Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Pre-Qualification Program at the FDOT-TERL

For longer than anyone can remember, the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) Traffic Operations Office has operated a traffic equipment evaluation and testing shop at the old FDOT maintenance yard on Springhill Road in Tallahassee. Starting in May of 1997, after moving into space at the yard vacated by the departing maintenance yard personnel, the shop was transformed into a research and testing facility staffed by FDOT and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering personnel. A research project with Florida State University's Electrical Engineering Department breathed new life into the old shop by increasing the resources and staff available to handle the ever increasing complex traffic engineering technology being submitted to FDOT for use on the streets and highways of Florida. This joint effort was named the Traffic Engineering Research Laboratory, or TERL.

The lab's objective is to support FDOT's Traffic Control Signal Device Certification Program, mandated by section 316.0745, Florida Statutes, by providing support during the development of equipment standards, testing procedures, and testing implementation.

Until the development of the TERL, FDOT had its materials and structures labs, but lacked in the area of traffic engineering electrical/electronics technology; hence, the TERL is often referred to as FDOT's Technology Lab. Most engineers and associates at the lab have electrical backgrounds, but recently the expansion into the industrial and civil engineering areas has helped the lab venture into needed non-electrical equipment certification-related areas.

Currently, work being conducted at the lab has led to the development of a three-phase program that is being used to qualify DMS manufacturers to certain minimum standards defined by FDOT. The remaining portion of this article deals with this program, known as Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Pre-Qualification.

DMSs are used to provide information to the traveling public and to assist in traffic management. At the time of this article, there are 107 DMSs installed and operating in the State of Florida. The popularity of these signs is increasing rapidly, so many more can be expected to be operating in the near future.

Recently, the TERL was asked to provide assistance in solving some of the issues that were occurring with current DMS installations such as: inconsistent compliance to specifications, various quality problems, and help with the implementation of the new National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol (NTCIP) requirements. The staff at the lab set out to find solutions to these problems which would increase the success rate concerning the use of these signs. It was determined that a minimum set of operational and material standards had to be defined for the signs and certain testing procedures would need to be developed to verify compliance to these defined minimum standards. If possible, actual testing capability would also be obtained if the area fell within the expertise of the lab staff.

The outcome of the effort was the development of: 1) a document entitled Minimum Specifications for Permanent Mount Dynamic Message Signs; 2) a document entitled Preliminary Quality Assurance Survey (minimum quality assurance/ quality control standards); 3) NTCIP testing procedures and testing capabilities; and 4) a program entitled Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Pre-Qualification, which would be used to qualify a DMS manufacturer to the requirements named above.

The program developed consists of three phases of evaluation and/or testing which the manufacturer must complete. To start the program, the manufacturer is required to submit its DMS controller with Florida-specific NTCIP software and at least three sign display modules.

First Phase: Quality Control and Experience The first phase consists of an evaluation of the DMS manufacturer's Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) procedures and practices currently in place with its DMS manufacturing process. These processes are evaluated to minimum QA/QC standards developed at the lab. These standards must be met to obtain qualification.

Work experience is also examined during this phase. As part of verifying the DMS manufacturer's work experience, three references are required from entities who are successfully operating (on a multi-unit, multi-lane State or Interstate Highway) a permanently-mounted, overhead DMS system supplied by the manufacturer under their current corporate name, for a period of no less than five years. Also required are: a plant tour of the manufacturing facility, a presentation by the manufacturer on the operation of its DMS system, and a demonstration of a full-size, fully-operational DMS (accomplished on the premises at the TERL).

Second Phase: DMS Display Properties Testing
The second phase consists of testing the following DMS Display Properties: intensity, chromaticity (color), and viewing angle of the light emitted by the specific type of DMS to be installed.

Third Phase: NTCIP Compliance Testing
The third and final phase consists of testing the DMS controller for compliance to the Florida Specific DMS Manage Information Base (MIB). These tests are performed on the DMS sign controller to determine if the manufacturer has the capability to provide a DMS sign controller that is compliant to the Florida Specific NTCIP requirements (Florida DMS MIB).

All the above-mentioned evaluation and testing is done by staff at the TERL in Tallahassee.

