07 May 2006

Dubai: Motorists will be able to know in advance about traffic congestion, road closures and accidents as a new high-tech traffic management system is being installed on major city roads.

The system, called the Freeway and Local Coordinated Operations Network (Falcon), will be operational in October. Gulf News first reported the story in December last year.

"Electronic lane and speed control signals will be installed along critical roadways to provide advance warning of lane closures or the need to reduce speed in advance of a tailback," said Hashim Al Hashemi, Director of the Traffic Control Department at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Traveller information
Motorists will also be able to select routes before they start their journey. The system will provide travellers information at their home or offices via the internet or text messaging. Real-time data will also be provided to in-vehicle-navigation systems.

Al Hashemi said motorists will be able to know before starting their journey about congestion on roads, traffic jams, accidents and even the travel time to their destination.

"The pacesetting Falcon project will provide active traffic management and coordinated response strategies to reduce the effects of congestion and incidents on the road network, and will generate timely traveller information to the public," he said.

The system includes radars, sensors, dynamic message signs, lane and speed control signals.

Connections to the police will provide the ability to exchange incident and traffic flow data along with video images. Based on studies conducted on traffic conditions over the past five years, the introduction of the new smart traffic system will initially reduce traffic congestion by more than 15 per cent. It will also help save up to 1.5 million hours of driving time per year.

First of its kind
"The system will be the first-of-its-kind in the GCC, and will be a major landmark for the RTA, in keeping with its vision of safe and smooth transport for all," Al Hashemi said.

The project includes the installation of 30 surveillance cameras and 70 sensors to look for incidents such as accidents and congestion. While the cameras will detect breakdowns and accidents, the sensors will detect changes in the traffic flow.

Traffic controllers will pan surveillance cameras to monitor the roads.

Live images captured by the camera will then be sent to the Traffic Control Centre, which in turn sends it to 45 electronic signboards throughout the emirate.

The Falcon will be installed on Shaikh Zayed Road, Al Rasheed Road, Umm Hurair Road, Al Ittihad Road, Al Khaleej Road, Al Minar Road, Airport Road, Abu Baker Al Siddique Road, Baniyas Road, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge and Shindagha Tunnel.

Priority will be given to emergency vehicles
To ensure emergency vehicles such as ambulances reach accidents in the least possible time, the intelligent traffic system will detect the presence of such vehicles and inform the centre that controls traffic signals.

The centre will time the automatic signals in a way that will give priority to emergency vehicles.

The Roads and Transport Authority seeks the cooperation of Dubai police to manage traffic at accident sites more efficiently with the help of this system.

By Ashfaq Ahmed

Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.