When Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled his Freedom First budget this year, one provision caught the eye of the traffic safety community. That provision was for a lane closure notification system, or LCNS, that would notify Floridians about traffic information in real time. Last month, the Florida DOT announced the beginning of the pilot for this system.
Florida’s LCNS is the first of its kind in the U.S. It will take real-time data about work zones and lane closures and alert Florida drivers to their presence ahead of time. The program will notify drivers in the same way they receive data about crashes and congestion. They will receive visual and audio alerts that will help them navigate work zones across the state.
The pilot is currently live on Waze. Other major navigation apps like Google and Apple Maps will join in the near future.
The yearlong pilot will cost the state $200,000. To implement the project, FDOT has partnered with the Florida Transportation Builders Association and One.network, which is operating the technology side of the project.
The Lane Closure Notification System Will Help Drivers and Workers
The new LCNS has obvious benefits for drivers. It will help drivers be aware of potential slowdowns or necessary lane changes well in advance. That way, they will have more time to react to changing traffic conditions. Beyond just avoiding accidents, though, the new system can also help drivers avoid construction-related congestion.
However, FDOT officials have touted the system’s capability to improve worker safety as well. Construction sites can be dangerous even under the best of circumstances, and drivers make that danger far more serious. The new system will help keep Florida’s workers safe as they work on nearly 12,000 miles of Florida roads.
This pilot will certainly make our jobs at Orlando Car Transport easier. We’ll be able to improve our routing calculations even further, giving us the ability to better estimate your transit times.