So far, three manufacturers have submitted their DMSs to the lab for testing. Two manufacturers have passed the third phase, NTCIP compliance testing. The TERL expects to have its first qualified DMS manufacturer within a month. Test reports and the DMS qualification list can be viewed at the web site listed below.

The intent of this program is to require this qualification before the DMS manufacturer will be allowed to sell or install its signs in the State of Florida. All other required testing is still in place and done as usual. The TERL feels this extra "up-front" requirement will improve the operational and material quality of the signs, along with improving specification compliance, which will reduce problems after the signs are placed in operation. Additional information can be found at the Traffic Operations Office web site at: http://www11.myflorida.com/trafficoperations or the TERL's web site at: http://rite.eng.fsu.edu.

For information, please contact Jeffrey M. Morgan, TERL Project Manager, the FDOT Traffic Operations Office, (850) 414-5254, or Leonard J. Tung, Principal Investigator, FSU at tung@eng.fsu.edu.

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Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) Frequency Selection

Did You Know?
Initial Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules provided for only two frequencies that could be used for HAR transmission throughout the country. These frequencies were 1610 KHz and 530 KHz on the AM dial, and the frequencies could not be utilized where they might interfere with existing commercial AM radio stations. This tended to restrict HAR usage in and around the urban areas where there is a greater probability of existing commercial AM radio stations transmitting on one or both of these frequencies. Another drawback was that the FCC rules require that HAR stations operate at low power, which increases the possibility of commercial AM radio stations, operating at much higher power and near the HAR frequency, to interfere with HAR stations. This interference was one of the reasons for the reduction in quality of HAR transmissions that drivers have noticed in some areas of the State.

Traffic Operations Office to the Rescue
In the mid 1990s, the Traffic Operations Office, through OmniCom Consultants, now RCC Consultants, conducted a study to determine and license additional frequencies for use in HAR transmissions. The goal of the study was to select and license enough frequencies so that there would be at least two clean frequencies that could be utilized in each FDOT District for HAR transmission. The study criteria was to select frequencies that would minimize the potential of HAR stations interfering with existing commercial AM radio stations, as well as to minimize the potential of the commercial AM radio stations interfering with the HAR stations. Three additional frequencies were selected that meet the study's criteria. The three new frequencies are: 880 KHz, 1100 KHz and 1180 KHz on the AM dial. These new frequencies provide for greater flexibility in deploying HAR stations, which will provide for better quality of the transmissions by reducing the probability of harmful interference from commercial AM radio stations. Depending on the location of existing commercial AM radio stations, and the frequencies they broadcast on, Districts may actually have more than two frequencies to choose from when implementing HAR.

HAR Users Manual
To assist the FDOT Districts in the selection of the proper frequency to utilize with HAR transmissions, the Traffic Operations office produced a HAR Users Manual that provides a step-by-step approach to determine the proper frequency to use. The manual has easy-to-read instructions and maps to assist in determining the frequencies that can be utilized. The 880 KHz frequency has been determined to be clean statewide. A CD version of the HAR Users Manual can be obtained from Maps and Publications in the Central Office. If you are planning a HAR station, as your first step, pick up a HAR Users Manual and see what choices you may have. Give HAR a chance. With additional frequencies to choose from, HAR may become a more valuable tool in your ITS toolbox.

For information, please contact Mr. Gene Glotzbach at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5616.

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ITS Office Reviewing Wireless Communications Solutions for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Wireless communications is an option for accelerating the deployment of a statewide ITS. Wireless communications can be less costly to install and operate than fiber optics, and has more flexibility for expansion, reconfiguration, and upgrades. Additionally, there are multiple wireless systems and service providers available. Wireless communications are currently less mature than fiber optics; but, the technology is rapidly expanding through data compression techniques and frequency spectrum utilization techniques. Also, available bandwidth is expected to increase dramatically over the next couple of years.

FDOT already has a digital microwave system deployed along its Interstate corridors and the Turnpike Mainline. This system, which is currently being upgraded, was originally developed as the communications network for the Motorist Aid Call Box System. Circuits within the microwave system can be utilized for backhaul of data and video from ITS field devices to the regional transportation management centers. What the FDOT lacks at this time is the wireless communications connectivity between the field devices and the microwave system.

