[BELGIUM]Belgian motorways

[Bibs]

What's the thing with the white lines across the motorways in Belgium? Every now and again there's a single line, then a double line perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Couldn't for the life of me work out what the point of them was... anyone know?

[ramjet]

Bibs, surely you know that one? They are either testing new paint for line marking, but if it was a single line then later a double line then again a single, you will find they are at 500m intervals. They are there for either police planes or helicopters to calculate your speed. They simply time you over the distance between the marks. All over the place in WA where I used to live.

We nicknamed 'em Pigs In Space.

Edited September 14, 2011 by ramjet

[Bibs]

Nope, I know what they are. These were perhaps 10m apart and built into the road, so that you knew when you drove over them...

[bosbon_be]

Where was it? It is possible that it was an inline weight measurement for lorries. A lot of them do carry to much weight and damage the roads. It's used by the police to check the weight without stopping the lorrie.

[Bibs]

There must have been 5 or more sets, just on the motorway (I think the E40?). They're only a foot or so wide per stripe, would be pretty fast reacting to be scales.

[bosbon_be]

http://www.wegenenverkeer.be/verkeer-en-mobiliteit/verkeershandhaving/weigh-in-motion.html

Weigh in Motion (WIM)

The system Weigh in Motion (WIM) truck will be weighed as they pass. The police can then focus all the overloaded trucks off the road to get a precise weighing.

How does it work?

At the WIM there are plate recognition cameras hanging above each lane of a porch or a bridge. They automatically record the license plate of each vehicle. Loops in the pavement will detect the vehicles measures the length of vehicles. Weighing Sensors in the pavement detect the axles and register the axle loads. Cameras on either side of the road to an overview image of the situation. People of the traffic police and road inspection are located further up the road, they can consult the data that the WIM system is sending them. So they get a list of all possible overloaded trucks coming towards their direction. They can get them off the road and into a scale and measure the exact (over) weight.

Where can you find them?

Currently there are two locations equipped with a WIM installation: the E40 direction Gent at the height of Erpe-Mere and the N16 direction Puurs near the Schelde bridge.

[Bibs]

Wow, clever stuff! Thanks Peter