The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) in the US is testing a new traffic management system to reduce congestion on busy corridors by providing advisory speeds and travel time information to drivers.

The highways group hopes the Variable Speed Advisory technology will allow for more gradual lane merges and changes without sudden stops or backups particularly in highly congested areas and work zones.

The five-week pilot programme is being carried out on two miles of westbound MD 100 between MD 713 and Coca-Cola Drive.

The SHA is using roadside sensors, speed trailers and vehicle recognition software to collect real-time and historical data that will be used to test the effectiveness of the system in reducing congestion.