As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, each and every tourist season, especially during its very peak, traffic accidents occur up and down the country on Croatian roads. This isn’t remotely surprising given the intensity of the traffic at that time of year, it also shouldn’t come as much of a shock because of the level of fatigue and the loss of concentration of drivers who sometimes sit behind the wheel without a break for much longer than they would otherwise. Accidents often occur because drivers put everything else aside, such as rest, in order to reach their destination as soon as possible. In such unfortunate cases, instead of enjoying the summer break, they often experience a tragedy on the road.
That’s why it’s good to know a little more about highway traffic camera systems that help respond to crisis situations along Croatian roads. Croatian Motorways (HAC) have now initiated the implementation of a new traffic information system on their roads, as part of which more than 1,700 digital cameras will be installed for a brand new video surveillance and video detection system, writes HAK Revija.hr.
“As part of this wider project, analog cameras will be replaced by new digital and more technologically advanced ones. The new cameras will be able to detect potentially dangerous situations quickly and more safely, such as instances of people driving in the opposite direction, a car which had stopped, pedestrians on the road, and owing to that, there will be a faster reaction involved informing other road users about the event, the location, and the current road conditions.
Automatic incident detection (AID) alert the employees at the Traffic Monitoring and Safety Centres (CNUP), located along the entire highway network, straight away. AID triggers an audible alarm in the event of an incident, automatically shows the location of the incident to the operator and records everything. In addition to the incidents already mentioned, AID warns of traffic congestion, slow vehicles and any loss of visibility. An alarm sounds in the tunnel when a loss of camera visibility due to the appearance of smoke due to a fire is detected,” Croatian Motorways explained.
As stated by Croatian Motoeways, the new Crocodile 2 Croatia (Cro 2 Cro) traffic control and management system is part of the wider Crocodile project, which was launched at the European Union level. The introduction of this system will ensure the coordinated management and the proper control of traffic and see Croatia become part of the integrated ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) on European Union road routes.
What’s the procedure from the moment the cameras record a crisis situation to its resolution?
“In the case of an extraordinary event, the operators at CNUP initiate the notification procedure in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure and call the emergency services (112, and if necessary, the police, emergency medical assistance, the fire department, the patrol service, the water authority inspectors, and hunting authorities). Upon the alarm being sounded because of an extraordinary event, and in accordance with its classification, an algorithm and scenario are automatically launched, which sets adequate traffic signals on light-changing signs in order to inform other road users who might encounter the event in a timely manner about it, telling them to adjust the speed of their vehicle. The public is then also informed about the state and conditions on the road through HAK and HAC’s websites,” they stated from Croatian Motorways.
Then, upon arrival at the scene of the event, the same is ensured by the patrol service with adequate temporary regulation of traffic, until the extraordinary event is declared over.
“In the case of the need to remove the vehicle, a contractual contractor will be called to come to the scene in question and take the vehicle away. In the event of the need to close a section of the nighway, a corresponding protocol will be initiated and mutual communication is carried out between the managers of public Croatian roads in order to activate the appropriate traffic boards to guide detour traffic as soon as possible and allow the same traffic to flow,” they noted.
When asked how much time passes on average from the event being recorded by the cameras to the reaction of the appropriate emergency services and their arrival at the scene, they stated from HAC that upon receiving the sounded alarm, the emergency and operational services are called without delay and they arrive at the scene very quickly.
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