Principal Investigator(s):
Taek Kwon, Former Professor, UMD-Electrical Engineering
Project summary:
A new intersection conflict warning system, referred to as the Advanced LED Warning System for Rural Intersections (ALERT), for reducing crashes at rural two-way stop intersections has been successfully developed and deployed. The ALERT system, now in the second phase of the study, is designed to alert drivers of approaching traffic at sight-restricted intersections, thereby helping them to avoid collisions. Intersections of this type exhibit some of the most fatal crash history across the nation. In addition to notifying the driver, the goal of this project is to create a low-cost solar-powered system that can be easily installed. The ALERT system consists of vehicle detectors that detect vehicles on the major and minor approaches and wirelessly activated LED blinker warning signs that dynamically flash when a vehicle is detected. Building on earlier system limitations, the new system includes vehicle-activated blinker STOP signs that are designed to mitigate the previous observation of drivers ignoring the stop sign and using this system like a traffic signal. To assess driver behaviors at the test site, almost a years worth of video data and a survey of local residents reactions were collected. The analysis of this video data and the survey results are presented in the project's final report.