3576 Empleo, Unit 1
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805)781-8461
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805)781-8461
| Loragen Corporation |
3576 Empleo, Unit 1
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 (805)781-8461 |
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A three-year project to evaluate the safety-enhancment effectiveness of a computer-based driver warning system located on Interstate 5 and State Route 120 near Stockton, California. The evaluation of the Caltrans Automated Warning System (CAWS) is comprised of four levels of assessment: long term efficacy in reduction of traffic accidents, effects on driver behavior, operational validation, and technical assessment.
The highest evaluation level, directly related to traffic safety, requires analysis of collision statistics over a period of many years prior to and after the activation of the system. We are studying historical data, and incident data available in the period since system activation. The functional (second) level of evaluation most directly answers questions of cause and effect, ultimately supporting (or not supporting) decisions in other jurisdictions to replicate (or not) the system. We assess driver behavior by statistical analysis of individual vehicle speeds and detection times (to infer separation). We correlate and compare driver behavior and visibility at a reference detection site (prior to the study area), followed by a second observation after drivers have been exposed to a Changeable Message Sign (CMS) which provides a warning message for a hazardous condition ahead, especially low visibility or slow traffic due to fog. This level of detailed traffic information required that we design specialized data acquisition instrumentation, which has been deployed by Caltrans at five field sites on US 101 near Stockton California. Our web server caws-evaluation.loragen.com provides live updates of the evaluation data collection.
As part of a project to assist Caltrans Information Technology Group with the reduction of state-wide telecommunications costs, Loragen developed software to analyze and audit monthly SIBS (Statewide Integrated Billing System) telephone and data communications bills.
Refered to as the "Bill Analyzer", the application allows users to track, verify, and investigate all monthly recurring and special costs appearing on monthly Calnet statements. Using the internal accountabilitty features of this application and procedures recommended by Loragen, Caltrans Division of Traffic Operations is implementing internal accounatbility for all telecommunications costs as a pilot cost-saving effort for the agency.
Loragen Coprporation continues to support fundamental traffic engineering research
with software upgrades and technical assistance for the operation of a computer-vision
system for the tracking of all vehicles in a freeway network. The Video-based
Signature Analysis and Tracking (V2SAT) system was developed by Loragen under
a previous contract, and has been deployed by Caltrans on a section of the I-405
freeway in Irvine California, in an area designated as the Caltrans Detector
Test Bed. See:
Caltrans Detector Test Bed
V2SAT is primarily used for the validation of theoretical traffic flow models,
the generation of origin-destination tables, and as a reference for the calibration
of other types of detectors being evaluated by Caltrans in the Test Bed. Loragen
has also been tasked with the specification of data communications procedures
and time synchronization protocols for all sensors in the test bed.
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Copyright © 2004 Loragen Corporation. All rights reserved.
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