A SIGN OF THE FUTURE I: INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS. IN: THE HUMAN FACTORS OF TRANSPORT SIGNS

This paper reviews emerging technologies that are capable of presenting new and existing traffic information to road transport users in radically different ways from that of the traditional traffic sign. In summary, many Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies exist and are being developed to make it possible to present regulatory, warning, and guidance information currently presented on static road signs outside the vehicle to the driver inside the vehicle. These systems are additionally capable of alerting the driver, in real time, about changing traffic conditions. Some of the ITS technologies are vehicle based, some are infrastructure based; and some are cooperative, involving communication between the vehicle and the road infrastructure and between the vehicle and other vehicles. Collectively, these systems are capable of providing the driver with a far greater variety of traffic information that can currently be displayed on static road signs. In many cases, it is possible to link these systems to vehicle control systems so that if a driver fails to react to a warning, the system automatically responds to the warning by slowing the vehicle or controlling it in the appropriate manner.