, reduces costs
    February 6, 2012
    An innovative UK Government initiative on work-related driver training has resulted in astonishing success, not only in terms of government objectives, but also in substantial cost-benefits for companies and public sector authorities participating in the scheme: they save lives and increase profits/reduce costs Here, we present an overview of the initiative and, overleaf, provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis which amply illustrates why it has been enthusiastically embraced by industry and the public sec
    Read More
  • Speeding the recovery of stranded commercial vehicles is paying dividends in Georgia
    April 9, 2014
    Delcan’s Cheryl-Marie Hansberger details how Georgia’s Towing and Recovery Incentive Program (TRIP) has improved road safety and helped to reduce traffic congestion in the metro Atlanta region. By 2008, steady increases in population had led the Texas Transportation Institute to declare Atlanta, Georgia to be the third most congested city in the US. In an effort to increase road user safety and mitigate the effects of traffic, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and its local partners have imple
    Read More
  • RAC survey shows big safety gains with average speed enforcement
    January 11, 2017
    Cheaper and easier communications are providing authorities with new options for influencing driver behaviour. Colin Sowman reports. It’s official; Average speed cameras (ASCs) cut the number of fatal or serious injury crashes by more than a third.
    Read More
  • Study finds rumble strips save lives on rural highways
    June 2, 2015
    A recently completed study shows that rumble strips are proving to be an effective and low-cost way to reduce crashes on Michigan's state highways. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) started a major rumble strip program for two-lane high-speed rural highways in 2008. Centre-line and shoulder rumble strips were installed on all MDOT rural, non-freeway highways with posted speed limits of 55 mph and appropriate paved lane and shoulder widths. To date, 5,700 miles of centre-line rumble strips
    Read More

Highlighted Content