| The Long View
by Larry Yermack
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com 067
In the previous TTI issue,
I recounted some of my
early experiences in the
deployment of intelligent transportation
systems (ITS) and the issues that we
overcame. I promised to discuss the
implications of them in this issue. However
since I doubt that anybody remembers
them, I’ll offer a brief recap. (After all, even
shows like Game of Thrones remind you of
what happened in the last episode).
Traffic Technology International July/August 2019
The critical needs were for sufficient
computing power in an accessible
device, a communications network that
had high speed and capacity, and
a regional network that connected the
agencies and their customers. We got our
computing power solution with PCs and
more agile programming languages. The
communications network was built upon
the already existing telephone system and
new connections were made to field
locations, like signals. We then set out to
create the regional networks in metropolitan
regions, like Transcom in the New York
area. These networks then worked to
disseminate traffic info to the public via
the media as well as telephone systems.
Today the computing power sits in
our hand. Today’s cellphone has more
power than we could have ever imagined.
We struggled with slow motion video
from the signals to the control center.
Today you can watch an entire baseball
game on your phone. The other critical
difference is that when we created ITS the
collection, processing and distribution of
data was managed by the public
transportation providers.
It’s no longer necessary to install a vast
network of cameras in order to learn what’s
happening on the roadway network. How
many traffic apps do you have on your
phone? I have three and they rely not only
on data provided by the local government,
they also incorporate crowd sourcing. In
effect, other drivers enhance the data feed
that I receive.
This data source will get ever richer
as the connected vehicle deployment
continues. Vehicle manufacturers are
already getting data back from the cars
they have produced. Last week a friend
of mine got an email from their car
company, who was inquiring about
a “check engine light”. Tesla does over-theair
software updates.
The massive shift of the locus of
information, from public transportation
providers to data providers and
manufacturers, is well underway and far
from complete. However the responsibility
to maintain the transportation network has
not shifted to the private sector, and the
challenges facing the public side are
evolving and difficult.
When there is a multi-vehicle pile
up or a major snow storm, nobody calls
Apple to complain about traffic, yet the
responsible agency may have already
abdicated data collection and
dissemination to Apple or Waze or Google.
Road agencies need to find a way to get
back in the game. Cities have an option –
and I’ll talk about that next month.
Larry Yermack is strategic advisor to Cubic
Transportation Systems, California. He can
be reached at lyermack@gmail.com
Nowadays, the driving
force behind ITS is data
“It’s no longer necessary
to install a vast network
of cameras in order to
learn what’s happening
on the roadway network”
As countries adopt WIM at
different paces and in different
ways, many different WIM
specifications are seen as part of
the uneven implementation.
“Certified performance at high
speeds for the strip sensors is an
important development,” notes
Jon Arnold, ITS market specialist
at Intercomp, “but the sensors
are one portion of our products
with OIML certification.”
Using WIM at low speeds
typically decreases the negative
effect of vehicle dynamics on
weighing, enabling scales to
provide greater accuracy. This
can lead to the earlier adoption
of low-speed WIM (LS-WIM)
for legal applications in some
countries. In 2018, Intercomp’s
LS-WIM Axle Scale was OIML
R134 Class 2 certified to 8km/h
(5mph), where that level of
performance is required for
low-speed applications. Similar
to Intercomp’s WIM strip
sensors, its axle scale can also
be easily partnered with
operators’ electronics.
With OIML R134 certified
scales and sensors available for
integration at speeds ranging
from 3-100k m/h (1.8-62mph),
the WIM technology has clearly
advanced enough to be
considered in legal applications,
such as enforcement and tolling
by weight. The challenge now is
not solely to improve the
performance of available scales
and sensors, but to bring more
clarity, standardization and
acceptance from regulatory
bodies for the take-up of
certified WIM applications.
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