DIT set to introduce vehicle jam-sensing traffic lights

IN the light of supporting the government agenda of industrial revolution, the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) has started to manufacture and install modern traffic lights with the capacity to sense traffic jams.

 

DIT Project Leader, Mr Joseph Challo, told the ‘Daily News’ over the weekend that the traffic signals have the ability to communicate with the traffic lights of next intersection to give the green light for traffic to proceed in the direction.

“The traffic lights are run by a computerised system called Programmable Logic Controller (PLC),” said the project leader. According to Wikipedia, PLC is an industrial digital computer, which has been ruggedised and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, or robotic devices or any activity that requires high reliability control and eases of programming.

Mr Challo explained that the whole system of running the traffic signals by DIT project is synchronised, pointing out that the system operated in unison.

“The project is in the line with the institution’s goals to provide the society with solutions to challenges facing it. Its main goal is to improve traffic flow in urban areas,” he pointed out.

Mr Challo noted further apart from solving challenges facing the society the project facilitates DIT to generate income, which is being injected into other projects executed by the public higher learning institution.

“As a public institution, DIT depends on subsidy but with the new project, DIT can now generate income, which will be used to finance other institution’s projects,” he observed.

Mr Challo said the only challenge is to have the next junction with traffic lights, which were not installed by the DIT project and thus cannot communicate each other due to different system, citing an example of traffic signals of Nelson Mandela Expressway-Uhuru Street intersection at Buguruni.

The Institute Consultancy Bureau (ICB) Manager at DIT, Dr Joseph Mkilania, told the ‘Daily News’ in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that DIT has won tenders to install the traffic signals at road intersections in the city and Zanzibar.

“We’ve already installed the traffic lights at three road intersections in Zanzibar and six in Dar es Salaam,” said the ICB Manager.

Dr Mkilania pointed out the intersections in Dar es Salaam as Chang’ombe Road and Nelson Mandela Expressway junction, Tabata-Nelson Mandela Expressway crossroads, Kamata junction, Selander Bridge intersection and the intersections along Sam Nujoma Road.

“We have replaced traffic lights at the intersection of Chang’ombe and Nelson Mandela roads, which was prone to road accidents due to frequent breakdown of the traffic lights,” added the DIT don.