Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling, usually abbreviated to MIDAS, is a UK distributed network of

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s, mainly inductive loops, (trialling at the moment radar technology by Wavetronix and magneto-resistive wireless sensors by Clearview Intelligence) which are designed to alert the local regional control centre (RCC) to

traffic flow In mathematics and transportation engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic control devi ...

and average speeds, and set

variable message sign A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special ...

s and advisory speed limits (or mandatory speed limits on

smart motorways A smart motorway (formerly managed motorway and active traffic management), also known in Scotland as an intelligent transport system, is a section of motorway in the United Kingdom (primarily in England) that employs active traffic managemen ...

) with little human intervention. Companies such as RAC, TomTom and Google use this traffic flow data via halogens reporting systems. Originally installed on the congested western stretch of the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

, much of the

M60 motorway The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through most of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bol ...

around

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the Birmingham box (M6, M5 and M42), MIDAS has been installed on all but the most minor stretches of UK motorway. The system has successfully reduced accidents. Additionally, the system is installed on parts of the non-motorway trunk road network including the A14. Although all stretches with MIDAS have at least small signals in the central reservation to show advisory speed limits for the whole carriageway, major motorways often also have text

variable message signs A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special ...

, and on the busiest stretches, lane control signals above each lane. Additionally, many motorways, called

, have now been equipped with the newest signs and signals for variable mandatory speed limits and lane control. The system replaced the Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system which was trialled in 1989 on an section of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

. MIDAS was first operated on the M25 in the SouthWest quadrant before the section went live with a variable speed limit. By March 2006,

National Highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

aimed to have MIDAS installed on more than of the English motorway network.

External links

Highways Agency: Variable Message Signs (VMS)
(PDF)

References

{{reflist Automotive safety Traffic signals Road transport in England Traffic signs

See also

External links

References