Safety

Clear, effective communication with motorists is a Department of Transportation (DOT)
agency responsibility. Delivering legible messages on Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) is
key to fulfilling this responsibility.  

At first glance, DMS message legibility would seem to be a brief, forthright topic. A
novice might define legibility as the ability to read a message. However, in our extensive
experience in the transportation industry, we have found that such a simple definition
inadequately describes legibility regarding ITS Dynamic Message Signs.  

This white paper, LED DMS Technology—Focus on Legibility, presents the following
definition for message legibility:  

A clear, legible DMS message enables the motorist to quickly read the entire
message between the maximum and minimum viewing distances in any lighting
condition. This activity must not cause the motorist to slow down nor distract the
motorist from the complicated task of operating the vehicle. In addition, a clear,
legible message enables the motorist to quickly comprehend the message, reset
expectations as appropriate, and react safely to the new conditions or
expectations.

Skyline Products

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

Many ITS systems are designed to provide real-time messages giving drivers the
information required to make decisions such as route travel time for congestion
management and dynamic lane merge in work zone approaches. Others, such as
Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP), use special control features in traffic signals to
provide clear guidance on whether autos should stop (providing a red display) or go
(providing a green display) at signalized intersections during the approach of Emergency
Vehicles (EVs). In these systems, ITS systems attempt to reduce the “surprise” factor
which may cause drivers to make bad decisions or perform poorly. The benefit of the ITS
is the change in the performance of the traffic flow as a result of improved driver
behavior.
The problem is that it is fairly difficult to model the behavior of individual drivers
when the messages are clear and behavior variance is low and; it is very difficult to
model the behavior of drivers when messages are unclear or mixed and the variance in
driver behaviors is high. What is needed are methods, usable within models or micro-
simulations, to generate a realistic driver response to unexpected conditions.
This paper presents a concept developed in research conducted during a Field
Operational Test (FOT) of EVP in Northern Virginia during 2002. A research team
observed the range of actions drivers took in response to an approaching EV near
signalized intersections. The researchers also identified the approximate driver population
distribution with respect to these behaviors and noted the impact on the overall traffic
stream performance. This paper presents a high-level overview of the findings and
provides an example of an emerging methodology that may increase the ability for
modeling and micro-simulation to provide estimates of ITS benefits in terms of
improving driver response to unexpected conditions.

SAIC

Virginia Tech

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

Continuing its tradition of nationwide leadership in ITS, the Minnesota Department of
Transportation is embarking on an innovative Transportation Security Project.   Planned
as a multi-phase deployment, this project is aimed at enhancing the security and
reliability of the state’s transportation system by demonstrating and deploying a wide
variety of security, traffic operations and traveler information functions.  The project
concept was first developed by Minnesota Guidestar in response to a USDOT grant
proposal for a Surface Transportation Security and Reliability Information System.

Phase 1 - In an effort to address concerns about safety and security, traffic congestion and
loss of mobility along the I-94 / TH 10 “Mega Corridor” between St. Cloud and the Twin
Cities metropolitan area, the Transportation Security Project will use an innovative ITS
approach integrating transportation operations, management, and information resources
spread throughout this region.  While some traffic management/ITS strategies currently
exist in the more suburban and urban areas of the Mega Corridor, there is no capability to
operate these critical routes as integrated and interchangeable corridors.  What makes the
Mega Corridor Transportation Security Project unique is that it will deploy an integrated
program of ITS deployments over a rural, suburban and urban area accounting for multi-
modal facilities, including freight rail and multiple river crossings, commuter bus service
and future commuter rail.

The majority of Phase 1 project components are communication and detection system
deployments providing the basis for corridor traffic management and traveler information
systems.  Other components will provide an operational test of systems and technologies
such as the testing of wireless/mobile communication systems that could ultimately
be used for sending data from remote rural device locations within the corridor using
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.  This project will emphasize the long-term return on
investment that can be realized by expanding the communication infrastructure along the
corridor.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

SRF Consulting Group, Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

The Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team (REACT) in Maricopa County, Arizona is
an innovative program that assists agencies with emergency traffic management by setting up
lane/road closures, installing and maintaining signed detour routes, and providing directional
information to motorists at or near the incident scene. In doing so, REACT provides valuable
traffic management support so that police, emergency, and other support crews can focus their resources on investigating and clearing the incident scene…not on directing traffic.

This paper presents the evolution of REACT from a pilot program in 2001 into a regional
resource, including geographic growth, and demonstrated benefits. The growth and expanded
awareness of REACT and its capabilities has resulted in a Regional Emergency Traffic
Management Mutual Aid/ Mutual Response Intergovernmental Agreement, which builds on
established mutual aid/automatic aid partnerships already in place in the Phoenix area. The IGA
marks an important step for REACT, demonstrating that its growth from a pilot program to a
valuable emergency management resource is well recognized by local emergency and law
enforcement agencies.

Maricopa County Department of Transportation

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), in conjunction with the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), Salt Lake City Police and Fire, Valley Emergency Communication Center (VECC) – the local PSAP, and Utah Transit Authority (UTA) were awarded a $1.0 Million Grant from the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) in February of 2003. Additionally, UDOT provided a 20% match, Computer Information Systems (the CAD integrator) included a financial contribution in their proposal, and all partnering agencies are contributing their resource time and services. The purpose of this Grant is to conduct a Field Operation Test (FOT) to integrate the UDOT CommuterLink Incident Management System, with four independent and proprietary CAD systems, and with the UTA in-house developed transit dispatch CAD. UDOT selected TransCore to be their System Integrator, with responsibility to provide overall management and system design; to integrate the UDOT CommuterLink incident management system; and to provide an independent and non-threatening coordination role with each of the CAD vendors on behalf of UDOT. Computer Information Systems (CIS) was selected to serve as the CAD Integrator to provide their perspective and knowledge of emergency dispatch CAD functionality during the design, and to help with the initial development and debugging process prior to hand off with the other vendors. This was intended to minimize cost and to ensure the system worked prior to being fully deployed. Upon completion of the initial proof of concept, the CAD vendors from each agency will then follow suit. Although a budget has been set aside from the Grant to help pay for this integration work, the vendors are expected to benefit the most by becoming one of the first in the nation to communicate center-to-center using a national, standards based protocol. These vendors, and the agency with whom they have allied are as follows:
• Computer Information Systems (CIS) – DPS CAD
• Versaterm - SL City Police CAD
• FDM - SL City Fire CAD
• Spillman – VECC CAD
• UTA is developing their own CAD system to service their bus and light rail vehicles.

TransCore

Utah DOT

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas