Roadway Safety System

Abstract

A safety system to prevent a wrong-way vehicle from entering a roadway by driving onto an exit ramp in the wrong direction. A detection system monitors and detects the wrong-way vehicle as soon as it enters the exit ramp in the wrong direction. Upon detecting a wrong-way vehicle, the roadway safety system remotely sends a signal to turn off the motor of the wrong-way vehicle. The system may also record the vehicle's identification and communicate it to a command center to determine the mobile phone number of the owner/driver and call the driver to alert them that they are driving the wrong-way. Alternatively, a series of one or more penetrable and/or impenetrable barriers could be deployed to stop the wrong-way vehicle. The safety system may further include a communications system to communicate to a central office to initiate other alarms and control traffic on the roadway in response to detecting a wrong-way vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 monitoring an exit ramp to detect a wrong-way vehicle that enters the exit ramp at an area where the exit ramp exits onto a street,   transmitting a signal to a control system upon detecting the wrong-way vehicle that enters the exit ramp, and   generating and sending a signal to a motor controller on the wrong-way vehicle to shut off a motor of the wrong-way vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring the exit ramp comprises monitoring a pair of sensors located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect that any vehicle entering the exit ramp in a wrong direction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring the exit ramp comprises monitoring one or more magnetic sensors located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect a direction of any vehicle on the exit ramp. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring the exit ramp comprises monitoring a camera system focusing on the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect a direction of any vehicle on the exit ramp. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring the exit ramp comprises monitoring a vehicle detector system located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect a direction of any wrong-way vehicle on the exit ramp and to generate a signal to a control system, where the vehicle detector system comprises two generally parallel pedals that extend across a width of the exit ramp, where each of the parallel pedals are depressed by tires of any vehicle traveling over said pedal, and where the parallel pedals are spaced a distance apart greater than the contact patch of a vehicle tire. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 communicating a signal to a roadway central command system in response to detecting the wrong-way vehicle that enters the exit ramp; and   generating, by the roadway central command system, alarm signals along a roadway connected to the exit ramp from which vehicles exit onto the exit ramp, where the alarm signals alert drivers of vehicles exiting from the roadway onto the exit ramp that a vehicle has entered the exit ramp from a wrong direction.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 communicating a signal to a roadway central command system in response to detecting the wrong-way vehicle that enters the exit ramp; and   generating, by the roadway central command system, an alarm signal along the exit ramp to alert a driver of the wrong-way vehicle that the wrong-way vehicle is attempting to enter the exit ramp in a wrong direction.   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 monitoring an exit ramp to detect a vehicle that enters the exit ramp in a wrong direction,   detecting a wrong-way vehicle that enters the exit ramp in the wrong direction,   transmitting a signal to a safety control system upon detecting the wrong-way vehicle to control deployment of a first barrier to stop the wrong-way vehicle, and   deploying the first barrier to stop the wrong-way vehicle from proceeding down the exit ramp in the wrong direction.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , where deploying the first barrier comprises deploying a barrier that is penetrable by the wrong-way vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , where deploying the first barrier comprises deploying a barrier that is impenetrable to the wrong-way vehicle. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 monitoring the exit ramp with a second detector to detect that the wrong-way vehicle did not stop at the first barrier,   transmitting a signal to the safety control system in response to the second detector detecting that the vehicle did not stop at the first barrier, and   deploying a second barrier across the exit ramp in response to the second detector detecting that the vehicle did not stop at the first barrier.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 deploying a second barrier between the first barrier and an entrance of the exit ramp to stop the wrong-way vehicle if it fails to stop at the first barrier.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 monitoring the exit ramp with a video surveillance system to capture an image of the wrong-way vehicle and a license plate on the wrong-way vehicle, and   transmitting the image of the wrong-way vehicle and the license plate to a roadway central command system.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 identifying a mobile phone number of an owner of the wrong-way vehicle based on information captured by the video surveillance system, and   initiating a call to the mobile phone number to provide a warning that the wrong-way vehicle is headed the wrong-way.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 capturing vehicle identification data from the wrong-way vehicle,   transmitting the vehicle identification data to a central command system,   searching for a mobile phone number associated with the vehicle identification data wrong-way, and   calling the mobile phone number associated with the vehicle identification data wrong-way to provide an alert that the wrong-way vehicle is traveling the wrong-way.   
     
     
         16 . A roadway safety system, comprising:
 one or more sensors that monitor an exit ramp to detect the presence of a vehicle that enters the exit ramp in the wrong direction in the area where the ramp exits onto a street, and   a vehicle detector control system connected to the one or more sensors to detect that a vehicle has entered an exit ramp in the wrong direction and to transmit a signal to a control system that a vehicle is entering the exit ramp in the wrong direction, where the vehicle detector control system is configured to generate and send a signal to a motor controller on the wrong-way vehicle to shut off a motor of the wrong-way vehicle.   
     
     
         17 . The roadway safety system of  claim 16 , where the one or more sensors comprise a pair of sensors located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect that any vehicle entering the exit ramp in a wrong direction. 
     
     
         18 . The roadway safety system of  claim 1 , where the one or more sensors comprise one or more magnetic sensors located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect a direction of any vehicle on the exit ramp. 
     
     
         19 . The roadway safety system of  claim 1 , where the one or more sensors comprise a camera system focusing on the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street. 
     
     
         20 . The roadway safety system of  claim 1 , where the one or more sensors comprise a vehicle detector system located at the area where the exit ramp exits onto the street to detect a direction of any wrong-way vehicle on the exit ramp, where the vehicle detector system comprises two generally parallel pedals that extend across a width of the exit ramp, where each of the parallel pedals are depressed by tires of any vehicle traveling over said pedal, and where the parallel pedals are spaced a distance apart greater than the contact patch of a vehicle tire.