Skip to main content

Vital sign of the times

Part of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s Anita Scheme to improve traffic management as well as accessibility and information for cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers, UK company Vital Technology’s Vital Tri-Sign variable message sign has been installed at key locations in the area. The Highways Agency-approved Vital Tri-Sign is a series of rotating prisms; one face of the prism advises vehicles of normal running conditions, the other faces give information on unusual circumstances such as a predi
June 18, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Vital's Tri-Sign VMS
Part of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s Anita Scheme to improve traffic management as well as accessibility and information for cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers, UK company 7324 Vital Technology’s Vital Tri-Sign variable message sign has been installed at key locations in the area.

The 503 Highways Agency-approved Vital Tri-Sign is a series of rotating prisms; one face of the prism advises vehicles of normal running conditions, the other faces give information on unusual circumstances such as a predicted diversion, exceptional weather conditions, congestion etc. Tri-Sign can even operate in conjunction with temperature sensors and advise motorists of dangerous driving conditions.

Control mechanisms are wired or wireless and based on open architecture and protocols, with operation by GSM and radio transmission fobs being common options. An integrated timer5 enables standard changes of face, such as bus lane status in and out of peak hours.
 
The signs are used to advise road-users of heavy traffic during events at the National Exhibition Centre or traffic congestion around Birmingham airport airport, and provide motorists with alternative routes and diversions. The signage is being used in conjunction with CCTV and video analytics.

Harold Trunley, managing director of Vital Technology, said: “The Anita scheme has delivered demonstrable improvements to public transport services in this hub of the West Midlands.  Managing congestion caused by events at the NEC and LG Arena is crucial. Assisting in provision of a real alternative to the car for employment and social trips is part of Vital’s green agenda.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • 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.
  • M62 managed motorway scheme signs switched on
    February 12, 2013
    Work to upgrade part of the M62 in West Yorkshire to a managed motorway, the first scheme in the Yorkshire and Humber region, reached a significant milestone when the first overhead electronic signs went live. For the first time, the variable advisory speed limit signs have come into operation between junctions 27 and 28 to allow the UK Highways Agency to calibrate and test the technology required for the new managed motorway, with the signs being switched on and off in response to traffic conditions. Advis
  • First VMS installed on Gateway WA project
    August 19, 2015
    Australian signs manufacturer, A.D. Engineering International was selected by DownerMouchel to provide overhead variable message signs for the Gateway WA project, which aims to improve the safety and efficiency of one of Western Australia’s most important transport hubs around Perth airport. Gateway WA was selected as the alliance partner by Main Roads Western Australia to deliver the $1 billion Gateway WA Perth Airport and Freight Access Project on behalf of the Australian and Western Australian Governm
  • Hertfordshire’s traffic control centre ‘improves congestion’
    March 13, 2013
    As part of a wider Hertfordshire County Council strategy to ease congestion across the county, the council is installing variable message signs to provide live incident information, managed by a centralised control centre at County Hall. The centre opened in October last year at a cost of around US$600,000 and is operated by eighteen staff, who monitor the county’s road network. If an accident occurs, traffic signals can be adjusted and messages displayed in a bid to redirect traffic ease congestion. Mainte