Caltrans traffic data earns safety grant

The California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently awarded a grant to Caltrans to improve its traffic data capturing equipment.

Replacing this equipment will allow Caltrans to more accurately gather images and information about traveling on the State Highway System.

“This grant allows us to procure the latest technology and continue to deliver top-notch research and results, so we can continue to improve safety for all who use the State Highway System,” Malcolm Dougherty, Caltrans director, said. “The new equipment will provide for a higher degree of accuracy and greater reliability.”

The Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) data grant, which is worth $400,000, is for the equipment and data collection program sofware at the specific department.

The data from this program is vital to asset management, traffic safety investigations, local development intergovernmental review, maintenance mission safety planning and multiple other operations that take place at Caltrans.

Thanks to the grant, Caltrans will be able to gather more than 200 data points solely for MIRE. The funds will purchase geopositional equipment in order to gather vertical and horizontal data. This will also make it possible to detect curve and grade information, which is an important part of all traffic safety investigations.