Development of a CCTV-Camera-Based Road Visibility Information System (RVIS)

In winter, Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido frequently experiences snowstorm-induced poor visibility that increases the likelihood of lane deviation accidents and multi-vehicle collisions. This paper describes a new road visibility information system (RVIS) that produces visibility information calculated from images of CCTV cameras that are installed on national highways. The system stores and accumulates images sent from CCTV cameras to quantify the image data to automatically compute visibility indexes that identify levels of road visibility. The visibility indexes produced by RVIS allow the road administrators to collect and accumulate visibility data and to provide visibility information to the public by Internet, e-mail and mobile phone. Road traffic safety is enhanced by this information, particularly under poor visibility conditions due to bad weather. The authors report on the RVIS and the results of a feasibility study conducted during the winters of 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 in Japan. The authors conclude that the RVIS accurately identifies poor visibility caused by adverse weather, including blowing snow, snowstorms, and fog. The system may enable road users to avoid poor visibility by allowing them to change their departure time, travel route and travel mode in advance.

• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Tamiya, Keiji
  • Onishi, Koki
  • Hosomi, Akihiko
  • Kusakabe, Takaaki
  • Sasaki, Hirokazu
  • Kaneda, Yasuhiro
  • Kawamura, Fumiyoshi
  • Nagata, Yasuhiro
  • Hagiwara, Toru
• Conference:
  • 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems and ITS America's 2008 Annual Meeting
  • Location: New York NY, United States
  • Date: 2008-11-16 to 2008-11-20
• Publication Date: 2008

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 11p
• Monograph Title: ITS Connections: Saving Time. Saving Lives

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Closed circuit television; Feasibility analysis; Fog; Highway safety; Intelligent transportation systems; Real time information; Road weather information systems; Snow; Visibility distance; Weather conditions
• Identifier Terms: Road Visibility Information Service
• Geographic Terms: Hokkaido (Japan)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01140673
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 28 2009 7:19AM