A new, simple and inexpensive intelligent vehicle highway system speed monitoring concept that can be easily adapted to existing vehicles and roadways is presented. The concept relies on the speed-distance-time relationship and an on-board impulse detector and constant timer to calculate the travel time or posted speed of the roadway. The calculated travel time or speed can then be compared with the current vehicle speed or with a constant time to warn the driver of hazardous approaching events (excessive speeds approaching construction or maintenance work sites, sharp curves, railroad crossings, or school zones). It can also be used to issue tickets to the vehicle registration if warnings remain unheeded. Current estimates indicate that the use of the speed monitoring device may save approximately 10,000 lives and 500,000 injury accidents per year. The cost of the on-board electronics for a magnetic detection system is approximately $10 per vehicle with roadway detection costs for magnets of under $10 per installation. An on-board magnetic sensing device has been successfully tested in field trials to warn of approaching sharp curves and awaits further development and testing of other applications and human factor considerations. (A)
Samenvatting