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Implement electronic variable lane signs above each lane on the highway that can be adjusted dynamically by Police and Dispatchers, alerting drivers of incidents well ahead of time.
Signs
The variable message signs apply to the lane or slip road below them. For the highway, a sign over each lane will be required - at an appropriate height that allows all vehicles to pass but is clearly visible in the driver's line of sight.
These signs would be spaced out appropriately to allow for 'blocks' that can be closed without impacting a large section of the road, at the very minimum before and after each junction as in the following map:
Sign locations marked in green
For on-ramps, a single variable message sign would be used.
Signs are bordered by a black plate with lights that flash amber for temporary lane restrictions, and red (at a faster frequency) for lane closures. The suggested states are as follows:
 | No restriction (Default) | Indicates the normal maximum legal speed for this open lane. Drivers must not exceed the limit displayed on the sign. |
 | Temporary Speed Limit | Indicates a reduced maximum legal speed for this open lane. Drivers must not exceed the limit displayed on the sign. |
 | Turn Left/Right | Drivers should move to the next available lane in the direction of the arrow. If the arrow points to the edge of the highway, drivers must leave the highway at the next exit. |
 | Lane Closed | Drivers must not proceed in this lane. |
The states of the signs would be codefined in the laws under 12.15 Road Markings and Signage. A lane is closed until the following lane sign is either off or displaying a speed limit.
Control
Below are examples of ways that these variable signs could be controlled by a map menu.
All officers can access the menu, but only Road Traffic Officers, Dispatchers, and Supervisors can make changes to the signage. If no officers/dispatchers with editing privileges are on-duty anymore, the active traffic controls will expire and clear after 5 minutes.
1. Manual - Icons
Each variable message sign is represented by a silk icon overlaid on a map of the highway. By default, the signs are all either turned off or set to the default '80' speed limit.
Left clicking on an icon creates an 'incident' (if one does not already exist) that allows the officer to set the state of the message sign, add notes, and press a button to automatically broadcast the restrictions active on that lane with the reason (if provided).
Right clicking on an icon sets it to 'Closed'.
Tracking changes as 'incidents' like this allows for better logging and management of the sign messages but is complex to implement.
2. Manual - Blocks
Similar to option 1, each sign is set manually by adjusting a value and any change creates an associated incident. However, instead of icons representing each sign's location, the length of road which the sign applies to is instead represented.
This makes for easier visualisation and management of the signs:
Each block needs to be set manually by clicking on it, which automatically sets the block to 'Closed' and creates an incident if one does not already exist. In the above example, the actual signs would be set as follows:
3. Automatic - Blocks
Instead of manually changing several signs to give drivers advance warning of incidents, the officer just needs to select the 'block' where the incident is taking place, and then the highway signage logic will automatically determine which other blocks need to be changed and to what, and broadcast it.
The menu for this uses the same 'blocks' layout as before, but with the automatically set blocks in muted colours.
As well as making it easier and quicker for officers, this would require fewer policy changes from Traffic command and keep the traffic controls menu less cluttered. The disadvantage of this approach would be the logic overhead required to handle various complicated lane closure and restriction configurations appropriately, as well as less manual fine tuning available for officers.
Additional Features
Text message signs could be used to complement the lane signs, providing traffic information to drivers. These could be from a list of preset messages or using an input text field. Examples of preset messages: 'Accident Ahead', 'Lane Closed Ahead', 'Obstruction', 'Road Closed - Stop', 'Leave Highway at Exit', 'End of Incident', 'Checkpoint Ahead'.
[Traffic Alert] City Hwy (S) A | Left Lane CLOSED due to Stranded vehicle | ▐ ╳┆50 ▌
[Traffic Alert] Suburbs On-Ramp (N) | Right Lane Speed Limit 40 due to Debris in road | ▐ 80┆40 ▌
Why should this be added?:
+ Significant quality of life feature for both emergency services (including roadcrew, medics, and firefighters) and normal drivers alike.
+ Reduces collisions and tiers from unaware or inattentive drivers, increasing driver and officer safety, allows traffic to flow smoothly with fewer last-second merges.
+ Somewhat necessary given the constant abandoned vehicles/hazards in the roadway causing an almost-constant danger, especially with a larger highway and greater speed limits.
+ Compliments the use of the PBC function, as well as traffic control measures such as contraflow movement, cones, and barriers well, while also meaning that officers can immediately close a lane during an incident where cones cannot be placed down quickly enough and simultaneously send out a broadcast automatically.
+ Immersive and intuitive system that fits perfectly with the modern aesthetic of Paralake and the custom and unique nature of the server
+ A few more positive aspects that I haven't listed here, such as allowing roleplay like checkpoints and lane narrowing to be much more accessible.
What negatives could this have?:
- Requires additional training and scrutiny for Road Traffic Officers to prevent misuse, though this is easily refuted by pointing out that far more disruptive methods of abuse exist for RTOs such as placing blockades.
- Significant development work to implement
What problem would this suggestion solve?:
Listed above; fixes road cones being almost unnecessary due to high speed frequently resulting in an unavoidable collision
Additional content:
- https://nationalhighways.co.uk/road-safety/red-x/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-markings#motorway-signals-and-variable-signs
An older verison of this suggestion (https://perpheads.com/threads/electronic-highway-signs.54942/) was previously accepted, but eventually closed after the development vision changed. This suggestion has been reopened as the scale and speed of the highways has expanded dramatically since the original idea in V5.
Developers, contact me if you'd like more detail on how this could work.
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