Main Roads WA Tests Smart Vehicle Tech to Boost Road Safety

May 15, 2025 | 14:14

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Australia trials connected vehicle systems, aiming to reduce accidents and improve real-time traffic management.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - EQS Newswire - 15 May 2025 – Main Roads Western Australia and Kapsch TrafficCom have successfully conducted a trial of connected vehicle technology on roads in Western Australia.

Tested on roads in Perth in early February, the trial successfully demonstrated that both the technology called C-ITS (Co-operative intelligent transport systems) and the road infrastructure of Western Australia are ready for a wide-spread deployment of the technology that is set to make Australian roads safer and more efficient.

Mehdi Langroudi, Executive Director Network Operations, Main Roads Western Australia, comments: "Our C-ITS Roadmap and C-ITS trials will assist in realising our goals for improving safety, productivity, mobility, and sustainability for Western Australians for generations to come. Together with the industry, we look forward to supporting the implementation of a nationally harmonised C-ITS ecosystem across the Western Australian road network to enhance safety, movement, regional resilience, and enable future vehicle technology."

The purpose of the trial was to show that Western Australia is well-prepared for the future of mobility, and that the technology can be deployed effectively along the 128,000km of roads across the region, in alignment with national plans for connected vehicles and increased road safety.

What is Connected Vehicle technology?

"Connected vehicles technology allows vehicles, infrastructure and traffic operators to share critical information quickly and directly," explains Daniel Vazquez, EVP APAC at Kapsch TrafficCom. "That way, we can send alerts, for example about upcoming school zones or road works areas, directly into cars, improving safety for all traffic participants. In other tests, this technology has shown potential to reduce fatalities and serious accidents by up to 20%."

The technology can be used to deliver critical information to drivers directly into their vehicles or onto their smartphones, allowing a more direct and immediate way of providing safety-relevant alerts to drivers, for example about changing weather conditions, vulnerable road user warnings or obstacles on the road.

Globally, countries like Germany, Ireland and the US are investing heavily in the technology, with Germany currently rolling out road works warnings across 13,000km of highways, with further use cases to come.

More information: Press | Kapsch TrafficCom

By Kapsch TrafficCom AG

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