E4 Motorway

The difficult driving conditions experienced on Sweden’s highways result in a higher than expected number of slow or stopped vehicles. Rain, snow, and fog impact driving conditions leading to a greater number of vehicle collisions.

Trafikverket relied on either operators spotting incidents through CCTV or waiting for an incident to be reported by phone. Clearly, this wasn’t an effective way to detect all incidents quickly, and it didn’t provide the operators with either enough information or time to deal with situations before they escalated.

Trafikverket needed a system that continuously monitored activity on highways, providing automatic incident detection (AID) and stopped vehicle detection. It was critical that events such as slow or stopped vehicles, pedestrians, and debris were detected quickly and automatically. A sensor that provided full lane coverage with a long detection range was optimal as this would increase the ability of the operator to manage potential situations, ultimately increasing the safety of road users. Another requirement was that the system was cost-effective, with little or no maintenance, and that its performance should not be limited by environmental conditions or age. A system that needs fewer sensors but provides wider coverage decreases the lifetime cost of ownership as less equipment needs to be installed and maintained.