Road transport and network managers require relevant and timely information that will enable them to manage the road network in the most economical and efficient manner. One key component of this overall information comprises vehicle usage, commonly referred to as traffic data, namely the type, usage, speed and mass of vehicles using a single link or the road network as a whole. A new traffic data and information management tool developed by ARRB Transport Research provides a fully integrated approach to the issue of converting data into information and finally knowledge. The LINK system offers inventive solutions to traffic and weigh-in-motion data collection, storage, quality assurance and reporting. The LINK system is designed to control the cost of data management whilst greatly increasing its use and availability. This paper presents the LINK system modules, namely TRAFLINK (road based vehicle counters and classifiers), WIMLINK (low and high speed weigh-in-motion), BIKELINK (bicycle counters) and VISUALINK (camera and video based counters). It discusses their constituent components, detailing their elements and benefits, as well as outlining a number of case study examples. (A)
Abstract