Real-time information for connected vehicles

The proposal is to develop a data feed for connected vehicles that would provide the building blocks for a potential national standard for how roadworks, incidents and other traffic management information should be set-up and dispensed to the travelling public for all vehicles.

Today, through an app derived from the roadworks.org website, residents of Essex and Hertfordshire are provided with information on road closures, roadworks, public events and incidents on the highway network of the two counties. (The roadworks.org website is recognised as the most comprehensive source of roadworks and traffic disruption in the UK.).

This proposal is to create an open data feed to cover incidents, as well as road closures, and to cover all disruptions to the network, ensuring that all the information is in real-time. Effectively, the intent is that this will set a template for a national standard source of open data which can be accessed by all sat-nav and mapping app providers.

Provision of this reliable up-to-date information will allow the travelling public to take informed judgements on their journeys to avoid or mitigate planned, or emergency, roadworks and incidents. It will provide accurate in-vehicle advice and move away from fixed variable messaging signs (VMS) and radio bulletins. This will lead to reduced congestion and provide more reliable journeys for those travelling on the network.

Additionally, by using the latest connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) standards, we will provide a step change in the way traffic management interventions are communicated to autonomous connected vehicles.