Tunnels and subways are a special source of danger for road users. Apart from restricted vision and narrower lanes, anticipatory driving is often impossible due to the curvature of the tunnel. It is therefore all the more important for drivers to be informed in some other way about imminent hazards such as smoke or lost freight.

The Incident Detection System (IDS) by Kapsch TrafficCom AG, a leading international provider of traffic telematics solutions, allows potential dangers to be spontaneously identified and the relevant authorities automatically informed. Under normal operation, these systems, which work on the principle of video analysis, are mainly used to generate traffic statistics. In addition to the type of vehicle, other data that can be captured include the volume and density of the traffic and - if required - its speed.

Potential dangers are automatically identified
At the same time, Kapsch IDS also quickly recognises incidents on the road. Apart from noticing people and objects on the carriageway, the system is also able to independently register traffic jams, those driving against the trafffic and even hazardous goods stickers on the relevant vehicles. So-called creeping changes, such as a reduction in visibility due to smoke or fog, are also captured.

As soon as a potential danger is recognised, the system informs the relevant tunnel control room about the incident within seconds. At the same time, the video material, which in normal mode is only saved for a brief period of time, is retrospectively transferred to a long-term memory. In this way, incidents can be documented from the very beginning. Outside of Austria, the Kapsch IDS system is also in use in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands, where it makes a significant contribution to defusing hazardous situations in tunnels.