Traffic monitoring and management method and apparatus

Apparatus for the analysis and management of vehicle traffic along a roadway comprising,

• a plurality of transceivers positioned adjacent said roadway, each of said transceivers including means for transmitting radio frequency signals toward said roadway, said signals including information signals including a location of said transceiver, and a current date and time,
• a plurality of transponders, each of said transponders being located in separate ones of said vehicles passing along said roadway, each of said transponders including a data processor, a memory, and a receiver/transmitter, intercoupled such that said information signals transmitted from said transceiver can be received, and processed in said data processor and at least a subset of said information signals can be stored in said memory in at least one of, received and processed form, and
• independent data processor means coupled to said transceiver for two-way communication with said transceiver,
• said roadway including a plurality of entrances and a plurality of exits, and said apparatus including an associated entrance transceiver located at each of said entrances and an associated exit transceiver located at each of said exits,
• each of said transponders including means for recognizing an information signal received from any of said entrance transceivers as each said vehicle carrying each said transponder travels past said entrance transceivers and for storing said information in its memory wherein said information signal is indicative of the location of the one of said roadway entrances at which each said vehicle entered said highway,
• said exit transceivers including means for signaling each of said transponders to transmit to said associated exit transceiver said information signal indicative of the one of said entrances at which its associated vehicle entered said roadway, and
• said independent data processor including means for signaling said transceivers associated with said roadway exits to transmit to said independent data processor said information signals relating to where said vehicles entered said roadway in relation to where said vehicles exited said roadway, and means for processing said information to determine traffic patters of vehicles entering and exiting said roadway.

Apparatus for the analysis and management of vehicle traffic along a roadway comprising,

• a plurality of transceivers positioned adjacent said roadway, each of said transceivers including means for transmitting radio frequency signals toward said roadway, said signals including information signals including a location of said transceiver, and a current date and time,
• a plurality of transponders, each of said transponders being located in separate ones of said vehicles passing along said roadway, each of said transponders including a data processor, a memory, and a receiver/transmitter, intercoupled such that said information signals transmitted from said transceiver can be received, and processed in said data processor and at least a subset of said information signals can be stored in said memory in at least one of, received and processed form, and
• independent data processor means coupled to said transceiver for two-way communication with said transceiver,
• wherein each of said transponders includes a user interface means for allowing a vehicle operator to enter information pertaining to said vehicle, including at least one of number of passengers, number of axles, vehicle weight, vehicle identification number, and vehicle class, into said memory included in said transponders, and
• wherein each of said transponders includes audio/visual interface means coupled to said data processor, to said memory and to said receiver/transmitter, for providing at least one of an audio and a visual signal to a vehicle operator wherein said signal is indicative of at least one of an instruction received from said transceiver to input by way of said user interface, at least one of the number of passengers, the number of axles, vehicle weight, vehicle identification number and vehicle class.