Skip to main content

Laser axle sensors deliver accurate traffic data

The Iowa Department of Transportation in the US has selected Peek's AxleLight non-intrusive laser axle sensors installed in a permanent site along Interstate 35/80 in Des Moines. This is the first time that the AxleLight sensors, normally designed as a temporary study tool, have been installed in permanent roadside cabinets. AxleLight sensors shoot a beam of non-visible laser light across the roadway, just a few centimetres above the pavement. Using these sensors, and the ADR family of Automatic Data Record
February 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The 1229 Iowa Department of Transportation in the US has selected Peek's AxleLight non-intrusive laser axle sensors installed in a permanent site along Interstate 35/80 in Des Moines.

This is the first time that the AxleLight sensors, normally designed as a temporary study tool, have been installed in permanent roadside cabinets.

AxleLight sensors shoot a beam of non-visible laser light across the roadway, just a few centimetres above the pavement. Using these sensors, and the ADR family of Automatic Data Recorders from Peek Traffic, state and municipal governments can count, classify, and analyse traffic flow.

Peek worked with the Iowa DOT to certify that the AxleLight units would satisfy the state's high accuracy requirements in the permanent installation environment. The department is using the AxleLight, along with the solar panels and wind turbines that are powering the units, as both a solid and safe source of valuable traffic flow data, and also as an example of 'green' technology at work.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Worrying decline in road safety in US
    July 4, 2016
    There has been a worrying increase in traffic fatalities in the US, according to the latest available information. The data has been released by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showing that traffic fatalities for 2015 were 7.7% higher than for 2014. Road deaths reached 35,200 in 2015, compared with 32,675 in 2014. The data reveals a disquieting trend as the US road fatality rate for 2015 was the highest for seven years. While the total distance travelled by US drivers increase
  • IBI’s Routemapper charts new territory with Highways England
    September 14, 2016
    Mapping the asset High-speed data collection just got faster for England’s newly created strategic roads operator Highways England’s establishment as a publicly held company in 2015 created a need for a highly accurate asset inventory. This was potentially very costly and had serious safety implications. As well as its relationships with numerous managing agents and contractors, assets include 35,300km of highway, 12,100km of earthworks, 23,200km of safety fences, 150,000 technology assets and sig
  • Data handling for efficient machine control
    October 16, 2012
    The rapid increase in information availability is transforming the construction sector. Conventional methods used for sourcing geographic data based on maps and localised sampling meant that there was often a lack of accurate information relating to ground conditions at specific areas where work was planned, often resulting in unwelcome surprises for construction companies along with additional costs for projects.
  • Asphalt and bitumen - testing for performance
    February 29, 2012
    The stresses placed on modern asphalt and bitumen means that specialist equipment is essential to make sure performance specifications are met. As road traffic increases at a rapid pace and road safety becomes a priority issue, asphalt is put under increasingly higher stresses. For example, road surfaces are subject to compression, flexural tensions and tangential stresses: internal friction, depending on the aggregates, and the cohesion, guaranteed by bitumen's composition, are the two main properties whic