Switzerland expands flexible speed limits

The Swiss department for roads, Astra, is to expand its flexible speed limit systems. It already runs flexible speed limits on the approach to the Baregg tunnel and on the Zurich western bypass, but it is planning to expand this to include whole routes, such as the motorway between Zurich and Bern or Geneva and Lausanne.
June 19, 2013 Read time: 1 min

The Swiss department for roads, Astra, is to expand its flexible speed limit systems. It already runs flexible speed limits on the approach to the Baregg tunnel and on the Zurich western bypass, but it is planning to expand this to include whole routes, such as the motorway between Zurich and Bern or Geneva and Lausanne.

The system uses sensors which measure the volume of traffic, and if the number of cars reaches a certain level, the system can either lower the speed limit itself automatically or alert a traffic control centre.

Astra emphasised that it was important that this took place before the volume of traffic leads to a traffic jam. The capacity of the roads is the greatest when cars travel at a constant speed of 85 km/h. Astra is also using other congestion reduction measures, such as using the hard shoulder as an additional lane, and banning lorries from overtaking in certain areas.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Telematics standards need to evolve to keep up with technology
    July 30, 2012
    Scott Andrews and Scott McCormick take a look at how standards development for the telematics environment needs itself to evolve in order to stay abreast of technological advances. While the road has been somewhat arduous, telematics has evolved from a research activity to a resource for fleet operators, consumers and road management authorities.
    Read More
  • Plate matching technology more accurate than conventional OCR
    February 3, 2012
    EngiNe srl's patented Plate Matching technique is something of a paradox, in that it achieves formal vehicle identification without recognising, in the accepted sense, the characters on its number plate. Here, Angelo Dionisi of ENG Group explains how it works
    Read More
  • Intelligent lane control signals help direct driver behaviour
    November 21, 2012
    As part of a larger effort exploring the effects of roadway signage on driver behaviour, researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Design have conducted a study on the effectiveness of intelligent lane control signals (ILCS). During the study, was funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the research team used a driving simulator to test ILCS that displayed merge, speed control, and lane-closure warnings over freeway lanes. The researchers were specifically interested in d
    Read More
  • Bluetooth sensors show great savings in major highway project
    October 16, 2013
    Bluetooth traffic sensors installed on a four-lane highway in the Waikato region of New Zealand demonstrate significant journey time savings, according to a report by New Zealand engineering consultants Beca and the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Money well spent? The challenge of finding primary data.
    Read More

Highlighted Content