Software Speeds Response To Road Accidents

coondoggie alerts us to research out of Ohio State University that could help authorities respond to car accidents more quickly and ease traffic back-ups at lower cost, particularly in rural areas. The software improves the efficiency of communications from in-road vehicle detection loops to transportation engineers monitoring conditions in order to improve traffic flow. Faster response to accidents and traffic jams could have huge payoffs: a 2002 study estimated that traffic jams cost the average city almost a billion dollars a year.

Re:Now..

[bendodge]

In California police have been experimenting with setting up black tarps around accidents, and it seems to work very well.

Re:First thing's first

[edsyc]

I've lived in places where they would tell you not to move your car, so that it is easier for the cops to decide who caused the accident. I think some people won't move their car because, if they do, the guilty driver can lie and blame the accident on other drivers.

CALTRANS has had that for ten years

[Animats]

CALTRANS has had that operational on Bay Area and LA freeways for the last ten years.

Here's the current status for the SF Bay Area [ca.gov].

The detector loops on the freeways report speed and traffic density data ("70 MPH, 14 veh/30 seconds"). A map display at the local CALTRANS control center shows spots where there's an unexpected discontinuity with the previous section. The control center then turns on the appropriate traffic cameras, which have pan, tilt, and zoom, so they can get a close look at the problem. They they can send tow trucks, ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, road repair crews, cleanup crews, or whatever's needed.

You can watch much of the camera output, alhough, being an old system, it's RealPlayer. Most of the cameras are pointed in somewhat random directions, because they're usually just left pointing at whatever incident needed to be looked at last.

You can see the incident log at the CHP incident log site. The control center sometimes initiates entries, but the guys who actually go to the site finish them.

Typical entries:

• Incident: 1662 Type: Traffic Hazard Location: SB I110 JSO W ADAMS BLVD
  1:09PM VEH STALLED IN LANES, PTY UNDER VEH WORKING ON IT
  1:13PM CHP Unit Enroute

Re:First thing's first

[melandy]

I've lived in places where they would tell you not to move your car, so that it is easier for the cops to decide who caused the accident.

I've always heard the same thing. However, "they" is my dad, who thinks that an accident is the end of the world and an opportunity for someone to cash in on suing you.

In the past when I have been in accidents, I've always left the car where it sat. As soon as the cops show up, they move the cars without looking at anything to get traffic moving again, so I've just succeeded in ticking people off for no tangible reason.

I decided to look up my local laws to see what the real scoop is. In Indiana (US), both IC-9-26-1-1-1 and IC-9-26-1-2-1 state the following: "Immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the accident as possible in a manner that does not obstruct traffic more than is necessary." These are the relevant codes for immediate action to be taken by the drivers in accidents that involves injury or death (1-1-1) and accidents that do not (1-2-1).

I think that the "in a manner that does not obstruct traffic more than is necessary" is subject to the opinion of what is "necessary" to the driver(s), but the spirit of the law is to get out of the way.

YLLMV (your local laws may vary)