At the recommendation of the Florida Transportation Commission, FDOT has developed a Request for Information (RFI) specifically to find out about wireless technologies that exist and how they might be developed as solutions in the overall statewide ITS communications network. FDOT needs a technical solution for the connectivity of ITS field devices to the microwave system. Interested vendors are encouraged to enhance their RFI responses by staging a demonstration of their products and services at no cost to the state so that FDOT can determine how each solution would apply to meeting its needs. If wireless technology proves to meet the requirements for full deployment of the State's ITS program, FDOT may seriously consider wireless technology as a means to a quicker, more economical deployment of ITS in Florida.

For information, please contact Mr. Nick Adams at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5608.

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Regional ITS Architectures and Rule 940 Implementation

On April 8, 2001, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued Federal Rule 940 entitled Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Architecture and Standards.Concurrently, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a policy entitled National ITS Architecture Policy on Transit Projects. The Rule and the Policy establish procedures for implementing Section 5206 (e) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) requiring ITS projects to conform to the National ITS Architecture (NITSA) and standards, and US Department of Transportation (USDOT) adopted ITS Standards.

Rule 940 Working Group
To address the requirements associated with Rule 940 implementation in Florida, a Rule 940 Working Group was established to identify Rule 940 and ITS architecture implementation issues from State, District, and MPO perspectives and to develop a statewide implementation strategy. The Rule 940 Working Group is comprised of FHWA, FDOT ITS and Planning, MPO, and Generaul Consultant representatives from across the State. These members include:

In addition to developing a Statewide Implementation Strategy, the Rule 940 Working Group was also responsible for identifying an outreach strategy to familiarize ITS planners and engineers with their regional ITS architecture, the architecture maintenance process, the effects of implementing Rule 940, and integration of ITS into the long-range transportation planning process.

Following are the highlights of this project:

• Florida's Rule 940 Statewide Implementation Strategy
  The purpose of the Statewide Implementation Strategy was to recommend an approach for the implementation of Federal Rule 940 in Florida and to develop guidelines for integration of ITS into the planning process and Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The Statewide Implementation Strategy details Florida's statewide ITS and regional ITS architectures structure, recommends a configuration management process for developing and maintaining the statewide and regional ITS architectures, and defines the roles and responsibilities of each transportation agency involved. The Statewide Implementation Strategy also identifies a process for integrating the regional ITS architectures into the long-range transportation process through the development of a sequence of projects, as required by Rule 940. A sequence of projects is the first step in defining and prioritizing ITS projects within a region. These projects can be integrated into an MPO's LRTP, Needs Plan, Cost-Feasible Plan, or Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). The Statewide Implementation Strategy recommends the recognition of an area's regional architecture through an MPO resolution, memorandum of understanding, or ITS chapter of an LRTP. The Statewide Implementation Strategy also includes a suggested outline for the content of an LRTP ITS chapter. The Statewide Implementation Strategy can be obtained at http://www11.myflorida.com/IntelligentTransportationSystems.

• Public Outreach
  To present and support the recommendations of the Statewide Implementation Strategy, a three-phased public outreach program was developed in coordination with the FHWA. The first phase of the outreach program involves sponsoring a Regional ITS Architecture and Rule 940 Implementation Workshop.

• Regional ITS Architecture and Rule 940 Implementation Workshop
  This one-day workshop will provide ITS professionals from all functional areas (e.g., Transit Management, Traffic Management, Public Safety, Transportation Planning, Commercial Vehicle Operations, etc.) with the information needed to utilize and maintain their regional ITS architectures. Starting with an introduction to an ITS architecture, and progressing to the current status of ITS architectures in Florida, participants will gain or enhance their understanding of how their regional ITS architecture can be used as a guide to ITS deployment. The workshop will provide an overview of Rule 940 requirements and assist them in using the regional ITS architecture to mainstream ITS into their long-range transportation planning process.

  The Workshop will be held Monday, October 7, 2002, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 3705 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612.

  Facility space is limited, so please register no later than September 12, 2002. More detailed information regarding the workshop content and location, and the registration form can be obtained at http://www11.myflorida.com/IntelligentTransportationSystems, or by contacting Diane Quigley, Senior ITS Specialist, FDOT ITS Office, (850)-410-5617.

For other information, please contact Mr. Liang Hsia at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5615.

