Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!

Eyes on the Road

September 1, 2004
American cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses traveled an estimated 1.6 trillion miles in 2001, the latest year on record. In addition to being one rather long drive (more than a quarter light-year), it represents a 77 percent increase over the nation’s collective odometer reading in 1970 when Americans logged about 920 billion vehicle-miles.(1) The job of keeping all that traffic flowing safely and efficiently over the nation’s highways, streets and roads falls to the U.S. Department of Transportation, its various agencies, and their many counterparts at state, regional and local governments.

No matter which agency or entity they work for, surface transportation professionals share a common need for real-time information about the number and variety of vehicles traveling over their particular patch of pavement at any given moment. They need to continuously gather and analyze such information and share it in real time with a myriad of audiences, from local public safety officials to authorities in nearby jurisdictions. Drive-time media need fresh, accurate data to share with transportation companies and individual commuters. Emergency response teams need to know the fastest, most reliable route to any point on the map at any given time.

While vehicle miles and vehicle registrations have climbed steadily over the years, the communications systems needed to monitor and regulate the flow of traffic have generally not kept pace with the times. Local, regional and state transportation agencies are forced to deal with increased traffic volumes while using antiquated traffic monitoring systems that are difficult to repair and/or impossible to upgrade.

They are also laden with unfunded federal mandates for domestic security. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, for example, estimates that a Code Orange terrorism alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security costs American cities $70 million a week, mostly in the form of overtime for police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.2 Paying for these items is made all the more difficult when state and local coffers are depleted by businesses either shutting down completely or moving operations offshore to cheap labor and tax havens.

In short, transportation authorities are increasingly being forced to do more with less.

Orlando’s transportation

Consider the case of Orlando, Fla., a bustling city of 195,000, major travel destination and the home of a world-famous amusement park. Located in Central Florida, the city is intersected by no less than ten highways, including the Central Florida GreeneWay (S.R. 417), which the American Automobile Association has designated one of the nation’s ten "Top Roads." Though growing dramatically, the city was relying a computer system installed in 1991 to monitor road and traffic condition along its miles of roads and freeways. Replacement parts were not to be found, and upgrading the system was simply out of the question.

Traffic Control Devices, a specialty contractor to the transportation industry brought onboard to bring Orlando’s system into the 21st century, proposed a new traffic control system centered around an entirely different communications backbone. The old copper wire spine was replaced with a gigabit Ethernet fiber backbone that connected everything from traffic signal systems to freeways, supplying its central command center with a constant stream of real-time data. The new backbone turned the city’s traffic system into an IP-based private intranet.

With the upgrade, the city replaced its old video system with video encoders manufactured by VBrick Systems of Wallingford, Conn. Whereas video signals were once transmitted over a separate cable TV system and displayed on wall-mounted monitors, the new system afforded traffic control operators the ability to view video feeds from 100 cameras strategically placed along major routes without hogging bandwidth. The video images can be streamed around the clock to any desktop computer or set-top television box.

Because the new Orlando system is based on standard Internet protocols, adjoining jurisdictions can easily plug into it to share data and video. The Florida Department of Transportation system can connect the City of Orlando, as well as Orange, Seminole, Brevard, Osceola and Volusia Counties. This video web also connects an increasing number of emergency operations centers, from the sheriff’s department to transit companies, allowing them to view video feeds from cameras to monitor traffic and deploy emergency and law enforcement personnel as needed.

The Beehive State sees the future

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is responsible for the safety of travelers along many long and lonely stretches of road in remote and sparsely populated regions. Patrolling every corner of the Beehive State on a continuous basis is physically and financially out of the question. There is just too much open country to have a police car cruising every stretch every hour of the day. To leverage its human resources and protect the safety of travelers, the UDOT has deployed video cameras along many of its rural roads.

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these camera, the UDOT is also deploying a streaming digital traffic monitoring system powered by VBrick Systems’ networked video appliances. The new appliances will enable the department to view next-generation MPEG-2 video from remote surveillance cameras linked to VBrick’s Security, Surveillance and Monitoring (VBSSM) system.

With more cars on the road than ever before, transportation officials must work harder than ever to keep traffic flowing and maintain public safety. Establishing a streaming video distribution system for any departmental intranet requires a few key tools. In general, cities or counties should have a switched Ethernet network with multicasting capability. All major switch providers (Cisco, Extreme Networks and Foundry) can provide the hardware and software to transport high-quality video from one location to another.

In order to realize the full potential of these networks, transportation departments should also consider implementing video encoders and decoders that make use of the high bandwidth these networks allow. Once considered to be troublesome at best, streaming MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 video, with low latency, is now a reality.

References:

1. U.S. Department of Transportation, "Pocket Guide to Transportation," See table at www.bts.gov/publications/ pocket_guide_to_transportation/2004/ excel/table_10.xls

2. Business Week Online, June 9, 2003, "America’s Cities Are Seeing Red Over Code Orange"<

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Security Enterprise Services
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Columns
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Cybersecurity Education & Training
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Sureview screen
    Sponsored bySureView Systems

    The Evolution of Automation in the Command Center

  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

Popular Stories

Rendered computer with keyboard

16B Login Credentials Exposed in World’s Largest Data Breach

Verizon on phone screen

61M Records Listed for Sale Online, Allegedly Belong to Verizon

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Red spiderweb

From Retail to Insurance, Scattered Spider Changes Targets

blurry multicolored text on black screen

PowerSchool Education Technology Company Announces Data Breach

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

What do zebras, school groups and high-tech surveillance have in common? They're all part of a day’s work for the security team at the Toledo Zoo.

August 7, 2025

Threats to the Energy Sector: Implications for Corporate and National Security

The energy sector has found itself in the crosshairs of virtually every bad actor on the global stage.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • Panasonic’s P-Tech Takes the Show on the Road

    See More
  • Security blog default

    Coronavirus: Keeping Business Moving While Supporting Staff on the Road

    See More
  • C Suites at Home and on the Road

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • Physical-Security-and-Safet.gif

    Physical Security and Safety: A Field Guide for the Practitioner

  • 150 things.jpg

    The Handbook for School Safety and Security

  • Risk-Analysis.gif

    Risk Analysis and the Security Survey, 4th Edition

See More Products
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing