Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 16:17, 21 December 2011

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:{{otherusesofother uses of|MIDAS}}

'''Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling''', usually abbreviated to '''MIDAS''', is a distributed network of [[traffic]] [[sensor]]s, mainly inductive loops, which are designed to set [[variable message sign|variable message signs]]s and advisory speed limits with little human intervention. On the M25 and [[M42 motorway]]s, the MIDAS helps set mandatory variable speed limit signs as part of the ''controlled motorway scheme''.

It is installed on several sections of the United Kingdom's busiest motorways, such as the congested western stretch of the [[M25 motorway]] and much of the [[M60 motorway]] around [[Manchester]], the Birmingham box (M6, M5 and M42) and the system has successfully reduced accidents.<ref name="hacost">{{cite_web|url=http://www.ha-research.co.uk/projects/index.php?id=437|title=Cost effectiveness of MIDAS|publisher=Highways Agency |accessdate =2007-01-07}}</ref>. Additionally, the system is installed on parts of the non-motorway trunk road network including the [[A14 road|A14]].<ref name="A14">{{cite_web|url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/22585.aspx|title=A14 Corridor Traffic Management Scheme |publisher=Highways Agency |accessdate =2011-07-18}}</ref>.

The system replaced the Automatic Incident Detection '''(AID)''' system which was trialled in 1989 on an {{convert|83|km|0}} section of the [[M1 motorway]].<ref name="hacost" /> MIDAS was first installed on the M25 in 1997, after this section already had the [[variable speed limit]].

By March 2006, the [[Highways Agency]] aims to have MIDAS installed on more than {{convert|910|km|0}} of the English motorway network.{{specify|date=December 2011}}

==See also==