Mobile Highway Telematics System on D1 Highway in the Czech Republic

Highway management systems belong to modern methods enhancing capacity and increasing safety on highways, while using strategies such as variable speed limits, ramp metering, information about alternative routes or danger on road and others. Typically, they use static infrastructure, i.e. fixed sensors and gantries with variable message signs, which are not very effective in case of constructions. In this paper, a mobile telematics system (mRLTC) aiming on enhancing the common static highway management system in work zones is presented. Its objective is to inform drivers about the traffic situation ahead and warn them in case of traffic instability. This is essential primarily to increase the safety on roads and secondly also the driver's comfort. The system, its major components and the different modes of operation are presented as well. In order to be able to place the system into operation under real world conditions, an evaluation within microsimulation environment has been performed for an existing work zone on the major Czech highway, D1. In this way, the algorithms and settings of the system can be optimized and its performance and effect on traffic can be determined for different traffic scenarios without any disruption to traffic. The simulation process and its results are discussed within this paper as well.