At last week’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in Melbourne, a new initiative was announced that has been described as a world-first in in vehicle routing and navigation.
The initiative brings together Transport Certification Australia (TCA), VicRoads and Teletrac Navman to enable route guidance systems for more informed driving information to the diverse range of heavy vehicle combinations utilised on Australia’s road network to improve route efficiency, load management and route compliance.
The initiative will utilise VicRoads road attribute information collected and managed through its information asset databases. This data will be regularly updated and supplied to telematics providers via the National Telematics Framework, which was created to enable a sustainable approach to the use of telematics and related intelligent technologies in Australia.
This will enable the information to be incorporated into in-cab route guidance systems, which will be supported by navigation and telematics technology from Teletrac Navman.
It may surprise some that route guidance systems which cater for the diversity of heavy vehicle combinations does not yet exist in Australia — let alone any part of the world.”
With the aim of rolling out the approach nationally, Transport Certification Australia (TCA) has also begun work with other Australian road and transport agencies to release road attribute data for heavy vehicles. In doing so it has also established a nationally consistent approach for the provision and maintenance of data from road managers, as part of the National Telematics Framework, to ensure heavy vehicle route guidance systems can be relied upon by heavy vehicle drivers nationwide.
TCA Chief Executive Officer Chris Koniditsiotis said, “TCA has led the development of this initiative by working collaboratively with the Department of Premier Cabinet and VicRoads. This unique initiative has been achieved through cooperation between the road agency, technology developers and the transport industry — and would not have been achieved on its own.”
“It may surprise some that route guidance systems which cater for the diversity of heavy vehicle combinations does not yet exist in Australia — let alone any part of the world,” Koniditsiotis claimed.
“Australia not only has one of the world’s most complex and variable networks, but supports the operation of a diverse range of heavy vehicle combinations throughout the country. This initiative means that the routes approved for heavy vehicle use need to be tailored to each vehicle.”
Victorian Transport Association (VTA) Chief Executive Officer, Peter Anderson supports the approach, saying: “We strongly encourage other jurisdictions to follow VicRoads’ leadership in providing data for in-cabin systems, so that drivers can have access to a guidance system that directs them to approved routes.”
Director of Kelvin Baxter Transport and Teletrac Navman customer Kelvin Baxter, said the move was a long time coming: “It is great to see that TCA have taken the initiative to bring the parties together to make this happen.”
“The transport industry have needed this for a long time.”
