On Thursday, 1 February 2024, Minister of State with special responsibility for road safety, Jack Chambers T.D., launched a pilot programme to test the potential of connected vehicle technology to safeguard Ireland’s roads.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is delivering the pilot on behalf of the Department of Transport.
Cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) technology will enable operators based in the State’s motorway operations control centre to send safety alerts to drivers in real time. The alerts will be sent through smartphone apps connected to the mobile phone network or through tablets connected to roadside units installed on the M50 and M1 motorways.
The devices will display messages relating to collisions, congestion, stationary vehicles, road works and hazardous weather. They will also identify electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the vicinity of the driver.
Roughan & O'Donovan-AECOM is supporting the implementation of the pilot project – across approximately 355 kilometres of motorway network on the M1, M50, M7 and M8 motorways - as part of the enhancing Motorway Operations Services (eMOS) programme.
Funding
The pilot is part of a €10m investment, with half the funding provided by the European Union (EU) and half provided by the State. It forms part of the C-Roads Platform, a joint initiative of 18 EU member states and road operators aimed at harmonising the standards for the implementation and deployment of C-ITS on European roads.
Call for 1,500 volunteers
Speaking at the launch event, Minister Chambers invited 1,500 drivers to participate in the on-road pilot project, saying: “The value of this technology is that it empowers motorists to make real-time decisions so they can better plan their journey to avoid things like road collisions, broken down vehicles causing obstruction or congestion and ultimately improve road safety for all road users.”
Peter Walsh, Chief Executive of TII, said: “This EU pilot programme is a significant research opportunity in learning how the use of intelligent transportation systems will assist both the road user and road operator to improve overall road safety. The public involvement with this research programme will assist greatly in creating a safer road user environment for the future.”
How to join the pilot
Members of the public are invited to register their interest in participating in the pilot by logging on to cits.tii.ie and completing a short survey aimed at assessing their suitability to participate.
The pilot will run until the end of 2024.