5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs vms traffic signs？

What is a VMS Board?

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Variable Message Signs or VMS boards are electronic message signs that are used by public and private agencies to inform and remind the general public about any updates or changes regarding road traffic, public safety, community events, and much more. 

This article is going to break down the top benefits of variable message signs:

• They&#;re versatile
• They&#;re proven to be effective
• You can operate them remotely
• Some VMS boards are portable

Whether you&#;re reading this as someone who is in the market for a variable message sign, or you just want to learn more about them, this blog will show you videos, photos, and examples from people who regularly use them.

The Top Four Benefits of a VMS Board:

1. They&#;re versatile

The versatility of a VMS board allows police departments, emergency management agencies, public works, colleges and universities, health departments, stadiums and more to inform the public and direct traffic. At All Traffic Solutions, we often see both our InstAlert 18 and InstAlert 24 used in a variety of ways. We&#;ve seen our customers use them for:

• COVID-19 Information sharing: case number updates, public safety reminders, testing information, and vaccination information
• Road closures and traffic changes
• Traffic safety reminders for impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and other unsafe driving behaviors.
• Guidance around parking lots and campuses
• Notices of inclement weather

For even more versatility, message signs with radar feedback are available as well.

Electronic highway message boards communicate multiple screens of text, chevrons, and custom images to meet your needs.

2. They&#;re proven to be effective

One of the more effective impacts of a VMS board is when it comes to slowing down drivers who are unfamiliar with the road they&#;re driving on. Even drivers who were only somewhat paying attention to messages on the road tended to slow down, according to this study in Advances in Mechanical Engineering. 

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation and The Cognitive Research Team at Virginia Tech inputting a witty message also improves their effectiveness. Wordplay and humor, closely followed by seasonal, holiday, and pop-culture references elicit the most brain activity. On the other hand, try to avoid making sports references: the findings discovered that sports references &#;were less understood by 10% of the group.&#; One of the most important takeaways of the study is this: if you&#;re looking to make an impact with your message, evoking an emotional response seems to be the way to go. 

These message signs are also effective for foot traffic. For Deputy Chief Sam Arciola of the Town of Westport, deploying his InstAlert 24 helped reduce crowds on athletic fields during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. &#;Since we have placed those signs in those specific areas we have seen a decrease in the use of the fields or the attempted use of the fields.&#;

3. You can operate them remotely

With an InstAlert 18 or InstAlert 24, you can easily change the messaging without having to physically send someone out to the sign&#;s location. Simply log in to your TraffiCloud® account, pick the desired sign, and make the changes right then and there. As long as you have an Internet connection, you are good to go. Additionally, TraffiCloud allows you to remotely turn displays on and off from anywhere, access your traffic devices on a single dashboard, monitor battery levels, and download data remotely. You can also set up alerts ( or SMS) for low battery levels or tampering, and schedule messaging ahead of time for specific dates and times. 

One of the most popular features of the InstAlert signs is the ability to operate the sign remotely.  Seth Muller, who is a manager for the Sandoval County Emergency Health Department in New Mexico, noted how much he liked InstAlert&#;s remote management capability: &#;What we really liked about this message board is we can do it from our , or from the computer&#; We can just change it up off of what we&#;re getting from the nurses and the department of health as they&#;re testing, we can go in and edit or change the message.&#; Thomas Stutzman, Director of Indiana County EMA in Pennsylvania, had a similar sentiment: &#;We got the new signs last week and we had to mount them in our station and one of my maintenance guys was sitting in his office and he&#;s just running messages through to signs remotely.&#; &#;There was a lot of functionality built into that that saves us a ton of time. To be able to pop it into the sign remotely, that was a huge selling point for us that I didn&#;t have to physically touch the sign when I needed to change data.&#; &#; Keenan Cambell, Director, Bureau County EMA, IL

4. Some VMS boards are portable

We know that customers who need to utilize these message signs the most are the ones who are busy and always on the move. With that in mind, portability is key. A message sign that can be operated remotely and is effective already sounds great. What makes it even better? Portability. The InstAlert 24 is the only option on the market that can fold in half for easy transport in the trunk of a vehicle. Setting up an InstAlert isn&#;t a multi-person operation: one person can easily deploy it on a portable post, pole, trailer, or vehicle hitch. Being able to easily take it out of your car (whether it&#;s a police cruiser, a truck, or even a small sedan) and set it up in less than five minutes will make dealing with any situation that comes your way that much easier. 

