More than a gadget every mile keeps the country on the move

Many thousands of high tech devices now turn strips of ordinary looking road surface into one of the most sophisticated highway networks in the world.

The Highways Agency, which manages England's motorways and strategic road network, has highlighted a stack of high-tech wizardry as it unveiled its latest journey planning tools.

The Agency's main live traffic information website highways.gov.uk/traffic has now been enhanced to provide even easier navigation and extra information including live vehicle speed data, what the overhead motorway signs are saying and even the view from thousands of CCTV cameras.

It gives details of any unplanned incidents and shows where the motorways and major trunk roads are flowing freely.

Now when drivers stop for a break keying highways.gov.uk/mobile on their mobile will allow them to check that the road is clear ahead. For those without a laptop or PC at their holiday destination, they can now check for updates before heading for home too.

Denise Plumpton, Highways Agency director of information says:
"We take our task of managing the strategic network very seriously and we employ huge amounts of technology to keep the country moving.

"Thousands of people already take advantage of our website to check the latest traffic information before they leave; now we are making that same information much easier to access when people are away from their PC too."

The mobile version of the Highways Agency website provides easy access to live traffic information that is presented in a simple text based format specially designed for smaller screens that will deliver faster download speeds. It includes latest incident reports searchable by region and motorway.

The new mobile platform also provides audio streaming of Traffic Radio, the Agency's 24-hour digital radio station based at the National Traffic Control Centre.

Denise Plumpton adds:
"Our publicity and frequent messages on the site itself make it absolutely clear you should never use a mobile phone while driving, but we also encourage drivers to take frequent breaks and that is an ideal time to check the road ahead.

"This is the latest addition to a suite of service to provide road users with the information they need to make informed choices about their journey - they include variable message signs set by our operators, Traffic Radio which broadcasts live from our National Traffic Control Centre on DAB digital radio, the data we pass on to other broadcasters and media organisations and our very popular website."

Around two thousand cameras and six thousand vehicle detection systems now feed into an estimated four terabytes of data at the Birmingham-based centre. This is then presented to road users as live traffic updates using an array of communications channels from the Google Maps(tm) traffic feature to variable message signs and radio broadcasts.

A gadget every mile
From automatic road signs that can 'see' miles ahead to bridge structures that 'phone home' when they are feeling stressed, an average motorway journey in England will have at least a gadget every mile to help you on your way.

Cameras: Even before you leave home you can check the view from thousands of CCTV cameras looking over the strategic road network. Live images from Highways Agency cameras can now be seen on the Agency's website highways.gov.uk/traffic.

Traffic flow monitors: Thousands of detector loops buried in the road surface measure traffic flows and this is shown as live information on maps and charts on the Highways Agency website. In the latest version you can now see the speed of slow moving traffic.

Google Maps(tm) traffic feature: The same information can be seen on Google Maps(tm) by clicking the 'traffic' button. England's motorways and main roads light up in green to show they are free-flowing, or amber and red when the traffic is moving slowly. Google Maps(tm) takes a 'Datex2' data feed from the Highways Agency and overlays this onto its maps. Datex2 is a European standard the Agency helped to created and England's roads have now been followed onto Google Maps(tm) maps by the French network.

Intelligent traffic lights: At busy times some motorway junctions now have traffic lights controlling the rate at which vehicles are allowed to enter the main carriageway. This 'ramp metering' helps prevent dangerous bunching of traffic and keeps the motorway flowing more freely. Sophisticated modelling of traffic flows takes place to set the signals at the optimum rate.

Warning - queue ahead: When drivers see brake lights ahead everyone slows down, then starts to speed up again as the brake is released. This can create waves of stop-start traffic down the motorway. It sometimes even starts to create queues for no real reason. Now the vehicle sensors in the road surface can detect slow moving traffic and automatic message signs warn drivers several miles back. This encourages drivers to ease off the speed much more gently. When it works well, it even means the queue will have disappeared by the time you get there!

