The National Roads Authority (NRA) is to test "real-time" roadside messages which advise motorists of travel times, beginning on the M1 tomorrow.
The EU-funded pilot programme will use familiar variable message signs which are parked at the sides of roads to alert drivers of the likely length of time it will take to get to the two nearest "primary destinations".
A total of four primary destinations are to be identified on the M1 from tomorrow. These are the Dublin Port Tunnel, Dublin airport, Drogheda and Dundalk. When a vehicle approaches a variable message sign, the driver will be able to read the travel times to the next two destinations ahead.
The NRA, which is piloting the project in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Roads Service, intends to install six message signs at intermittent points along the Dublin to Belfast route.
The devices are expected to be useful in warning motorists of congestion or crashes, which might influence a driver's decision to leave the motorway and find an alternative route.
Variable message signs can in theory be controlled by a mobile phone, from central locations such as the office of the director of Dublin traffic, from where congestion is routinely monitored through traffic cameras.
The system uses automatic number-plate recognition technology to recognise vehicles as they pass traffic cameras and calculate journey times. Such systems are routinely used in the UK to detect speeding motorists. The NRA said the system would not be used for detecting speeding vehicles during the test process.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry said the organisation was "looking forward to the feedback from the public on this pilot programme".
