Wall of water halts lorries

After a string of heavy goods lorry drivers drove their over-sized vehicles through low tunnels, causing huge traffic delays and damaging the tunnel structure, Australian authorities took extreme action. They had tried flashing signs, neon signs and staggered signs to no avail, so drivers are now greeted with a curtain of water falling from the tunnel entrance, with a huge stop sign projected on to it. The Softstop virtual barrier created by Laservision creates the illusion of a solid sign, forcing the driv
May 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
After a string of heavy goods lorry drivers drove their over-sized vehicles through low tunnels, causing huge traffic delays and damaging the tunnel structure, Australian authorities took extreme action.

They had tried flashing signs, neon signs and staggered signs to no avail, so drivers are now greeted with a curtain of water falling from the tunnel entrance, with a huge stop sign projected on to it.

The Softstop virtual barrier created by 7344 Laservision creates the illusion of a solid sign, forcing the drivers to stop - but if they cannot halt in time, it has no physical impact on the vehicle.

Laservision said that the Sydney Harbour Tunnel has experienced more than 10,000 incidents of vehicles hitting the structure since it opened.

The damage caused by too large vehicles crashing into the overhead of the tunnel affected up to 12,000 motorists at peak time, the company said.  This method means that the drivers avoid damaging their vehicles, cargo and road infrastructure.

Related Content

  • July 24, 2012
    Righter shade of pale
    Jon Tarleton, Quixote Transportation Technologies, Inc., talks about developments in mobile weather information gathering Quixote Transportation Technologies, Inc. (QTT) is promoting the greater use of mobile technologies to provide infill between fixed Road Weather Information System (RWIS) infrastructure. It is, the company says, a means of reducing the expense of providing comprehensive, network-wide coverage, particularly in geographic locations where the sheer number of centreline miles causes cost to
    Read More
  • January 6, 2016
    Varying acceptance of tolling in Africa
    Tolling technology is now at an advanced state but governments have a key role in ensuring the success of schemes as is evident in Africa. Shem Oirere reports. According to the African Development Bank, the continent has an estimated $46bn of infrastructure financing deficit. The bank says sub-Saharan Africa requires $93bn annually to meet its infrastructure development needs - but only half of the financing is available.
    Read More
  • January 6, 2016
    Varying acceptance of tolling in Africa
    Tolling technology is now at an advanced state but governments have a key role in ensuring the success of schemes as is evident in Africa. Shem Oirere reports. According to the African Development Bank, the continent has an estimated $46bn of infrastructure financing deficit. The bank says sub-Saharan Africa requires $93bn annually to meet its infrastructure development needs - but only half of the financing is available.
    Read More
  • November 18, 2020
    Adaptive traffic control with Sensys reduces congestion… and stress
    Adapting to evolving traffic patterns can be difficult. Bad weather, accidents, events, construction work, and even business openings can alter traffic for hours, days, weeks, or longer.
    Read More

Highlighted Content