Bridges

Collisions between over-height vehicles and infrastructure, such as bridges, cost road authorities millions per year in repairs. Such accidents occur despite the deployment of sophisticated warning systems such as road side ‘variable message signs' or stop signs projected onto a ‘water curtain’ directly across the path of the vehicle. In 2010 RTA, NICTA and group of member companies of Embedded Systems Australia industry cluster developed and tested a proof-of-concept solution using real vehicles. The prototype featured: external height detection; vehicle tracking and reporting; and wireless vehicle communications via DSRC that is specifically designed for cooperative mobility and safety applications. The prototype demonstrated: how audio and visual warnings and advisories could be delivered directly into the cabin of vehicle posing a collision risk to infrastructure; and how a collision could be prevented by intervening if a driver ignored the warnings and recommended course of action. This technology can be readily adapted to protect other vital infrastructure such as protecting bridges from over-weight vehicles and for preventing accidents at rail crossings.