Have you ever sat in your car waiting for the light to turn green when nobody’s using the cross street? This wait is due to the fact that the sensors controlling these traffic signals—in one large-suitcase-sized box per intersection—are classically dumb, with relays, cams, and switches, although they now may include software that accepts data from local sensors, automobile-sized inductive loops buried in the asphalt. Modern controllers have gained some intelligence. For example, they may share data with nearby intersections, respond to radio requests from emergency vehicles, and sometimes take commands from a traffic-control center. This Design Idea describes the TSP (traffic-sensor post), a more accurate, effective, inexpensive, and easy-to-install approach to monitoring traffic flow. These sensors measure vehicle location and speed in four or more streets at an intersection or at a distance from the intersection for early warning. A second application of this technology, the WIM (weight-in-motion) sensor, weighs moving trucks.

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