The emphasis of ITS on congestion is diverting attention from another equally important issue in road management. A large proportion of Australian roads are under-utilised when measured, not in number of vehicles, but in the goods and people those vehicles could accommodate. The next round of heavy-vehicle efficiency improvements will be based on individual vehicle performance rather than prescriptive regulations relating to heavy-vehicle classes. This will improve both the productivity of transport operators and the utilisation of our roads, however it will also increase the risk to our bridge infrastructure and test existing mechanisms for ensuring compliance with operating conditions to their limits. The Intelligent Access Project is designing an intelligent system that will monitor relevant operating conditions (route, mass, time etc). The system will allow road authorities to tailor operating conditions to individual vehicles and the routes they travel.
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