Navtech Radar’s ClearWay stopped vehicle detection technology is to be deployed on more roads across the UK as part of Highways England’s programme to enhance safety on smart motorways.
The Oxfordshire-based designer and manufacturer has won a competitive tender to supply ClearWay for all all-lane-running motorways to quickly identify vehicles that have stopped, helping to reduce secondary incidents and provide advanced warning to approaching drivers.
Highways England says this is part of its commitment to making smart motorways even safer, and helping drivers feel confident using them. To start the nationwide upgrade, Navtech, which is part of Halma the FTSE100 group of technology companies, will install 26 radar on the M20 J3-5 by the end of March 2021. The award of this contract to Navtech follows a successful trial of its SVD solution on two smart motorway sections of the M25.
ClearWay technology automatically alerts operators to any stationary vehicle within ten seconds of it stopping. With early detection, operators can immediately close lanes, warn other drivers, and alert emergency services. Being radar- based, ClearWay works in all conditions, including those where accidents are most likely such as fog, snow, heavy rain and total darkness. Its long-range, 360° detection, provides comprehensive coverage of all lanes, in all directions, with minimal infrastructure – meaning less disruption to road users when it is being installed. ClearWay can also deliver additional features to road authorities, such as traffic flow and behaviour analysis using the data collected by its radar sensors.
Philip Avery, Founder and Managing Director of the Oxfordshire based Navtech Radar, believes that SVD deployment will make a big difference to the country’s smart motorways saying, “ClearWay has already proved its value on highways around the world, and we know it helps get assistance to drivers more quickly. We are delighted to be deploying it at scale here in the UK.”
Navtech says the ability of the radar-based solution to identify stationary vehicles in under ten seconds is a major advance in response times and road safety. Previously, detection and response could take several minutes; ClearWay’s SVD means drivers spend less time stranded in live lanes. As well as getting assistance to drivers more quickly and with clear benefits in terms of safety, it also helps traffic flow, by ensuring incidents are cleared quickly.
The use of ClearWay technology is part of Highways England’s programme of improvements, which will see radar SVD installed on all existing all-lane smart motorways by the end of March 2023. The contract could lead to the deployment of up to 700 devices.
(Picture – Navtech Radar)
