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

  • August 6, 2013
    Monitoring, detection and control systems inside tunnels can do much to improve traveller safety
    ITS technology can do a great deal to improve tunnel safety, as Colin Sowman discovers. It was back in April 2004 that the European Parliament adopted the EU Directive which lays down the Minimum Safety Requirements for Tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network (2004/54/EC). This was the first unitary legislation setting minimum safety standards for European road tunnels and was designed to harmonise the management of tunnel safety at a national level. Operators of existing tunnels have until 30 April 201
    Read More
  • December 16, 2016
    Video analytics enhances urban rail safety
    David Crawford explores some promising innovations for North American commuters. North America is experiencing a surge in commuter rail and metro development. The US now has 75 light rail and metro networks in operation; and California, in particular, is actively exploring ways of developing the state’s existing passenger rail operations into a fully integrated system.
    Read More
  • March 18, 2016
    US automakers commit to making AEB standard on new vehicles
    Twenty US automakers, representing more than 90 per cent of the US auto market have committed to automatic emergency braking (AEB) a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than 2022. Making the announcement, the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said that the commitment means that this important safety technology will be available to more consumers more quickly than would be possible
    Read More
  • June 10, 2015
    East Africa uses cargo tracking to foils criminals and collect tax
    Shem Oirere looks at the beneficial effect of cargo tracking. The mandatory installation of electronic cargo tracking and security (ECTS) systems in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda has helped enhance revenue collection, enforce cargo handling requirements, improved the business environment of the respective countries’ trade routes and helped cargo hauliers cut costs. This is being spearheaded by the state-owned tax collection agencies and the improved custom duty collection has not only enabled a reduction of im
    Read More

Highlighted Content