C-ITS Corridor makes headway with successful practical test

The C-ITS Corridor project conducted a successful practical test of Road Works Warning (RWW) during roadworks on the highway A16 near Rotterdam from 14th to 16th November 2016. During this RWW test a VMS-trailer was equipped with a WiFi-P beacon, which transmitted detailed information about upcoming roadworks through a secured WiFi-P connection to the passing test vehicles.

Successful Road Works Warning test at highway A16 nearby Rotterdam with Rijkswaterstaat, Swarco and EBO van Weel

From 1.3 km out the DENM message was received in the test vehicle. This information was transmitted through a 5.9 GHz WiFi-P connection.

The majority of the Dutch highway network is equipped with dynamic traffic signs, which display up-to-date traffic information, e.g. during roadworks. In the future, RWW will provide similar information to the trip computers of motorists in the Netherlands through a WiFi-P connection. However, this traffic information is also valuable on roads without dynamic traffic signs.

To ensure a hassle-free practical test in November all stakeholders meet on a regular basis.

Applicable for regional and local roads

Rijkswaterstaat specifies, develops and tests a mobile solution in collaboration with various stakeholders. Information about roadworks is collected from multiple information systems and translated to a DENM message. This message is then sent to approaching motorists from a WiFi-P beacon, which can be integrated in e.g. a VMS-trailer. This solution will likely also be applicable to regional and local roads, in which case RWW would be available for motorists on all Dutch roads.

Accuracy

During roadworks on highway A16 temporary traffic measures applied. During the period of the practical test three test vehicles passed the roadworks multiple times. A display in the vehicle showed accurate information about the current traffic measures each time the vehicle approached the roadworks. The short-range communication from the beacon to the vehicle proved to be successful. During this test the main object of interest was the range of the beacon and the accuracy of the DENM message. Next to this, the information about the roadworks was collected from various sources by a central unit for the first time.