Plotting real vehicle movements: Motorway signs giving the time for part of a journey (such as "J6 NEC 8 mins") are not based on estimates, but on the actual time real vehicles travelling ahead have taken to complete the journey. This is done by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras tracking vehicle movements. The number plates are scrambled into an irreversible code to protect identity and none of the information is used in any other way by the Agency.

Feeling stressed? Drivers aren't the only ones to get stressed by heavy traffic. Motorway structures need monitoring to make sure they remain safe. Fibre optic measures on bridges and embankments provide early warning of any problems and the remote systems even send a signal to the structural engineers.

Strategic information: The Highways Agency's National Traffic Control Centre keeps an eye on the entire network plotting planned and unplanned incidents to alert road users.

Unplanned incidents, mostly breakdowns or crashes, can be spotted by sensors, CCTV, emergency calls or Traffic Officer patrols. Then where these look likely to cause major congestion, operators in the National Control Centre and our seven Regional Control Centres can set variable message signs on the network. This gives road users the early warning they need to consider an alternative route or re-plan their journey.

Mobile web access: When you break your motorway journey, for the toilet, a coffee or one of the recommended driver breaks every two hours, you can now use a mobile phone for easy access to instant traffic information and to check the road is clear ahead for the rest of your journey. Entering highways.gov.uk into most phone web browsers will now take you directly to a mobile friendly version of the Highways Agency website, with traffic updates searchable by road or region - or even access to streaming audio from Traffic Radio. If the phone doesn't divert automatically then highways.gov.uk/mobile goes to the same place.

GPS and laser measuring helps clear incidents: It can take several hours to re-open a motorway after a serious accident, especially if the Highways Agency needs to wait for the Police to clear the scene and gather evidence before it can start any temporary repairs and start to get traffic moving again. High-tech surveying and scanning equipment has been introduced to speed up the evidence gathering process. This reduces the time it takes to get motorway lanes open again after a serious incident.

Satellite tracking: Like many fleet operators, the Highways Agency uses GPS equipment to know the exact location of all the Traffic Officer patrols and so get them to the scene of an incident quickly. GPS is also used to keep tabs on the Agency's winter fleet vehicles during severe weather.

Remote temperature sensors: How does the Agency know when and where the winter fleet will be needed? One of the many high-tech tools include remote temperature measuring gadgets buried in the road surface. These report back to a control centre when conditions turn icy and help operators, backed up by colleagues from the Met Office, to deploy salt-spreaders and snowploughs for example.

High-speed laser deflection: Throughout the year the Highways Agency needs to know the condition of the road surface to help spot potential problems and plan maintenance. One of the ways it can do this is by using a series of lasers linked to recording and computation equipment mounted on a weighted lorry. By measuring the velocity of the surface deflection under the lorry, computers can check on the stiffness and structural condition of the road. This can be done from a moving vehicle with no disruption to traffic.

Active Traffic Management (ATM): Many motorway users in the West Midlands will already any have travelled along the section of the M42 that has served as a pilot scheme for motorway developments around the country. Overhead gantry signs at frequent intervals adjust the speed limit so the traffic keeps moving and, at really busy times, open up the hard shoulder for traffic too. ATM has successfully reduced the number of accidents, improved journey time reliability and increased the capacity of the motorway, and as a result is being rolled out onto further sections of motorway around Birmingham, and introduced on key sections of motorway across England. The section by the NEC, south and east of Birmingham, is monitored and operated from the Agency's West Midlands regional control centre using CCTV and remote sensing equipment.

Automatic congestion alerts: The four terabytes of data that have been collected by the Highways Agency at its control centres now feeds a sophisticated model of vehicle movements on motorways and major trunk roads. It means the Agency can more accurately predict when congestion is expected and plan how to deal with it. On a daily level, traffic speeds falling below a predicted norm can sound an alert in the control room that the rush-hour is about to get underway. Operators in the West Midlands can then check that the hard shoulder is clear and switch the signs to provide an extra lane on the M42 if necessary.

Continuous updates on DAB digital radio: The Highways Agency's 24-hour digital radio station is based at the National Traffic Control Centre Road and provides road users with continuous live updates on their car audio system. Six regional services are broadcast on DAB radio. Just press the search button and scroll to Traffic Radio.