&#;The issues that we ran into were that we were constantly having to have somebody drive out to wherever the sign was, and they had to find a place to park, and get out, and go over and get the sign box..&#; according to Thomas Stutzman, Director of Indiana County EMA in Pennsylvania.

Of course, these are not the only benefits: there are more features that make these message signs valuable for police departments, health departments, event arenas, and many others. If you&#;re looking for more versatility, you could also attach the InstAlert 24 to the back of a vehicle hitch:

If you&#;re looking for something a bit more permanent, you could always use the ATS 5 trailer. A VMS trailer can easily be towed using a basic vehicle hitch, but just can&#;t be folded into the trunk of your sedan. 

There&#;s also the option to attach a VMS board to a pole.

A VMS board is useful in so many different kinds of situations, and their versatility, effectiveness, remote operation, and mobility make them the best choice for signs where you have to display messages to inform the public. 

If you'd like to read the original blog, you can read VMS Board: The Top Four Benefits on All Traffic Solutions blog.

About All Traffic Solutions

ATS Gives Back

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit vms traffic signs.

To show our appreciation for law enforcement and our commitment to public safety we started the ATS Gives Back program. With this program, we commit to donating one sign a month to police departments who demonstrate need.  If your police department or a police department you know might be eligible, please apply with this form (and include any supporting attachments) and send it to . If you want to see previous winners, you can see them here. 

 

Variable Message Signs (VMS) are commonly used on roads, highways, freeways, motorways, tunnel entrances, and in rural areas throughout Australia. VMS are extremely beneficial for increasing road safety performance because they can directly signal to a motorist on the road, many types of information quickly and effectively. 
It&#;s more than likely that you would have driven past at least one of these electronic traffic signs or seen one as a passenger on your travels &#; can you recall the last time you saw one? 

Perhaps you were stuck in a traffic jam on the way home from work, getting frustrated as to why there was more traffic than normal. You ask yourself, what&#;s going on up ahead?  All of a sudden, you can see an electronic traffic sign explaining that there has been a traffic incident up ahead, along with an expected timeframe for the additional delay in travel time.  
Providing this type of information to motorists via a Variable Message Sign benefits the motorist by relaying information on why there is a delay using a few short phrases or words. This is just one familiar situation to all of us that might help you to begin to see the benefits of using one or more VMS in different road scenarios.
Let&#;s look at some additional benefits of having a Variable Message Sign for improved road safety. They increase road safety by communicating important traffic information directly to motorists. Below we have compiled a list of the 3 key benefits of using these important road safety tools.  

 

3 Key Benefits of using a Variable Message Sign  

1. Reduces traffic congestion 

Traffic congestion is an ongoing transportation problem that motorists and road authorities encounter daily. The level of traffic congestion can rapidly increase with travel growth, roadway expansions, and developing infrastructure projects. These 3 main factors among many others can interrupt the desired capacity of motorists that can travel on roads, causing a significant amount of congestion. Although this work is paramount to growing communities this can be disrupting to motorist usual travel times, increasing driver frustration.  
As a result, the congestion can cause further delays, uncertainty in travel time and increase accident rates. So, how can we use a Variable Message Sign to help reduce congestion? 
When deploying a VMS, it&#;s worth considering the unexpected situations, like traffic incidents and emergencies, that occur daily on the road and cause congestion. Having a VMS in these situations can provide advanced warnings directly to road users to help them stay informed and make an alternate choice, wherever possible. 
In addition, setting up a VMS prior to planned road works beginning can provide notifications to motorists of future events, that may impact their journey. Providing this information well in advance can help a driver determine an alternative route, or even allow for more time to get to their destination thus reducing traffic congestion.