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ITS Florida - Supporting The Emerging Florida ITS Powerhouse

ITS Florida is your local state chapter of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. As such, we have a mission to advocate and promote the effective and efficient application of information and telecommunications technologies to the management and operation of our transportation network. Our goal is to save lives, time, and money by making transportation easier to use and improving the management of existing capacity. ITS Florida represents nearly 100 public- and private-sector organizations with an interest in ITS in Florida and has an exceptionally dynamic approach to both the achievement of our mission and representing the interests of our members. I have been afforded the honor and privilege of serving as President and Chairman of the Board of ITS Florida for this calendar year and I'd like to take a few minutes of your time to let you know where we're going, what we're doing, and explain how you might be involved.

Let's start by explaining where we're going. It will probably take us more than a year to get there, but our ultimate destination is the establishment of Florida as an ITS Powerhouse. What we mean by that is the establishment and ongoing maintenance of a world-class ITS development and deployment program, the encouragement of private-sector initiatives, and support for the development of a vibrant ITS and transportation professional community in Florida. We want to learn from the early practical experiences of other states and regions and develop a measured approach that enables us to become the national leader in effective use of ITS. FDOT has established a terrific foundation for this effort by defining and implementing a multi-million dollar, multi-year program to develop and deploy a range of ITS services in the State.

We're trying to do our part to complement this by engaging in a range of initiatives designed to support our progress to an ITS Powerhouse. I'd like to give you an overview of these initiatives to let you know what we are doing.

ITS America 2003
FDOT and several ITS industry firms in the State will join together in a Florida Pavilion exhibit for the ITS America 2003 Annual Meeting next May in Minneapolis. More details can be found later in this newsletter at ITS America 2003 - - Florida ITS is Hot, Hot, Hot!

2002 Annual Meeting - Transpo 2002, December 9-11 Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando We are currently in the advanced stages of preparation for an annual meeting that promises to be a wonderful event. We have the good fortune of sharing the meeting with the Florida Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (FSITE) enabling us to produce a high quality event that both of our organizations will be proud of, while addressing the needs of the entire transportation community in the state. The theme of the meeting will be "Safety Under the Sun" and our organizing committee, under the energetic leadership of ITS Florida Board Member Diana Carsey from Hartline, has developed a program that will

be both interesting and informative. Jay Calhoun from Grey-Calhoun Associates and David Gwynn of TEI Associates have also been instrumental in the development of the program by providing leadership in the development of the Technical Program tracks for the meeting. Jay is also a member of the Board of Directors of ITS Florida and Dave is Vice-President of FSITE. Rural Advanced Technology Transportation Systems (RATTS) 2003 The RATTS conference is the premier rural ITS event of the year. The first annual RATTS conference was held in 1992 in Redding, California. Subsequent RATTS conferences have been held in Keystone, Colorado; Duluth, Minnesota; Big Sky, Montana; Blacksburg, Virginia; Flagstaff, Arizona; University Park, Pennsylvania; Spokane, Washington; Branson, Missouri; and Burlington, Vermont. This year's conference is being held September 10-13 in Monterey, California. On August 9-14, 2003, the 12th Annual RATTS conference will be held at the Westin-Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. This conference will be sponsored by ITS Florida, ITS America, FHWA, and FDOT. The program theme will be: "What's Really Happening in Rural ITS and Who's Doing It?" The Westin-Innisbrook resort is a 1,000-acre property featuring 700 guest suites within 28 low-rise lodges, 72 holes of award-winning championship golf, 6 swimming pools, jogging and cycling trails, a wildlife preserve, specialty shops, dining, a complete fitness center, and one of America's premier conference centers. It's located 45 minutes from downtown Tampa. Information for the Westin-Innisbrook Resort can be obtained at www.westin-innisbrook.com. Rural ITS is part of FDOT's ITS Strategic Plan. Almost half of Florida's counties (32) and close to 80 percent of its land area is defined as rural. Additionally, about 12 million of its annual visitors are characterized as "eco-tourists" (visitors with rural destinations). Further information can be obtained from Mike Pietrzyk, Technical Program Chair, at mcptsi@tampabay.rr.com or Rob Gregg, incoming ITS Florida President, at gregg@cutr.usf.edu.

