LOCAL QUEUE WARNING SYSTEM - A SOLUTION TO REDUCE REAR-END COLLISIONS?

This paper presents the development of a local queue warning system - starting from objectives and finishing at the evaluation. Lansivayla (The Western Motorway) is an arterial motorway in Helsinki, Finland. It leads the traffic from West to the city centre and has an average daily traffic of 65,000 vehicles per day. There are daily, but inconstant congestion problems which result in various rear-end accidents. Furthermore, the congestion causes waste of time, pollution, and frustration to the drivers. The Uusimaa Region of the Finnish National Road Administration decided to tackle the problem by implementing the first local queue warning system in Northern Europe. The main objective of the Lansivayla Queue Warning System is to reduce the number of accidents by warning drivers and by smoothing traffic flow. The detection is based on 98 induction loop detectors in 17 cross sections. There are 14 variable message (fibre optic) signs in the first implementation phase of the system. Three color video cameras are used to monitor traffic in the area. Fibre optic cables are used in the data transfer, both along the road and between the local controllers and the Traffic Management Centre. From the site both the traffic data and the pictures from three cameras are transferred to the Traffic Management Centre using only one dedicated pair of fibre optic cables. The software is based on an exponentially smoothed speed indicator that is calculated for each lane in all 17 cross sections. The algorithm is user friendly because it can be easily adjusted and it is relatively easy for a traffic planner or a supervisor in the traffic management centre to understand the expected effects of these changes. Since the system is the first of its kind in Finland, a rather detailed evaluation will be carried out to study the effects of the system. The first phase of the evaluation is being carried out already in 1996. The main emphasis in the evaluation is in monitoring the changes in the traffic flow. Most of the data needed in the evaluation will be gathered by the system itself. Before-data will be collected during summer 1996. After-data will be collected in at least two periods; 1-2 months after commencing the operation and 1.5-2 years after. The evaluation results from before and the first after surveys will be presented at the Congress and can be later obtained from the authors.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available only on CD.
• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Ristola, T
  • Muurinen, I
• Conference:
  • Intelligent Transportation: Realizing the Future. Abstracts of the Third World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems
  • Location: Orlando, Florida
  • Date: 1996-10-14 to 1996-10-18
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: n.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Algorithms; Evaluation; Fiber optics; Freeways; Highway traffic control; Loop detectors; Queuing; Rear end crashes; Safety; Software; Speed indicators; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow; Traffic safety; Traffic surveillance; Variable message signs; Warning systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Reduction (Decrease); Video technology
• Geographic Terms: Helsinki (Finland)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00741635
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 23 1997 12:00AM