[PR] Pilot- M1 Travel Time Service - Launch

Bards

From: http://www.nra.ie/News/PressReleases/htmltext,11447,en.html

On Friday, January 11, 2008, the National Roads Authority (NRA) will launch an EU funded pilot programme that will display actual travel times along the M1 Dublin to Border-Belfast corridor. This is part of a joint project between the NRA and the Northern Ireland Roads Service.

Individual Variable Message Signs (VMS) will inform drivers of the travel times from the location of the particular sign displaying the information to the next two primary destinations covered by the system.

Travel time information will relate to four primary locations along the M1:

Dublin Port Tunnel Junction 1
Dublin Airport Junction 2
Drogheda Junction 9 (Northbound) / Junction 10 (Southbound)
Dundalk Junction 16


The sign locations are as follows:

Sign Location of Sign on M1
1 North of Dundalk (Southbound)
2 South of Drumleck (Southbound)
3 North of Drogheda (Southbound)
4 North of Balbriggan (Northbound)
5 North of Skerries/Lusk (Southbound)
6 North of Dublin Airport (Northbound)


Travel times are calculated in real-time using roadside mounted automatic number plate recognition cameras. Average travel times (discounting unusually slow or fast vehicles) are calculated and displayed every five minutes.

In the future the VMS system will allow for the notification of incidents, events, closures and severe weather conditions. It is also planned that this information will be made available through SMS (text messages) and email.

Fred Barry CEO, NRA said, "We are looking forward to the feedback from the public on this pilot program."

The system will be complemented by the NRA's Traffic Information Site www.nratraffic.ie providing users with those travel times plus additional information online to allow for pre-trip planning.
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Hopefully this is the start of VMS appearing throughout the Improving Roads Network

ga2re2t

What should also be a must have is colour coded, real time traffic information like in other countries.

Examples:
France: www.cofiroute.fr - in French, but pretty straightforward
USA: Google map of San Francisco Bay area (make sure the Traffic layer is on)
Italy: www.autostrade.it - in Italian, but pretty straightforward

amacachi

Something other than travel times would be useful, as they seem to have been the same every day I've been on the bus.

WiDGe->

so will this be able to catch out speeding motorists and issue fines??

Bluetonic

WiDGe-> wrote: »

so will this be able to catch out speeding motorists and issue fines??

It will be capable, but it won't be functioning in this way. Times which are calculated as above the speed limit will be disregarded and records no kept.

paulm17781

Bluetonic wrote: »

It will be capable, but it won't be functioning in this way. Times which are calculated as above the speed limit will be disregarded and records no kept.

It would probably be no harm to put this into a separate database and issue fines.

Bluetonic

paulm17781 wrote: »

It would probably be no harm to put this into a separate database and issue fines.

I'd imagine it would cause harm to the people who the fines were issued to.

rameire

didnt they do something like this on the n7, where is it now, all the signs i see say the same thing every day " new road layout at n7 red cow"

paulm17781

Bluetonic wrote: »

I'd imagine it would cause harm to the people who the fines were issued to.

There's a really good way to avoid speeding fines, it's almost flawless. Can you guess what it is?

Stark

Sleep with a superintendent?

Traffic

The n7 scheme has been abandoned

rameire

Traffic wrote: »

The n7 scheme has been abandoned

how long will it be then till they scrap the m1 timing scheme.
how about a bet, id say 2 months.

Bluetonic

paulm17781 wrote: »

There's a really good way to avoid speeding fines, it's almost flawless. Can you guess what it is?

Practice.

Terrontress

How am I supposed to react to the information that it will take me 36 minutes to get from Donabate to Fundalk?

I think it might be useful if it were to show times into the centre of Dublin but there are very few variables on the motorway so most people can work out how long their journey will take while on the motorway itself.

Skyhater

Terrontress wrote: »

How am I supposed to react to the information that it will take me 36 minutes to get from Donabate to Fundalk?

I think it might be useful if it were to show times into the centre of Dublin but there are very few variables on the motorway so most people can work out how long their journey will take while on the motorway itself.

Agreed, complete waste of Money putting this scheme on one of the most predictable routes in the country!!!

They'd be far better off fitting all the primary routes with variable speed limit signs. That way speed limits could be changed in wet/foggy/frosty conditions....... (of course Dial-Up-Dempsey would probably need to introduce some legislation)

Bluetonic

Terrontress wrote: »

How am I supposed to react to the information that it will take me 36 minutes to get from Donabate to Fundalk?

I think it might be useful if it were to show times into the centre of Dublin but there are very few variables on the motorway so most people can work out how long their journey will take while on the motorway itself.

There are far too many routes into the center of Dublin (where is the center) to get a reliable reading. Also as a lot of the journey in non motorway cars can stop when not in traffic (shops etc..,) and be counted in the average time.

It only really works in a motorway situation.

Cionád

paulm17781 wrote: »

There's a really good way to avoid speeding fines, it's almost flawless. Can you guess what it is?

In this situation, pull over for a nap every so often

Its only "almost" flawless cause its illegal to stop on a motorway. Stop for diesel in a village en route instead so.

Terrontress

The car registration information is encoded and therefore the operators of the scheme cannot ascertain the average speed of a particular car.

Traffic

Skyhater wrote: »

Agreed, complete waste of Money putting this scheme on one of the most predictable routes in the country!!!

They'd be far better off fitting all the primary routes with variable speed limit signs. That way speed limits could be changed in wet/foggy/frosty conditions....... (of course Dial-Up-Dempsey would probably need to introduce some legislation)

I think his predecessor would have done this all ready for the Port Tunnel