Vaisala says it’s time to take road weather seriously

“It is time to take road weather seriously,” is how Vaisala’s Danny Johns puts the company’s message to this week’s ITS World Congress delegates, and the wider world. While the monitoring of winter weather is well established, wind, rain and poor visibility can occur at any time of the year and have significant impacts on traffic flows and crash statistics. “We are now mapping road networks to identify weather-sensitive areas to best locate road weather stations – it doesn’t take a lot of rain or wind to
October 12, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Danny Johns of Vaisala with the road weather system
“It is time to take road weather seriously,” is how 144 Vaisala’s Danny Johns puts the company’s message to this week’s ITS World Congress delegates, and the wider world.

While the monitoring of winter weather is well established, wind, rain and poor visibility can occur at any time of the year and have significant impacts on traffic flows and crash statistics.

“We are now mapping road networks to identify weather-sensitive areas to best locate road weather stations – it doesn’t take a lot of rain or wind to cause an increase in incidents,” said Johns.

Vaisala’s RWS 200 road weather station, displayed on the company’s stand, is fitted with three lasers to measure water, ice and snow and then calculate the available grip. When the grip level falls below a pre-set level, it will either send an alert to the traffic monitoring centre or, particularly in rural locations, automatically activate variable message or speed signs.

“We have had examples of significant decreases in crashes after road weather monitoring stations have been installed,” Johns said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ramp metering delivers - again
    January 27, 2012
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to
    Read More
  • Vietnam uses big data to transform city systems
    August 16, 2013
    With one of the highest population growths in Vietnam and the subsequent strain on resources, Da Nang, the country’s fourth largest city, has turned to IBM technology to increase the manageability and efficiency of the city’s systems. Using IBM’s intelligent operations centre, the Da Nang government will address two of the most significant issues impacting life in the city, transportation and water. The solution provides a summary of events and incidents through maps, dashboards and alerts, allowing city pe
    Read More
  • Too safe for safety’s sake
    October 22, 2013
    In-vehicle systems are making huge advances in vehicle safety with the introduction of ABS, collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and blind spot warning… the list goes on. But at the same time accidents are still happening and arguably getting bigger. A look at a list of multi-vehicle (30 - 300) accidents across Europe, North and South America and parts of the Middle East shows that the trend is increasing with 2013 already having witnessed seven such incidents – three of which
    Read More
  • Florida’s Altamonte Springs uses Uber pilot program with Uber to expand transportation coverage
    April 5, 2017
    To Uber or Not to Uber, that is the question cities must answer as they consider the pros and cons of inviting private transportation service providers to fill transportation gaps. Back in 1999, Frank Martz, city manager of Altamonte Springs, Florida, had an idea to expand transportation services to areas not covered by the local bus company.
    Read More

Highlighted Content