AA Roadwatch: There's more to those radio broadcasts than meets the ear, writes Ray Okoñski
Any motorist faced with a journey that takes them through or close to an urban area knows the defining moment when it dawns on them there is no possibility of reaching their intended destination on time. The problem may be due to an accident, road works, or just the sheer weight (wait?) of traffic on your intended route, but fortunately help is at hand.
One of the organisations that have made Ireland's tortuous traffic problems its business is the Roadwatch team of the Automobile Association, monitoring the country's road network on a 24x7 basis and providing traffic "intelligence" as a public service to members and non-members alike. Most road users are familiar with peak-hour traffic information bulletins available countrywide from the AA's Roadwatch studio and transmitted by RTÉ and independent broadcasters but this is only part of the story and, in reality, the last link of a very complex chain.
Emma Caulfield is Controller of the Roadwatch service and explains that traffic flow information should not be viewed as a "drivetime" exercise; "Traffic jams on commuter routes are a fact of life, and many drivers quickly become familiar with the usual bottlenecks and plan their route accordingly," notes Emma. "When an unforeseen event occurs, typical travel times are thrown into disarray and this is what frustrates motorists.
"Broadcasters naturally choose to supply our traffic information service during hours of highest congestion, but this isn't to say all problems disappear with these times - they don't. Our team is constantly collecting, updating and refining this traffic information throughout the day.
"Motorists who use the Vodafone mobile network can receive the latest Roadwatch information directly to their handsets by using a text message. Those equipped with WAP (wireless application protocol) handsets can select the area of interest and read the relevant warnings - but obviously not while driving! We identified 14 routes which carry the bulk of traffic across the country, ranging from long-distance journeys radiating from Dublin to Cork, Limerick, Donegal and Belfast, to localised urban area reports for Dublin centre, north, south and west.
"As adverse traffic flow information reaches us, the team update their traffic database to reflect the improvement (or worsening) of the situation, complete with an estimated time of delay through the bottleneck," Emma concludes.
Where does all this traffic information come from? It may seem like a black art, but Ms Caulfield did reveal some of the methods the Roadwatch team employ to compile their traffic reports. Firstly, the AA's Roadside Patrols are constantly driving the long distance routes and send a constant stream of traffic intelligence to the Suffolk Street HQ.
Nationally, Garda patrols can ask for information to be passed on to give drivers advance warning of problems ahead, and the AA can then offer advice on an alternative route. In Dublin, inconveniences viewed directly from the City Council's extensive network of traffic cameras are similarly fed back to Roadwatch. As more towns benefit from CCTV, control room observers can instantly pass details to the AA and advise when traffic flow returns to normal. With the bulk of the nation's traffic passing through Co Dublin on a daily basis, spare a thought for the bus speeding past you in a QBC (Quality Bus Corridor). As all Dublin Bus vehicles are radio controlled, drivers routinely report problems that directly affect their progress, and the Roadwatch team is advised. Last but not least, public-spirited road users contact the AA by phone and text message, and this data is used to warn fellow motorists of problems ahead.
Sadly, our traffic disruption will not magically disappear when the M50 southern extension is complete. Projects such as the Luas and Dublin Port Tunnel will ensure Roadwatch is kept busy for years to come, but technology has a way of minimizing the problem. Mobile phone networks already have the ability to track the whereabouts of their customers, and new location-based services that make use of this data to guide you to your nearest ATM or petrol station are already under trial.
Where it all becomes interesting is that the cellular network can set up a wide range of "invisible markers" (called waypoints) on the country's main traffic routes, and automatically calculate the time taken for the user to reach each of these waypoints. If the journey time is longer than the typical duration for the route and time of day, the route and location of the bottleneck can be quickly identified.
Dispensing with the requirement for a network of roadside detectors (as used by TrafficMaster in the UK), anyone travelling with their mobile phone can assist in monitoring the route, anonymously providing valuable traffic-flow data at no cost. This scheme is already being tested in a number of countries, but it could make a considerable difference to the immediacy of information and AA's Roadwatch service if the technology is adopted for use here.