WASHINGTON, DC (February 09, 2022) – Applied Information, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent transportation infrastructure technology, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company a patent covering its new technology designed to improve safety when entering a roadway or crossing lanes of oncoming traffic such as at an unprotected left turn.
U.S. Patent 11,205,345 entitled Systems, methods, devices, and apparatuses for intelligent traffic signaling describes systems that include sensors to detect and calculate the speed of crossing or oncoming traffic. Algorithms incorporated in the patented systems can calculate the time to arrival, or gap, and use signs and flashing lights to provide a visible signal when it is safe or unsafe to turn.
“Entering the flow of traffic or crossing lanes of oncoming traffic are some of the more dangerous aspects of driving and a leading cause of accidents and fatalities,” said Bryan Mulligan, President of Applied Information, Inc. “This technology will provide drivers in both directions with an additional layer of safety without the huge cost of installing a full-blown traffic signal.”
The technology can be incorporated into connected vehicle applications to warn the driver in the vehicle with audible and additional visual alerts using cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X). The technology can also be integrated into autonomously controlled vehicles in the future.
Crossing lanes of traffic is a leading cause of crashes with unprotected left turns accounting for more than half of all crashes when crossing the pathway of other vehicles, according to a federal study. More than one-third of all fatal motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle making a left-hand turn in front of a motorcycle.[1] Among the reasons cited for these crashes are obstructed view and misjudgment of gap or other’s speed.[2]
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/04/09/the-case-for-almost-never-turning-left-while-driving/
[2] Crash Factors in Intersection-Related Crashes: An On-Scene Perspective; DOT HS 811 366; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
