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MUTCD 2009 Edition adopts benefits of sequential warning lights
Unipart Dorman were delighted to see that the 2009 edition of the FHWA MUTCD has adopted the following wording on sequential flashing warning lights
6F.63 12 A series of sequential flashing warning lights may be placed on channelizing devices that form a merging taper in order to increase driver detection and recognition of the merging taper
Hot on the heels of this news , March 2010, Oklahoma DOT expanded deployment of the SynchroGUIDE technology on I40 work zones after excellent feedback from 2009, I35 pilot trials and April 2010 the SWZDI Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative selected SynchroGUIDE for night time work zone testing in Missouri on I70.
University makes educated decision as VATCS make the grade
‘Never has there been a greater need for fresh ideas to address social challenges.’
DVNA are delighted that after much research, VATCS technology was selected by the University of British Columbia for traffic calming on Campus.
The University of British Columbia, established in 1908, educates a student population of 50,000 on major campuses in two cities and holds an international reputation for excellence in advanced research and learning.
The initial pilot program of VATCS has met with very encouraging feedback and it was the educational theme to the technology along with independent research to support this consistent approach that secured the award.
VATCS on Florida DOT approved products list
Unipart Dorman are delighted to be able to announce that the VATCS family series of traffic calming signs have been approved onto the Florida Department of Transportation’s Approved Product List.
VATCS is seen as the future industry standard for traffic calming providing an MUTCD compliant, consistent approach to educating drivers and tackling speeding concerns and related fatalities.
Staying ahead of the curve in Minnesota
click to enlarge
Unipart Dorman are delighted to announce that the Minnesota State University’s , ’Center for Excellence in Rural Safety’ in conjunction with Minnesota DOT and FHWA will be installing a number of Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS trial sites across three-county locations within the state.
Congress created the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety in July 2005 as part of a broader, multiyear, multimillion-dollar directive establishing four national centers for surface transportation excellence in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) transportation funding legislation. These VATCS test sites will be in addition to the FHWA national study on the unique new technology where the Dynamic Curve VATCS are being strategically deployed across the USA rural road network in 7 other states.
The Minnesota test sites should go live later this fall , for more news on this and other exciting rural road safety initiatives in the state please feel free to drop us a line or visit the CERS website at www.ruralsafety.umn.edu
VATCS make front cover news
Unipart Dorman were delighted to see that their Unique Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS product range has made front
cover news of the July edition of the IMSA ‘International Municipal Signal Association’ Journal www.imsasafety.org .
Records show that Thomas A. Edison and the Edison Electric Company were associate members of IMSA back in 1901
and Unipart Dorman’s engineering team should be congratulated at emulating the innovative origins of such illustrious
company.
A big thank you goes out to IMSA for this recognition.
Calgary pioneer VATCS in Alberta
Unipart Dorman are delighted to announce that after much considered research the City of Calgary have selected to trial the VATCS traffic calming technology.
Bruce McDougal M.A . Transportation planner at the City was looking for a display based technology with a proven traffic calming background in maintaining long term speed reductions and what very much appealed was that rather than displaying driver speeds, the VATCS uniquely provided a targeted reminder of the speed limit In force combined with a slow down request and dynamic flashing beacons.
17 solar powered VATCS are to be installed across the City this summer including two signs which will feature in the Mayland Heights Community Traffic Study. See plan attached.
Spencer Beier, Unipart Dorman’s west coast representative commented "It has been a pleasure working with the Calgary City traffic planning team on this unique new approach, and this pilot project, together with the recent introduction of the technology in North Vancouver, BC. Calgary has really raised the bar in display based traffic calming and put the new technology on the map in Western Canada."
SynchroGUIDE receives accolades in Oklahoma as NEW MUTCD to adopt Sequential Warning Light Benefits
Regular visitors to our site will be aware that SynchroGUIDE was awarded the 2007 “Top Rollout” award category for innovation from the ‘Better Roads’ publication at the end of 2007 after being first launched in north America earlier that same year.
Unipart Dorman and Dicke Safety Products are further pleased to report tangible safety benefits are now arriving from the field. Such an example being Oklahoma DOT who have been field testing the technology at a number of problematic workzone sites on I35 at which arrow boards were already deployed. SynchroGUIDE once installed provided the solution. The added safety factor that the technology imparted received a number of accolades from the driving public and an excellent testimonial from the DOT resident engineer Cary ‘Red’ Raley. Read OKDOT testimonial below.
There were 835 fatalities and over 41,000 injuries in work zones during 2007 and it has been shown that over 85% of the fatalities in work zones are drivers or passengers in cars entering the zone. Motorists and workers are being increasingly exposed to work zones as the federal stimulus expenditure on road infrastructure investment kicks in during 2009 and the introduction of Synchroguide’s proven improved lane discipline couldn’t be better timed.
In addition Night work is increasingly being used to manage work zone delay and reduce exposure, and with the SynchroGUIDE safety factor enhanced in night time applications, the technology is truly starting to make its mark as a potential life saver.
New VATCS Partners join as awareness of VATCS safety benefits grows
Unipart Dorman’s quality list of regional affiliates has grown further during Q1 of 2009. Jerry Britton Head of Business Development for Unipart Dorman commented ’We are delighted to announce the new partnerships for 2009 and are pleased to be associated with partners of this stature who lead by example and are acknowledged as the market ‘go to’ people in their respective territories’
New Regional Affiliates are:
Inprotect Systems Inc. – British Columbia.
Alberta Traffic Supply Ltd. – Alberta.
Guardian Traffic Services Ltd. – Saskatchewan, Manitoba.
Coral Sales Company – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska.
JTB Supply Company – Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona.
VATCS add their shine to the Big Nickel
The City of Greater Sudbury, the regional capital of North Eastern Ontario renown the world over for its metal ore mining heritage have commenced trialling the posted speed limit VATCS as part of its traffic calming policy.
The city chose the innovative technology after it was impressed by a combination of the TRL548 independent long term effectiveness data and local case studies in the province since its introduction in 2007.
Signs will be trialled on South View Drive and if as expected prove successful the city is expecting to expand the coverage during 2009. The Sudbury install follows on the back of other successful deployments earlier this year in the province at Halton Hills, Oxford and Ottawa as VATCS maintains momentum in expanding its coverage and lead position in display based traffic calming technology within it’s home province.
The message is CLEAR
The Town of Halton Hills are deploying VATCS to ‘send a message’ to speeding drivers entering the town on Mountainview Road South to Slow Down. The town is pioneering the technology in the region after first learning of its successful deployment in the City of Brantford.
Traffic engineer Matt Roj has confirmed that the VATCS has the potential to be an effective traffic calming measure on arterial routes where other forms of calming are limited. Emergency services and Police have both been impressed by the technology which provides drivers with additional education on speed behaviour in the posted community safety zone.
Matt, who will be evaluating the performance of the VATCS through the on board speed data collection feature, has also received a lot of interest from other communities in Southern Ontario and is confident more signs will be deployed in the longer term in Halton if the data speed reduction is maintained. See the unveiling Here.
Microsoft Sponsor VATCS
The City of Redmond with the support of the Microsoft corporation have kicked off 2009 with the deployment of VATCS traffic calming technology as an exciting new tool in the City’s neighborhood traffic calming policy.
The unique posted speed limit traffic calming signs were commissioned during February on West Lake Sammamish Parkway and are currently undergoing a detailed performance evaluation.
Unipart Dorman were delighted to be selected as the sign technology provider on the project and look forward to working further with both partners in the future to support driver education and behaviour change towards speeding. Working towards the joint goal of ‘Making Roads Safer’ in the community.
One year on for VATCS in Brantford School Zone
Unipart Dorman were delighted to receive client feedback from one of the first School Zone Dual Diagram VATCS sign installation in Canada at Brantford, Ontario, this week.
One year on from when the signs were first installed, the VATCS continue to be effective at keeping the speeds down on Shellard Lane. The City traffic engineering team found that the one year results were better than the initial two week evaluation after installation tests...9 to 10 % reduction to the 85th percentile, as summarized and noted below:
Large scale VATCS evaluation underway
Further to the initial pilot VATCS trial in 2006/07 the City of Brampton have now expanded the trial into a large scale evaluation.
The findings of the initial pilot were very promising with the VATCS affording a 15% improvement on previously deployed speed feedback display technology.
FHWA to trial Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS
Unipart Dorman are delighted to announce that the unique Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS have been selected to feature on a national FHWA traffic safety study to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology on traffic speed and hazard awareness on horizontal curves in rural roadway applications.
Speeding continues to be one of the most significant contributing factors to fatal crashes. One of the major issues for speed related crashes is the impact of horizontal curves, especially in rural roadways.
