Drivewyze, operator of the largest public-private weigh station bypass network in North America, has announced real-time, in-cab traffic alerts in partnership with Inrix, a transportation analytics and connected vehicle services company, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Pennsylvania joins Ohio, New Jersey, and North Carolina in offering in-state alerts which provide audible and visual cues of upcoming traffic slowdowns, congestion, and incidents, according to a Drivewyze press release.
The alerts—available through the Drivewyze Smart Roadway program—are available to commercial truck drivers and will be active on all 564 miles of roadways managed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority. Smart Roadways extends public transportation safety programs into the cabs of connected trucks throughout their road network.
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Messages such as “Sudden Slowdown Ahead” and “Congestion Ahead” are displayed, about 2 to 3 miles before the slowdown begins, on ELDs that have the Drivewyze platform installed. Congestion and incident information is sent in real time to drivers and is provided by Inrix, which analyzes millions of anonymous connected vehicles traveling more than a billion miles daily in the United States.
“Unpredictability on the roadway causes downstream impacts that pose potential issues for truckers, dispatchers, shippers, and road management organizations,” said Pennsylvania Turnpike COO Craig Shuey. “Our commercial trucking customers tell us it’s imperative to be kept informed about hazards on the road ahead in the most distraction-free manner possible and alerted with enough time and detail to process and react efficiently and safely. This new alert system enables us to improve real-time roadway communications that also pay further dividends in improved safety.”
According to NHTSA, crashes on interstates represent nearly 30% of all collisions, and many are secondary incidents where a truck or car rear-ends a vehicle that was in a queue from an initial crash. A 2019 Pennsylvania DOT study showed 32% of work-zone crashes and 49% of secondary crashes occurred more than 2 miles back from the origin point of congestion. Additionally, 46% occurred over an hour later.
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“Those statistics show the importance of a heads-up alert,” Drivewyze CEO Brian Heath said. “We’re pleased to partner with the Turnpike Commission to give truckers the ‘visibility’ they need to slow down. It will help take stress away from truckers, and allow them to start slowing before they see taillights turn red.”
The Inrix traffic and slowdown alerts join other notifications that truck drivers already receive through Drivewyze’s in-cab safety notification service, such as notifications when coming upon dangerous curves or low bridges, and mountain corridor alerts for steep grades and runaway ramps.
