Drivers in Michigan County get High-Tech Link to Roads

Tom Warne Report, 17 December 2011

The Detroit News – December 14, 2011

Drivers in Wayne County, Michigan now have a high-tech way to protect themselves from snow and ice on the roads. The county has unveiled a tracking system that gives motorists the ability to see the location of any of its 148 snowplows or salt trucks, where they are going and where they have plowed and salted in the last eight hours.

“It will definitely be an aid to both the county and to the commuters,” said Wayne County training manager Dennis Martin. “One bonus to the video cameras is that it might educate drivers when they see what drivers go through while trying to keep the roads open.”

The Wayne County Department of Public Works’ new automatic vehicle locator system is called Compass, and can be viewed at compass.waynecounty.com, with real-time information for commuters. The county has also installed video cameras on 18 of the trucks so viewers can see what the plow drivers are seeing, with just a two-minute delay. Compass utilizes truck GPS units, Google maps, Michigan Department of Transportation freeway cameras and cellular connection. It also gives the county in house information on its vehicles, including truck speed, salt and brine usage, lane location, spread patterns and whether the truck’s blade is up or down.

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