Skip to main content

New ice warning system aids safety on Swedish highways

A new road sensor system is set to offer more accurate warnings for slippery surfaces. The TrackIce system, developed by Mowic, is to be installed by road maintenance contractor Peab along a 30 kilometre stretch of highway E4 between Stora Essingen and Södertälje in Sweden. According to Mowic, the TrackIce system is quick to install without the need for cables, enabling it to be installed in remote areas where no power is available. The TrackIce central unit can also handle information from other sensors su
February 5, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A new road sensor system is set to offer more accurate warnings for slippery surfaces.

The TrackIce system, developed by 7134 Mowic, is to be installed by road maintenance contractor Peab along a 30 kilometre stretch of highway E4 between Stora Essingen and Södertälje in Sweden.

According to Mowic, the TrackIce system is quick to install without the need for cables, enabling it to be installed in remote areas where no power is available. The TrackIce central unit can also handle information from other sensors such as wind sensors and snow depth sensors. The weather data from the TrackIce system is then analysed and transmitted to the customer’s weather forecasting system, such as MeteoGroup´s Roadcast service which is used by many contractors.

“As the TrackIce equipment requires no power or data cables we were able to install the sensors exactly where we wanted to. The installation is easy and quick, we just drill a small hole for each sensor, ensures it is aligned with the road surface and mold it into place”, says Per Hallberg, operations manager at Peab district Western Södertörn.
TrackIce is currently in operation at several places in the Stockholm area, including Södertälje municipality where the system is placed in a sensitive location were icing occurs early.

“In Södertälje we have a known road section very prone to accidents. This is where we placed our TrackIce sensor. When the road surface is wet and we get a warning from the system, we know that in about two hours’ time, it is very likely there will be icy roads in the entire region. We will then begin anti-icing activities by spreading salt to prevent black ice, says Jan Johansson, Operations planning manager in Södertälje.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road signs in a flap
    July 25, 2012
    The Danish Road Directorate and Daluiso have developed a new type of road sign to make road works and maintenance tasks more efficient. Called 'swap signs', their function is to flap open/shut near road works, spring cleaning or grass cutting by contractors.
  • How can US transportation be ‘re-envisioned’?
    October 17, 2019
    In her address to this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting, congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, called for a ‘re-envisioning’ of transportation. Her speech is below – and ITS International asks a number of US experts what they would like to see ‘re-envisioned’…

    I would like to welcome  ITS America to the nation’s capital.

  • Commsignia stops AVs behaving badly
    May 16, 2022
    Cybersecurity concerns surrounding autonomous vehicles create uncertainty but Commsignia has set out to win trust by combating ‘misbehaviour’ attacks, finds Ben Spencer
  • Standardised technology aids low cost wireless communication
    November 13, 2012
    In the UK, the necessary radio spectrum has been identified and standardised technology developed to allow cost effective wireless communication between cars, devices and other ‘machines’. This by Professor William Webb. A world free of traffic congestion, with intelligent systems directing vehicles and alerting drivers to free parking spaces may sound a far off fantasy to motorists stuck in seemingly endless queues on the outskirts of London. Yet this is a scenario not confined to the world of science fict