From http://www.kytc.state.ky.us/news/11-21-03.htm :

Louisville, Kentucky (November 21, 2003)-The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) received a national award this week for an innovative safety project that has reduced the number of accidents at a busy Louisville intersection.

The Brook and Jefferson Streets intersection in downtown Louisville, with 32,000 vehicles a day, was also a very frequent scene for accidents and near-accidents. The Auto Incident Recording System (AIRS), consisting of video cameras, microphones, computers and a video recording system, was installed in July, 2001.

The data collected on AIRS showed that 50% of the crashes and 33% of the near crashes were associated with identical illegal left turns. Following the installation of additional signage and curb extensions, the crash number has been cut in half.

James C. Codell, III, KYTC Secretary, received the award on Wednesday in Washington, DC from the Roadway Safety Foundation and the Federal Highway Administration. Kentucky was one of 13 projects selected from more than 130 entries as an initiative for saving lives by improving roadway design, operations and overall planning.

The monitoring system is part of the Traffic Management System in the Greater Louisville Area (TRIMARC) project, which is managed by Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. The Louisville Metro Police and Public Works Department have been partners in the safety endeavor.

In announcing the award, Secretary Codell said, “Safety is the number one priority for us at the Cabinet and we are honored to be recognized for improvements that have made conditions safer for motorists.” Codell explained that the use of state-of-the-art technology to make roadways safer is truly the wave of the future.

Now that enhancements have been made at this key intersection, the equipment will be moved in the next few months to another high-incident location to collect similar data. The equipment is only used for improving safety and research purposes and not for enforcement. Louisville is the only US installation for this equipment, developed by Mitsubishi Electric Company of Japan.

-30-