April 2016 - MVIS Ltd

In 2015, Highways England recorded more than 40 cases of drivers deliberately ignoring road closure signs on the A13 alone.

These figures were recorded by road workers working on a section of the A13 near Thurrock, in Essex, which was being widened to reduce congestion and improve safety. The project, which is estimated to be completed in autumn 2016, will see the A13 on the approach to junction 30 widened to four lanes in each direction, with new dedicated link roads between the M25 and A13. The work is an ongoing process, and has seen a number of work zone incursions from the start.

During 2015, a range of vehicles were seen unlawfully entering the worksite, and some drivers ignored carriageway closures. In June 2015, a road worker’s work vehicle was struck and damaged by an object thrown by the motorist of a moving vehicle.

Lizzie Pauling, project manager for Highways England says: “Safety is Highways England’s top priority. We are concerned by a number of drivers choosing to ignore road closures, putting their safety and the safety of others at risk. The improvements to the A13 and M25 will improve safety and reduce congestion for the tens of thousands of drivers who use this section each day.”

To assist in events like this, MVIS provides an innovative solution to help road workers stay safe. The Safelane Integrated Solution sees Intellicone-enabled Smart VMS positioned at road closure points, surrounded by intelligent cone barriers and contactless sensors to detect breaches. If a breach does occur, the sensors send a message to the VMS which warns the driver they are in a prohibited area, and instructs them to turn around. Simultaneously, the gatepeople at checkpoint locations are alerted by an audible alarm, giving them time to take appropriate action and retreat to a safe place. They are also supplied with a manual panic alarm to alert the workforce if a driver is to continue beyond the checkpoint. This system can incorporate CCTV if necessary and is proven to reduce the resources required to safely carry out road closures and minimise confrontations with disgruntled drivers.

For more information on Safelane Technology, please get in touch on 01629 580 570 or email us on sales@m-vis.co.uk.

You may have heard that the Department for Transport is changing the approved size for wicket sign screens where signs haven’t been located in the central reserve, also known as Fixed Taper Points (FTP), Remote Controlled Temporary Traffic Management signs (RCTTM) and Remotely Operated Temporary Traffic Management signs (ROTTM). If you have signs installed that don’t meet these new regulations they will need to be changed or Police operated rolling road blocks put in place to deploy traffic management, which can become problematic on schemes where this is a regular requirement.

Our UK manufactured five colour VMS-C meets all of the requirements set out in drawing number GT50/198/0015-1 that the Secretary of State approved on the 10^th March 2016. This allows our VMS-C to be used as a replacement for FTP signs, also known as RCTTM and ROTTM signs on Smart Motorway schemes until the fixed permanent signs are fully operational. This will enable the motorways to return to All Lanes Running (ALR) without the requirement for Police operated rolling roadblocks to be used to deploy Traffic Management.

Our VMS can be controlled remotely from any internet connected PC with a web browser via MVIS’ Web Studio or Wi-Fi enabled Apple device using Bartco Curbsite Lite. All of the required approved legends are already programmed in to the system making the setting of the signs a simple process. If sufficient notice is given we can preset the messages for you, enabling you to activate and de-activate all five signs in a Fixed Taper Sign group with just six clicks of your mouse.

Individual user accounts can be set up for any number of operators, each with their own log in so a full audit trail of which messages were activated, when and who by can be recorded. We can also set access rights to: only allow them to activate the approved legends; be able to make their own legends if the signs are to be used for other purposes; or allow them viewing access only for monitoring purposes.

And with 22 depots throughout the UK and high levels of VMS in stock you can trust us to deliver.

MVIS’ Safelane Technology

For more information on Safelane Technology, please get in touch on 01629 580 570 or email us on sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Are your wicket signs compliant with the new Department for Transport regulations?

If you’d like to discuss your requirements further, please contact us on 01629 580570.