ITS Professional Capacity Building Program
In the course of the past few months, we have been busily developing a new 12-month ITS professional capacity building program for the ITS community in the state. This builds on the excellent program that FDOT developed and managed previously. We expect to launch the program at the end of October with the publication of details of seminars and workshops to be held at various locations around the State on a broad range of ITS topics. Our ITS professional capacity building sub-committee, under the able leadership of Husham Al-Kaisy from Hillsborough County, has developed a structured approach to ITS professional capacity building based on defined needs and instructional system design principles. We expect significant private-sector sponsorship for the professional capacity building program.

Florida ITS Advisory Committee
Since we represent a broad cross-section of ITS opinions and interests, FDOT made a wonderful decision this year and nominated ITS Florida as an official advisory committee to FDOT on ITS topics. The creation of the ITS Advisory Committee provides us with formal channels to collate the interests and opinions of our members for presentation to FDOT in a coherent manner. Under the leadership of Rob Gregg from USF CUTR, our advisory committee (which is comprised of the ITS Florida Board of Directors) has developed an initial set of topics and related recommendations that have already been informally presented to FDOT at the July FDOT ITS Working Group meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rob is Vice President of ITS Florida this year and will take over my job as President and Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2003.

The ITS Florida Web Site And Other Outreach
Since the beginning of the year, we have been working diligently to develop and manage a new look for the ITS Florida web site. You can find it at www.itsflorida.org. Please take a couple of minutes to visit us there and let us know what you think. We have placed an increasing emphasis on making the web site useful and easy to use, as well as an attractive place to visit, and it contains a lot more information on our current initiatives and activities than I could fit into this article. We have the wonderful good fortune to have Jill Schultz from JMS Communications & Research as a member of our board. Jill has provided effective leadership to our range of marketing and outreach activities, including the web site.

Relations With Other State Chapters
One of my personal objectives when I assumed my role as President and Chairman of the Board was to establish an effective and mutually valuable dialogue with a number of other ITS America state chapters. I have arranged meetings and discussions with the presidents and chairmen of the state chapters in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan in the coming months. This is intended to enable us to communicate our objectives and experiences with them and have them tell us about their context. I will report back on these activities at a later date.

ITS Florida Membership
As you can see, we have a very vibrant and dynamic set of people and activities associated with ITS Florida and these are only the highlights. We have an amazing group of people on the Board of Directors and within the active membership who are supporting the activities mentioned here and the administrative and procedural activities needed to keep us functioning as an effective organization. We are focused and are well on track to effectively support the emergence of the ITS Powerhouse. If reading this article has inspired you to be interested in taking an active role and doing your part to help us, then you can do one or more of the following:

1. If your organization is not a member already, then join ITS Florida. The current cost of membership is just $214.50 per year (membership link). The benefits of membership include: representation of your interests and opinions through our ITS Advisory Committee to FDOT, discounts on our professional capacity building (PCB) program activities, and sponsorship opportunities, where appropriate. You'll also be featured on our web site in a showcase article and be able to improve your networking with the Florida ITS community.
2. Sponsor our ITS PCB program. We have a number of sponsorship opportunities available. Contact Husham Al-Kaisy (alkaisyh@hillsboroughcounty) for details. This is a great way to get positive press and exposure for your organization on a persistent, statewide basis.
3. Register now to attend our Transpo 2002 meeting in Orlando, December 9-11, 2002. This is the premier ITS event in the state this year. The program track is world-class, and the associated exhibition will feature state-of-the-art ITS products and services. Please visit www.itsflorida.org for more information on Transpo 2002.
4. Sign-up to take a booth at Transpo 2002 if you are a product vendor or supplier of goods or services to the ITS or transportation community in Florida. Contact our professional meeting organizer for the event, Karen Crawford (kcrawford@cmc-associates.com).
5. If you are already a member of ITS Florida, then visit our web site at www.itsflorida.org and take a look at our initial set of topics and recommendations to FDOT in our role as FDOT ITS Advisory Committee. Let us know what you think and give us your ideas, opinions, and comments. We welcome information on what interests you as our members, so contact Rob Gregg (gregg@cutr.eng.usf.edu) and let him know what you think.

This is an exciting time in the development of ITS in Florida and a wonderful period to be President. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve and hope that you will be moved to active participation now that you've read this article. Join us on our quest to drive Florida to ITS Powerhouse status. It will be a lot of fun, you'll work with great people, and it will be rewarding.

