Smarter Highways is part of a suite of measures to improve road safety, but also aims to use technology to help create a safer work environment for road crews, traffic managers and emergency workers by reducing the amount of time they are exposed to live traffic.

Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said the Government was committed to making the NSW road network safer, more reliable, and more resilient.

“What’s so important about Smarter Highways is that the technology’s focus is to effect behavioural change and reduce risky driving actions, such as not driving to the conditions, that we know contribute to deaths and injuries on our roads,” she said. “I’m glad that the Smarter Highway technologies will be trialled in the regions because outside of the cities, driving is often the only available form of transport and sometimes there are no alternative routes, so we need to make those journeys safer. “

Smarter Highway Activated Vehicle and Environmental Systems (SHAVES) is a self-adaptive electronic signage with machine learning capability. PIC: NSW Government

The Smarter Highway trials will boast a number of aspects. These include:

Smarter Highway Activated Vehicle and Environmental Systems (SHAVES) whereby self-adaptive electronic signage with machine learning capability is able to predict events and provide motorists with advance warning of hazards such as black ice, smoke or wildlife. This is designed to replace the current processes whereby maintenance crews need to source and locate portable Variable Message Signs (VMS) to high-risk areas.

Permanent traffic counters – Road Pod Vehicle Magnetometer (VM). This is a new form of permanent traffic counter device installed on the road which can detect and provide information on vehicle volumes, classifications, speeds, headways, road temperatures and system health in real time. The fact that this allows live monitoring of traffic in various scenarios will be especially beneficial particularly during the start and end of holidays, during harvest sessions, and situations where monitoring seasonal variations and natural disaster periods is critical.

Rural Intersection Activated Warning System (RIAWS). When a vehicle on a side road approaches a high-speed main road, sensors trigger Variable Speed Limit Signs (VSLS), which instruct drivers on the main road to slow down. This is designed to provide safer gaps in the traffic and provide more time for better driver reactions. This is particularly important for larger vehicles looking to turn from a side road onto a main road with a higher speed limit.

Improving local area traffic management during major disruptions. Using technology to provide safe reliable access in times of unplanned and planned events that cause disruption on the roads.

Permanent Congestion Management.  Using existing technology, such as radars and traffic signals, and combining them in a way that will enable dynamic management of traffic congestion at a notorious breakdown location in the Blue Mountains.

Transport for NSW will trial the technologies on state-managed highways but also consider how they could be adapted for use on local roads, in partnership with councils.

• Do you think these high-tech trials are the sorts of things that will make a difference, and prompt safer driver behaviour? Comment below

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