Summer changes the usual driving conditions. Long-distance journeys, traffic in tourist areas and overnight travel intended to avoid the hottest hours all increase. At the same time, high temperatures can increase fatigue, reduce concentration and place greater mechanical demands on vehicles.

This combination of factors reduces the time available to react to pedestrians, congestion, bends, obstacles or unexpected changes in road conditions. Summer road safety therefore depends not only on the driver and vehicle maintenance. Infrastructure must also help detect risks, provide timely warnings and reduce the consequences of a potential accident.

Heat, fatigue and reduced reaction capability

High temperatures can cause tiredness, drowsiness and irritability, particularly during long journeys. When a driver spends several hours at the wheel, their ability to remain attentive and react to an unexpected event may be reduced.

Heat also affects the vehicle. Tyres operate at higher temperatures, and any existing problem involving pressure, wear, overloading or deterioration can increase the risk of a puncture or structural failure.

An apparently manageable situation, such as congestion beyond a bend or a pedestrian beginning to cross, can therefore become a serious danger when reduced attention, high speed and insufficient braking distance occur together.

Driving at night during the summer

During the summer months, night-time journeys associated with leisure activities, holidays and travel back from tourist areas become more frequent. However, driving at night reduces the distance at which certain hazards can be identified.

Pedestrians, cyclists, stationary vehicles and obstacles outside the main beam of the headlights may be detected too late. This is particularly relevant on roads passing through towns and villages, approaches to populated areas, leisure districts and pedestrian crossings with limited lighting.

Conventional signs may not be sufficient at these locations. A fixed sign always conveys the same message, regardless of whether an immediate hazard is present. Adaptive road lighting and intelligent signs, by contrast, can improve visibility and activate a warning when a risk is actually present.

ITS for a dynamic response

Intelligent Transport Systems, commonly known as ITS, combine sensors, communications, lighting and signalling devices to detect what is happening on the road and respond in real time.

Their main advantage is that they turn infrastructure into an active element. Instead of simply displaying a permanent sign, the system can recognise a specific situation and generate an appropriate warning.

Possible applications include:

  • Detecting pedestrians at critical crossings.
  • Enhancing bend warning signs at night.
  • Warning drivers about excessive speed.
  • Providing warnings about congestion or stationary vehicles.
  • Activating lighting in conditions of poor visibility.
  • Detecting impacts against restraint systems.
  • Collecting traffic and mobility information.

Devices such as PlugSmart® Pro can turn a conventional restraint system into an intelligent element capable of detecting risks and generating warnings from the infrastructure itself.

These solutions are particularly useful during the summer, when traffic volumes and travel patterns vary according to the time of day, the day of the week or tourism activity.

Dynamic LED road studs at pedestrian crossings

Collisions involving pedestrians on roads through populated areas and in urban environments can be reduced through dynamic LED road stud systems. When a sensor detects that someone is approaching a pedestrian crossing, it can activate a light signal directed towards approaching drivers.

The purpose is to improve the visibility of the crossing point and attract attention at the precise moment when a risk is present.

This system can:

  • Improve the night-time visibility of the crossing.
  • Warn drivers that pedestrians are actually present.
  • Prevent drivers from becoming accustomed to a permanently active signal.
  • Adapt its operation to specific schedules or conditions.
  • Record data about the use of the crossing.

Metalesa’s Metaurban® SMART parapet can integrate sensors and LED lights to generate warnings on the carriageway. Its applications include pedestrian detection, excessive speed warnings, lighting for pedestrian and cycle routes, and alerts in the event of fog, congestion or impacts.

The restraint system therefore ceases to be an exclusively passive element and becomes part of connected infrastructure.

Risk of tyre failures involving heavy vehicles

High temperatures can aggravate tyre maintenance problems. In a heavy vehicle, a sudden failure can cause a loss of control that is difficult to correct because of the vehicle’s considerable mass and the energy generated while it is moving.

The risk increases when an incident occurs on a motorway, bridge or viaduct. At these locations, a vehicle leaving the carriageway can have particularly serious consequences.

Infrastructure should therefore incorporate steel bridge parapets with a containment level appropriate for the expected traffic. These systems are designed to contain and redirect vehicles, reducing the possibility of them passing beyond the edge of the structure.

Metalesa’s META16 steel bridge parapet has an H3 containment level and is intended to protect areas carrying vehicles with a high mass. One example of its application is the installation of three kilometres of META16 on the A-23 viaducts.

The effectiveness of these systems also depends on correct installation, the strength of the anchors and the appropriate treatment of transitions and terminals.

Active and passive safety

The response to summer driving risks must combine two levels of protection.

ITS, sensors and LED devices act before an accident occurs. Their role is to detect a dangerous situation, improve the information available and give the driver more time to react.

Parapets and restraint systems act when an accident can no longer be prevented. Their purpose is to contain the vehicle and reduce the consequences of leaving the carriageway or losing control.

Both strategies must work together:

  • Active safety anticipates the risk.
  • Passive safety limits the severity of the impact.
  • Connectivity enables data to be collected.
  • Maintenance preserves the performance of the system.

Infrastructure prepared for summer

Summer mobility combines heavier traffic, high temperatures, fatigue and increased night-time travel. In this scenario, infrastructure must be capable of adapting to actual road conditions.

ITS and dynamic LED road studs can reinforce warnings during periods of increased risk. High-containment parapets, meanwhile, provide a final layer of protection in accidents involving heavy vehicles on motorways, bridges and viaducts.

Metalesa develops solutions that integrate active and passive safety by combining restraint systems, sensors, lighting and intelligent signalling.

The objective is to move towards roads that can detect danger, warn users and reduce the consequences when an accident cannot be prevented.