UNIPART NORTH AMERICA to Support Traffic Calming Innovator DORMAN VARITEXT
Unipart will be supporting their latest talent acquisition Unipart Dorman to help implement their exciting innovative business model onto the North American traffic calming sector. The group will ensure clients wherever they are based across the USA and Canada will receive the unparalleled customer service support of the Unipart group within the industry.
Unipart Dorman places the highest importance on the relation between the distinction of its customers demands to its technology solution development and believe the group as a whole can ensure these unique benefits are available to every progressive traffic safety engineer across North America.
For more information on the Unipart group please click here www.unipartlogisticsna.com
Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS line the border
Unipart Dorman are pleased to be working with the City of Windsor, Ontario on the recent summer installation of a series of Dynamic Curve Warning VATCS featuring on Riverside Drive winding alongside the Detroit river border.
Acting Manager of Transportation for the City Steve Kapusta who had recently visited the UK was impressed by the long term traffic calming results of the large scale 3 year independent Transport Research Laboratory field study on the VATCS technology TRL548 and when Unipart Dorman set up...
British Columbia Ministry of Transport trials
Unipart Dorman in conjunction with Inprotect Systems of Langley, BC are pleased to announce they have been selected by British Columbia Ministry of Transport to supply road safety products from their unique vehicle activated traffic calming product range on two different field studies being conducted this year.
City of Mississauga VATCS Pilot
The City of Mississauga, commences their 2008 trial of the dual posted speed limit VATCS technology. The City is planning to monitor and evaluate speed management performance at each of the VATCS locations during the trial utilizing the on board bluetooth ™ datalogger speed analysis feature. More details on the results of the trial will be published later this summer.
Case Study proves VATCS effective in school zone
The first VATCS School Zone case study data has been published by the City of Brantford, ON. The full report can be read in the research section of this site but in summary the two dual diagram Vehicle Activated Traffic Calming Signs pictured and installed on Shellard Avenue in August 2007 have demonstrated a significant speed management impact.
VATCS to feature large on the streets of Brampton
The City of Brampton have awarded Unipart Dorman a supply and install contract for twenty solar powered posted speed limit VATCS which will be arriving on the streets later this summer. The contract is the largest to date in the province since the technology was first launched in 2006 and is testament to the independently proven traffic safety benefits of the VATCS.
The city awarded the contract further to the successful pilot trial of the VATCS during 2007 and see the introduction of the VATCS as an important addition to their province leading pro-active traffic calming program. The City is intending to utilize the on board traffic speed analysis feature that comes as standard with the VATCS to monitor the performance of the signs over both the short and long term and look forward to introducing this unique approach.
AWARD WINNER SynchroGUIDE
Congratulations are in order for the SynchroGUIDE sequential work zone taper delineator warning lamp. The product has been recognized by the editors from Better Roads magazine in their 2007 “Top Rollout” award category for innovation.
Each year the award is presented to new products that enrich the highway and bridge industry with innovation, productivity and greater supplier competition.
Unipart Dorman will be showcasing the technology at the ATSSA expo in February in New Orleans along with the award winning trophy. For more information please call in at booth 345 at the show or simply drop us a line through our contacts page.
California first for Advance Crossing Dual Speed Warning VATCS
A first for VATCS , the dual diagram advance crossing warning VATCS solution was developed by Unipart Dorman on behalf of the City of Redwood City. The VATCS not only displays a vehicle activated warning to drivers of the R2-1 35MPH posted limit when triggered by approaching vehicle speed detected above the predetermined safe threshold but this mode of Operation is overridden by the timer activated display of the W11-2 Pedestrian traffic warning diagram in conjunction with sensing the operation of the pedestrian crossing.
CANADIAN POLICE TRIAL Pro-B-LITE
Police forces in Ontario and Quebec are trialling the Pro-B-LITE synchronised emergency services re-chargeable 5 lamp car kit.
The synchronised lamp kit comes complete with its own charger combined carrier base and fits neatly into the rear of any cruiser , charging from the 12 V vehicle outlet for rapid deployment by the operator. The synchronised lamps are being seen as the ideal advancement and replacement for dated high intensity flares...
WEST COAST VATCS EXPANSION
Further to the first introduction of the VATCS technology on the west coast in the City of Tacoma W , word of the technology is spreading fast not only through the state with Clark County and the City of Redmond investing in the innovative traffic calming product to replace the dated speed feedback technology.
In addition to this good news Unipart Dorman are happy to be able to announce a breakthrough into California where the City of Redwood will be trialling the dual warning/posted speed limit model in an attempt to tackle excessive approach speeds in advance of a pedestrian crosswalk.