For information, please contact Mr. Bob McQueen, President and Chairman of the Board of ITS Florida, (407) 740-8958.

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ITS America 2003 - - Florida ITS is Hot, Hot, Hot!

FDOT and several ITS industry firms in the State will join together in a Florida Pavilion exhibit for the ITS America 2003 Annual Meeting next May in Minneapolis. The theme will be "Florida ITS is Hot, Hot, Hot!"

"We are excited about this concept because it will showcase Florida's ITS Program on its drive to become an ITS Powerhouse and it will show both the public and private sectors working together in ITS for excellence in transportation," said Chester Chander, FDOT's ITS Office Manager.

The pavillion concept was an idea of Bob McQueen, President and Chairman of the Board of ITS Florida, and will work like this: FDOT will have a 20'x20' booth in the center of the Florida Pavilion which will serve as an FDOT exhibit and as a presentations theater. ITS Florida will share the FDOT booth. The FDOT/ITS Florida exhibit area will have six 10'x10' booths clustered around it, which will be rented by other Florida ITS industry firms. There will be common elements that tie the booths together into a pavilion (e.g., carpeting, elements above the booths, colors, and design).

Playing upon the annual meeting theme, "Real World, Real Results," the presentations theater will feature informative and fun presentations on current and future Florida ITS projects. The presentations will be given by various firms involved in those projects. The design features of the Florida Pavilion will capitalize on native Florida elements. Once again, the FDOT booth will feature drawings and giveaways.

ITS Florida has secured the six 10'x10' booths for the exhibit. They cost $2,175 each. Two have already been rented by other Florida ITS firms. Consulting firms, vendors, and other private or public organizations wishing to secure a booth should contact ITS Florida Executive Director Charles Wallace at (352) 374-6635, or execdirector@itsflorida.org.

"We are excited about the opportunity to once again showcase Florida's ITS successes at ITS America and look forward to exhibiting in Minneapolis," Chandler said.

For further information, please contact Mr. Chester Chandler III, PE, FDOT ITS Office Manager, in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5600.

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		We invite you to have some fun and complete the SunGuideSM Disseminator Word Challenge! Find the words in the puzzle. Circle the words top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, right to left, and even diagonally. The answers can be found after the Editorial Corner.
	Words to Find
		ARCHITECTURE ATIS ATMS AVI CORRIDOR COST FEASIBLE DEPLOYMENT DYNAMIC EVACUATION FFN FIBER GAMMA RAY INFOSTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION INVITATION		IRIS MASTER PLAN PAUL WATSON PRECLEARANCE PREPASS PROCUREMENT RETIMING REVERSE LANE SAFETY SIGNAL SKYWAY SUNGUIDE SUNNAV TRAINING TWO WIRELESS
Enjoy and Good Luck!

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Editorial Corner

Why Should Traffic Operations Personnel and ITS Professionals Care About Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)?
There are too many of us in this industry that don't know the answer to this question. The answer is actually very simple when you take the time to understand the objectives of both "ITS" and "ITS Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)." The first thing we need to do is learn what "CVO" means. Basically, CVO is the operation of commercial trucks and motorcoaches (for-hire buses) along our nations highways. Now, take a look at one of the definitions of ITS from the Florida ITS Strategic Plan.

"ITS represents the integrated application of advanced information, electronic, communications, and other technologies to address surface transportation problems."

Given that, it follows that ITS CVO is the application of ITS applied in the CVO arena.

Now that we understand the definitions, let's look at the objectives of both programs. I think we can agree that the objectives of these programs are consistent with ITS America's mantra - which states that ITS saves lives, time, and money.

What we have to consider is that about 80% of the goods that come into Florida do so by truck. I would challenge you to find any store-bought items in our state that didn't sit on the back of a truck at some point - regardless if it entered the state by train, air, or sea. Trends show that freight movements from the ports alone will triple by the year 2020 and commercial trucking is expected to double in the next 5 years. Today there are about 12,000 commercial trucks a day operating on I-75 alone. Double that and you can see how that impacts our systems and the need to manage commercial traffic more efficiently. ITS can assist in that management. If you ask any traffic operations or ITS professional if they think that trucks travel the same roadways as passenger vehicles and emergency vehicles, their answer, of course, will be yes. Considering that e-commerce continues to increase and the number of deliveries continues to increase at an exponential rate, doesn't it make sense that we would be negligent if we don't take CVO into consideration when planning, managing, and operating our valuable ITS systems? Unfortunately, many think of ITS CVO as an afterthought or "someone else's" responsibility and nothing for them to be concerned with.

