Urban traffic management control (UTMC)

Traffic monitoring using closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras is the most effective and immediate method of obtaining accurate information about the current status of the road network.

Great care is taken in the selection of CCTV sites in order to give maximum road network coverage. Operators can then pinpoint congestion and often determine the cause. In some circumstances operators can take direct action to remedy or pre-empt traffic problems. More often they'll help prevent delays from worsening by disseminating the information widely, allowing the travelling public time to change route, time of travel or mode of transport.

It should be noted that the CCTV equipment employed to monitor traffic doesn't record images for any purpose, and therefore they can't assist you with insurance claims etc.

Air sampling is continuously carried out at various locations in the county. Where these locations coincide with SCOOT systems when air quality levels are breached, we're automatically able to implement plans which will allow traffic to be given priority in a particular location, thereby removing standing traffic and at the same time reducing pollution.

The Remote Monitoring System (RMS) monitors each independent controller system for traffic signal junctions and pelican, puffin and toucan crossings, and other intelligent transport systems throughout the country. This monitoring equipment can detect all kinds of faults, such as lamp outages, and reports them directly to the UTMC, where officers are able to refer them onto the traffic signal maintenance contractor.

Because the UTMC counts vehicular movements as a fundamental part of its operation, as an additional benefit that data can also be used to determine vehicle categories, such as cars, buses and lorries, and the speed of each vehicle and time of day it passed a particular spot. The data collected is anonymous and can't be used to identify individual vehicles.

It's an aim of the UTMC system to be able to implement alternative routes for vehicles if given criteria is met. This criteria could include the occupancy levels of car parks or to advise drivers of delays due to roadworks, for example.

In such instances the UTMC will automatically use pre-determined plans to change messages on the approaches to town centres to provide relevant, up-to-date information about incidents, congestion or car park occupancy to drivers en-route.

The car park monitoring system collects occupancy data for individual car parks, which will then be transmitted to the VMS on the inbound routes to the car parks. Drivers will then be able to choose in advance which car park to head for based on the number of spaces showing as available on the VMS. This facility will reduce queuing and circulating traffic, and thereby pollution, in congested urban centres.

This facility will monitor the time individual vehicles take to move around on our network. It uses the unique Bluetooth identity of mobile devices such as telephones when they pass different detector nodes on main routes into or out of towns. The data can then be used to determine speeds, occupancy of routes and journey times.

It should be noted that the collection of data via this method would purely be used for the improvement of traffic flows, and not for any other means such a prosecutions etc.