Safety Applications of ITS Systems in Europe and Japan

FHWA-PL-06-001

With nearly 43,0000 deaths a year on U.S. roads, a need exists for countermeasures to reduce the number and severity of crashes. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications deployed in France, Germany, and Japan to mitigate traffic safety problems.

Among the safety applications of ITS technologies the scan team observed were changeable message signs to manage traffic flow, automated speed management and control efforts to reduce crashes, video incident detection and an eCall system to improve emergency personnel response times, and driver assistance initiatives such as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, and assisted braking. The team's recommendations for U.S. implementation include projects to increase support for and document benefits of automated enforcement systems, evaluate advanced video detection and incident analysis technology, deploy dynamic sign technologies, and conduct variable speed limit pilots. The team also recommends an initiative to encourage top-down leadership commitment to fatality reduction throughout the country.

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