Vaisala raises weather warning with ITS industry and auto makers

Vaisala’s chief scientific officer, Dr Kevin Petty, is a man on a mission. He is here at ITS America 2016 San Jose to tell exhibitors, speakers and delegates that they must make provisions for the effects of weather on transportation. “In the US, there are 5,000 fatalities on the road each year due to weather-related factors,” he said, adding: “If weather conditions are not taken into account, the full benefits of connected and autonomous vehicles will not be realised.” He is excited by the prospect o
June 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Kevin Petty of Vaisala
144 Vaisala’s chief scientific officer, Dr Kevin Petty, is a man on a mission. He is here at ITS America 2016 San Jose to tell exhibitors, speakers and delegates that they must make provisions for the effects of weather on transportation.

“In the US, there are 5,000 fatalities on the road each year due to weather-related factors,” he said, adding: “If weather conditions are not taken into account, the full benefits of connected and autonomous vehicles will not be realised.”

He is excited by the prospect of connected vehicles as data collection probes for road conditions and the potential to convey weather related information to or between vehicles but says: “Weather is such a big factor in road incidents, but when I go round the exhibitors’ stands I don’t see evidence that its effects are being taken into account in the products and services on display.

“Human drivers instinctively slow down when visibility decreases or grip deteriorates but if autonomous vehicles do not, this could expose them to potential problems in the rain, snow, fog or simply darkness. So it is imperative that the ITS industry and vehicle designers begin to factor in weather-related effects and to use the information that is or can be made available.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • C-ITS in the EU: ‘A little tribal’
    April 1, 2019
    As the C-ITS Delegated Act begins its journey through the European policy maze, Adam Hill looks at who is expecting what from this proposed framework for connected vehicles – and why some people are insisting that the lawmakers are already getting things wrong here are furrowed brows in Brussels and Strasbourg as European Union legislators begin to consider the rules which will underpin future services such as connected vehicles. The idea is to create a regulatory framework to harmonise cooperative ITS
    Read More
  • 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
    Read More
  • Best of ITS award for Idaho’s Vaisala road weather system
    September 9, 2013
    The Vaisala road weather system deployed by Idaho Transportation Department has won a "Best New Innovative Product, Service or Application for 2013" award at the 2013 National Rural ITS Conference in St Cloud, Minnesota. The award highlights new technology that furthers the development and/or deployment of rural intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications, as well as specific and measurable outcomes that result from the product or service. The Idaho Transportation Department, using Vaisala's
    Read More
  • Need for secure approach to connected vehicle technology
    January 7, 2013
    Accidental or malicious issue of false messages to connected vehicles could result in dire consequences, so secure systems of authentication and certification are likely to be necessary, write Paul Avery and Sandra Dykes. Connectivity among vehicles in urban traffic systems will provide opportunity for beneficial impacts such as congestion reduction and greater safety. However, it also creates security risks with the potential for targeted disruption. Security algorithms, protocols and procedures must take
    Read More

Highlighted Content