You are on a motorway in an Active Traffic Management (ATM) area. A mandatory speed limit is displayed above the hard shoulder. What does this mean?

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What is an active traffic management scheme?

Active traffic management (ATM), also known as managed lanes, smart lanes, and managed/smart motorways, is a technique for enhancing peak capacity and smoothing traffic flows on congested major roadways. Variable speed limits, hard shoulder running, and ramp-metering are all techniques that are controlled by overhead variable message signs. It is used in a number of nations, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


How many strategies do active traffic management include?

There are 7 strategies in active management scheme:

- Variable speed restrictions.

- Shoulder Use on a Temporary Basis.

- Queue Alert.

- Control of Dynamic Merge

- Adaptive Ramp Flow Control (ARMFC).

- Restrictions for Dynamic Trucks

- Traveler Information & Dynamic Rerouting


What is the aim of an active traffic management scheme on a motorway?

The purposes of ATM strategies are various:

- Improve safety by reducing crashes during congestion and bad weather by modifying traffic speed and flow and providing drivers with real-time information.

- Delay the beginning of congestion by boosting capacity, allowing traffic to flow smoothly and effectively and enhancing travel time reliability.

- Reduce pollutants, noise, and fuel consumption to provide environmental benefits.

- Installation and maintenance are cost-effective.


How does active traffic management work?

ATM entails changing the hard shoulder into a normal lane during moments of high traffic flow to increase road capacity and potentially minimize the need to build highways. Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are used in the system to monitor traffic volumes and adapt the system. West Midlands Police operates digital enforcement cameras set on the gantries to enforce the mandated variable speed limits.