Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling
Encyclopedia
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 signs
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.. Additionally, the system is installed on parts of the non-motorway trunk road network including the A14
.
The system replaced the Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system which was trialled in 1989 on an 83 kilometres (52 mi) section of the M1 motorway
. 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 910 kilometres (565 mi) of the English motorway network.
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
s, mainly inductive loops, which are designed to set variable message signs
Variable message sign
A variable- message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign,...
and advisory speed limits with little human intervention. On the M25 and M42 motorway
M42 motorway
The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
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
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
and much of the M60 motorway
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...
around Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, the Birmingham box (M6, M5 and M42) and the system has successfully reduced accidents.. Additionally, the system is installed on parts of the non-motorway trunk road network including the A14
A14 road
The A14 is a major road in England, running from the Port of Felixstowe to the Catthorpe Interchange, the junction of the M1 and M6 motorways near Rugby. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E24 and E30....
.
The system replaced the Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system which was trialled in 1989 on an 83 kilometres (52 mi) section of the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
. MIDAS was first installed on the M25 in 1997, after this section already had the variable speed limit.
By March 2006, the Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
aims to have MIDAS installed on more than 910 kilometres (565 mi) of the English motorway network.
See also
- Electronic Monitoring and Advisory SystemElectronic Monitoring and Advisory SystemThe Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System , also known by its acronym of EMAS, is a computerised system that is used to monitor traffic on Singapore's expressways. EMAS enables Land Transport Authority personnel to detect accidents and respond to them more quickly...
- a similar type of system in Singapore - Freeway Traffic Management SystemFreeway Traffic Management SystemCOMPASS, also referred to as Freeway Traffic Management System, is a system run by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario to regulate the flow of traffic on the 400-series highways...