Winner of New Enterprise Award shows how to keep traffic flowing

Last week eight companies were able to present their ideas to the public and a specialist jury at the Chollerhalle in the city to compete for the Zug New Enterprise Prize. The winner was Hermann Wenger with his idea of remote controlled crash barriers on wheels designed to keep traffic flowing, particularly at times when there is congestion.
 
For many years Wenger used to work at the Gysi AG company in Baar which manufactures crash barriers and related products but subsequently set up his own business, Dynaroads, in Morgarten. It is here where, with the help of a team of engineers, he has been working on various vehicle restraint systems to improve traffic flow. It is actually the remotely controlled guiding system which Wenger has developed; these can be fitted to various lengths of crash barrier to enable them to be moved and re-positioned as desired.
 
Commuters by car know only too well that situation when the approaches to motorways on the edge of cities are congested in the mornings with the same problem on the other side as they return in the evening. If the number of lanes could be changed according to the density of traffic, less congestion would build up and extra lanes, controlled by lights, could be opened up as required. The system would also be able to used to prevent vehicles from driving on a particular section of a motorway when it is known that a car is being driven down the wrong way.
 
Another area where Wenger’s system could be of great benefit to traffic flow would be by road works, too. Indeed, what inspired Wenger to develop this system was experiencing the road works on the A1motorway near Härkingen in the canton of Solothurn. He noticed that, as the roadworks progressed, the crash barriers had to be painstakingly removed and re-positioned in new locations by using a crane, in an operation which took some time. “With my system, the crash barriers could have been relocated within ten minutes,” he claimed.
 
The 53-year-old inventor certainly convinced the public with his ideas at the presentation last week; they duly awarded him the CHF 5,000 prize, ensuring him much publicity and the possibility of new contacts. In fact he has been travelling all over Europe and more than once has he heard, “It’s that Swiss bloke again,” prior to his explaining it all.
 
Those readers familiar with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco may know of a system to help keep traffic flowing there whereby a special vehicle is used to re-position the crash barriers, or guard railings as the Americans call them. However, Wenger said that the crash barriers used there need to be slightly pliable to enable the system to work properly, whereas, with his system, the barriers can remain firm and rigid, allowing for greater safety if a vehicle happens to collide with them. Furthermore, with his system of remote control, moving the barriers is a much more efficient operation altogether.
 
He has actually been working closely with highway departments in Germany and it could well be that his invention will soon be tested out during road works on motorways there.
 
Now the 53-year-old is looking forward to the time when his invention is produced on a mass scale. He has already invested much finance in the project and he certainly knows how to convince audiences of its practicality.

Further details of this invention, and others of his relating to improving traffic flow, can be seen on www.dynaroads.com.