Let me give you some examples that you may not be thinking about. Do you think we should be concerned about safety issues associated with slow moving trucks entering our Interstate highways and merging into automobile traffic traveling at 65 MPH and higher? It's a safety concern that can cost lives every day. Should we be concerned when a truck, loaded with hazardous materials, has an accident? Will the type of hazardous material transported determine how we respond and how traffic management is handled? In a hazmat incident, having the right information at the right time can mean the difference between evacuating a community (and saving thousands of lives) and just a routine spill clean-up with minimal traffic disruption. Not to mention protection of the first responders.

Should traffic operations or ITS professionals be concerned and communicate with the CVO community when it recognizes specific areas across the State which seem to be prone to truck traffic accidents? Do you think that in an effort to reduce or eliminate those accidents, we should be able to warn any unsuspecting drivers that they should be extra alert at "this interchange" or on "that ramp?" This type of communication can save lives, time, and money.

Finally, do you think that a traffic operations or ITS professional could use information that provides travel speeds on various roadway sections? Can trucks with transponders that are used as traffic probes be useful to a traffic management operation? You bet they can.

Now I hope you can begin to see why we should care about CVO. Florida is one of the more progressive states in our nation when it comes to this area. The Florida Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) program utilizes ITS to electronically screen trucks at weigh stations and also at agriculture inspection sites. Those carriers with good safety and weight history, and who don't carry agriculture-regulated products, and chose to provide bills of lading electronically, can continue traveling at highway speeds to bypass highway weigh stations and agriculture inspection sites, thereby alleviating merge problems and increasing efficiency. CVISN also helps commercial vehicle inspection and enforcement personnel ensure that only safe trucks operate on our state's roadways. This is done by developing communications networks and integrating state and national truck safety databases. These types of systems allow enforcement personnel to identify unsafe drivers, trucks, and companies and get them off the road. An added benefit is that data collected on unsafe carriers can be transmitted across the state or across the nation on a near real-time basis. This helps us keep Florida's roadways safe from unsafe motor carriers that can cause incidents. An added benefit in today's environment is the ability to alert, identify, or track commercial vehicles that may be a state or national security risk. CVISN saves lives, time, and money.

The Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) is another ITS CVO program that, among other things, alerts truck drivers when they approach "accident zones" along our state's highways. Using global positioning system (GPS) technology and accident information provided from state databases, drivers can be alerted and potential crashes can be avoided. IVI is also involved with the development of standards that allow hazardous materials to be identified in a standardized way by all agencies. This also allows ITS to be used to handle hazmat incidents in a way that gets the right people to the right location at the right time. One ongoing project, with McKenzie Tank Lines, alerts their dispatch center when one of their trucks rolls over. Since the vehicle is equipped with GPS the dispatch can immediately notify our first responders, FHP, with the location and what hazardous material is being carried on the vehicle at the time. This not only allows us the quickest response time, but also allows us to assess the need for evacuation and cleanup prior to reaching the scene of the accident. ITS will result in saving lives, time, and money for the traveling public and the public agencies involved.

Another application for trucks, that can benefit traffic management for the public and commercial drivers alike, is the transponder-equipped truck. Transponder-equipped trucks are used for electronic screening to bypass inspection sites. They can also be used as traffic probes on sections of highways to measure speeds between strategically located readers. These speeds can be superimposed on electronic roadway maps and used for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) applications and for incident management.

There are many other ITS CVO applications that save lives, time, and money. The FDOT ITS Office will be sponsoring a one-day course (including equipment demonstrations) to help you understand where the Florida ITS CVO Program is and why it is so important. Look for information on the course in the coming months.

For information, please contact Mr. Mike Akridge at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5607.

Regards,

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SunGuide^SM Disseminator Word Challenge Answers

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SunGuide^SM Disseminator                                                                     August 2002