 

2. Help to prevent road accidents 

In Australia, according to the National Road Safety Strategy the number of lives lost due to road related incidents are, on average, each year. Changing road conditions can provide an unexpected situation for motorists, particularly those that are used to travelling the same route each day on a familiar road. Using a Variable Message Sign to display advanced warnings to motorists, can help to prepare themselves for a change and could mean the difference between someone returning home safely or an unfortunate accident. 
When placed correctly Variable Message Signs can really help reduce the likelihood of crashes. More specifically rear-ended crashes. These accidents occur when traffic comes to a sudden, unexpected stop. Below are 2 examples where VMS can be used to help prevent accidents. 

Example A &#; Lane Closure Advanced Warning 

A VMS can be set up to provide advanced warning of an upcoming lane closure. The VMS informs the driver of a changing traffic condition they are about to enter. Alerting drivers of an upcoming lane closure prior to the actual closure, ensures the driver can make a decision and take the necessary action ahead of time.
Without VMS communication the driver could be left in shock by the road closure, which could result in last minute braking or worse, a collision. 

Example B &#; Speed Limit Changes 

Speed limit changes and alterations need to be communicated to all motorists. A Variable Message Sign can be used to provide a range of different speed limit change messages, including the display of an actual speed limit sign, as seen in the image below. This provides information to the motorist advising alterations on speed limit or the reason for a speed limit reduction. 

 

3. Numerous Communication Options 

Both Permanent and Portable Variable Message Signs can display a range of messages, across one or more screens. This allows ability to communicate quickly and effectively with motorists.
In addition to displaying multiple messages, VMS can operate in conjunction with a range of accessories to provide further detailed traffic information, including:

• Real-time traffic information relating to road incidents

• Live estimated travel times

• Detect and advise speed limits  

Having additional information for communication to motorists and the ability to delve deeper into data that can be analysed for many purposes. If you are interested in learning more about detailed traffic information, head over to our VMS product page to view the range of accessories that can enhance the capabilities of Mobile Variable Message Signs. 

 

Fixed vs. Portable Variable Message Signs

There are two main types of VMS, Permanent and Portable VMS. Both types of VMS come in a range of sizes for different applications. Fixed and Mobile Variable Message Signs have many similarities including dynamic messaging, remote programming, numerous communication options, and bright multi colour displays.  
However, the use and application of each type are different. As the name suggests Permanent VMS are often mounted on highway bridges and tunnel entrances in a place that they will remain long term. 
Alternatively, Mobile Variable Message Signs are trailer mounted for easy mobility. They can be easily moved from one location to another, for both short- or long-term usage. 

 

Permanent/ Fixed Variable Message Signs 

Permanent or Fixed VMS can be found in many different sizes, depending on the application, primarily in a large rectangle shape. They are designed to effectively deliver traffic information to motorists. Such as information reporting traffic congestion, temperature, lane controls, speed limits, and changes in usual traffic conditions. 
Occasionally known as Variable Message Signs Tunnel, as they are often equipped to tunnel entrances to display travel time and tunnel lane closures.
Permanent VMS are often used on highways, roadways and tunnel entrances. 

 

Mobile/Portable Variable Message Signs

Mobile Variable Message Signs have become a staple part in traffic management and community awareness projects, as they have been shown to effectively disperse traffic away from work sites, potential bottlenecks or known problem areas. Mobile VMS can be used for several different reasons including traffic management, roadworks, advertising, and events.
For traffic management application portable VMS can be used to advise road/lane closures, communicate with a motorist and local traffic of any changes usual traffic conditions, providing directional information, displaying safety information, accident management and speed related messages. 

The below images are slides from a portable variable message sign advising a road closure ahead. 

 

 

For Both Fixed and Mobile Variable Message Signs to successfully communicate with motorists, messages must be easy to read and comprehend. At RPM Hire our team of traffic management equipment hire specialists can assist with portable Variable Message Sign hire and effective messaging. Call us 479 570 or send an enquiry via our contact form.

Are you interested in learning more about vms sign board? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!