Main Roads Western Australia and Kapsch TrafficCom have successfully completed a trial of connected vehicle technology on roads in Western Australia as the authority seeks to increase road safety in the region.
Tested on roads in Perth in early February, the trial demonstrated that both the technology called C-ITS (co-operative intelligent transport systems) and the road infrastructure of Western Australia are ready for the widespread deployment of the technology that is set to make Australian roads safer and more efficient.
“Our C-ITS Roadmap and C-ITS trials will assist in realizing our goals for improving safety, productivity, mobility, and sustainability for Western Australians for generations to come,” said Mehdi Langroudi, executive director of network operations at Main Roads Western Australia.
“Together with the industry, we look forward to supporting the implementation of a nationally harmonized C-ITS ecosystem across the Western Australian road network to enhance safety, movement, regional resilience, and enable future vehicle technology,” Langroudi added.
The purpose of the trial was to show that Western Australia is well-prepared for the future of mobility, and that the technology can be deployed effectively along the 128,000km of roads across the region, in alignment with national plans for connected vehicles and increased road safety.
“Connected vehicles technology allows vehicles, infrastructure and traffic operators to share critical information quickly and directly,” explained Daniel Vazquez, EVP APAC at Kapsch TrafficCom. “That way, we can send alerts, for example about upcoming school zones or road works areas, directly into cars, improving safety for all traffic participants. In other tests, this technology has shown potential to reduce fatalities and serious accidents by up to 20%.”
The technology can be used to deliver critical information to drivers directly into their vehicles or onto their smartphones, allowing a more direct and immediate way of providing safety-relevant alerts to drivers, for example, about changing weather conditions, vulnerable road user warnings or obstacles on the road.
Globally, countries like Germany, Ireland and the US are investing heavily in the technology, with Germany currently rolling out road works warnings across 13,000km of highways, with further use cases to come.
