Development of a multi-purpose traffic monitoring system to improve traffic safety on rural highways in Canada

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The A.U.G. Signals Ltd. (AUG) animal detection and warning system based on perimeter surveillance radar has been very effective in reducing the number of collisions involving animals on a rural highway section (Highway 416) in Ontario. The system detects th presence and movement of animals and warns roadway users on a real-time basis. The proposed research will validate the vast amount of field data collected by the existing radar system on a 24/7 basis. As the data available include the position of individual vehicles second by second as the vehicles pass through the monitored area, the study will investigate the possibility of incorporating a new technical function to conduct law enforcement (speed enforcement). The collected field data can be used to: 1) count vehicles (e.g., daily and hourly traffic volume); 2) classify vehicles (passenger cars, heavy vehicles, etc.); and 3) measure the speed of individual vehicles. To use the data in the ways listed, and especially for law enforcement, AUG and highway governing agencies require scientific evidence that the 24/7 data are sound and that the undertaking is technically feasible. The proposed study by York University working with AUG aims to provide the necessary scientific validation and independently confirm the system as an innovative multi-purpose traffic monitoring system. The system's automatic law enforcement based on individual vehicles' section speed would make an additional and significant contribution to road safety. The research outcomes are expected to help a Canadian manufacturing company to grow and to become a national and international leader in multi-purpose real-time surveillance sensing technology that can significantly reduce both the number of collisions involving animals and the number of collisions involving speeding on rural highways where the system is installed.