TrafficAuth is powered by OmniTrust (formerly INTEGRITY Security Services)
TrafficAuth is powered by OmniTrust (formerly INTEGRITY Security Services)
Work zones are among the most dynamic and dangerous environments on the road. Traffic patterns change quickly. Lane closures move. Cones are repositioned. Crews enter and exit active areas throughout the day. Drivers may approach at highway speeds with limited awareness of what has changed ahead.
In the United States, recent work-zone crash statistics show the scale of the challenge: roughly 100,000 work-zone crashes and more than 40,000 injuries in a recent year, with approximately 850–900 fatalities annually. Federal work-zone fatality data reported 899 fatalities in 2023, and recent reporting indicates approximately 850 fatalities in 2024.
TrafficAuth helps DOTs and roadway operators improve work-zone awareness by enabling trusted, real-time data exchange between workers, roadside systems, connected vehicles, and traffic management applications.
Many digital work-zone alerts are based on planned closures, manual updates, third-party data, or crowd-sourced observations. These sources are useful, but they often lag behind actual field conditions. That delay matters.
A lane closure may shift before the digital map is updated. A crew may enter an active area before drivers receive any warning. A cone line may move as work progresses. A vehicle may intrude into a protected area before anyone has time to react.
When alerts are late, inaccurate, or too generic, drivers learn to ignore them. For DOTs, that creates a difficult problem: the systems intended to improve safety can lose credibility if they do not reflect what is really happening on the road.
TrafficAuth addresses this challenge by supporting authoritative, digitally signed, real-time work-zone data from the field.
TrafficAuth does not require DOTs to replace their existing work-zone operations. Instead, it provides a trusted communication layer that can connect field personnel, roadside equipment, partner sensor systems, and connected vehicle channels.
The solution is enabled by two core TrafficAuth capabilities:
TrafficAuth-Mobile
A mobile application that can operate in a work-zone mode, allowing authorized workers to participate in a trusted safety environment using a phone, and optionally connected devices such as a smartwatch, vest, helmet, or other alerting accessory.
National Mobility Interchange, or NMI
A cloud-hosted V2X data exchange that distributes authenticated, standards-based transportation messages to authorized systems, applications, roadside devices, and connected vehicle ecosystems.
Together, TrafficAuth-Mobile and NMI create a flexible foundation for work-zone safety applications, including worker presence awareness, dynamic work-zone updates, sensor-based intrusion detection, and connected vehicle alerting.
This is consistent with the original draft’s goal: describing a high-level work-zone safety capability based on TrafficAuth-Mobile, signed worker presence data, Traveler Information Messages, sensor inputs, and NMI distribution.
Workers using TrafficAuth-Mobile can be recognized as authorized participants in an active work zone. The app can support the generation of signed worker presence data, helping systems understand that workers are currently active within or near a defined work area.
This can support applications such as:
Dynamic Work-Zone Updates
Work zones are not static. TrafficAuth can support partner integrations that provide real-time updates from the field, including cone position changes, lane closure adjustments, and other evolving work-zone conditions.
These updates can be used to generate or refresh trusted work-zone messages, such as digitally signed Traveler Information Messages, so downstream systems receive data that better reflects current field conditions.
Sensor-Based Vehicle Detection
TrafficAuth can also integrate data from partner sensor systems, including camera, radar, LIDAR, and other roadside detection technologies.
These systems can help identify approaching vehicles, detect unsafe trajectories, and support alerts when a vehicle appears to be entering or approaching a restricted work area. Sensor observations can be distributed through NMI using standards-based V2X message formats where appropriate.
Worker Alerts
When a potential threat is detected, workers can receive alerts through TrafficAuth-Mobile or connected accessories. Depending on deployment choices, alerts may be delivered through:
The objective is simple: give workers more time to react when a vehicle approaches an unsafe threshold.
Connected Vehicle and Fleet Alerts
NMI can distribute trusted work-zone data to connected vehicle applications, fleet systems, roadside units, and other mobility platforms. This allows DOTs and partners to deliver earlier, more relevant alerts to drivers and commercial fleets approaching an active work zone.
Depending on the deployment, alerts may include:
TrafficAuth-enabled work-zone safety can be deployed in stages, depending on the needs of the agency, corridor, contractor, or project.
1. Define the Active Work Zone
The DOT, contractor, or authorized operator defines the work-zone area, including the relevant boundaries, lane configuration, and operating conditions.
2. Activate Worker Participation
Authorized workers use TrafficAuth-Mobile in work-zone mode. Their presence can help confirm that the work zone is active and that personnel are on site.
3. Integrate Field Data
Partner systems can provide real-time updates from intelligent cones, cameras, radar, LIDAR, roadside units, or other equipment deployed in the work zone.
4. Publish Trusted Messages through NMI
NMI distributes authenticated work-zone data using standards-based message formats, allowing applications, roadside systems, and connected vehicle platforms to consume timely and trusted information.
5. Alert Workers and Drivers
When field conditions change or a potential hazard is detected, alerts can be delivered to workers, DOT systems, fleet applications, roadside devices, and connected vehicles.
TrafficAuth helps close the gap between planned work-zone data and actual field conditions by supporting updates from workers, cones, sensors, and other trusted sources.
Better Worker Protection
Workers can receive alerts when a vehicle approaches an unsafe area, when a work-zone boundary is crossed, or when sensor data indicates a possible intrusion risk.
More Relevant Driver Alerts
Because TrafficAuth-enabled messages can be based on current field conditions, alerts can be more timely, more location-specific, and more credible to drivers.
Standards-Based Interoperability
TrafficAuth and NMI are designed around established V2X standards, including SAE J2735 message concepts and IEEE 1609.2 security architecture. This supports integration with DOT systems, roadside units, connected vehicle platforms, research environments, and third-party mobility applications.
Support for Partner Ecosystems
DOTs can combine TrafficAuth-Mobile and NMI with partner technologies such as intelligent cones, camera/radar systems, LIDAR, digital signage, fleet systems, and connected vehicle services.
Scalable Deployment Model
A TrafficAuth-enabled work-zone safety deployment can begin with a single project, corridor, or pilot location and scale toward broader regional or statewide use.
Work-zone safety depends on fast, accurate, and trusted information. A driver alert based on stale data may be ignored. A worker alert based on unauthenticated data may create confusion. A traffic management system receiving conflicting inputs may not know which source to trust.
TrafficAuth adds a trust layer to work-zone data by supporting digitally signed messages, authenticated data sources, and standards-based distribution through NMI.
That means agencies can move toward a work-zone safety model where the data is not only real time, but also verifiable.
A Practical Path to Connected Work-Zone Safety
TrafficAuth enables DOTs to build smarter, safer, more connected work zones using the devices and systems already present in the field, plus trusted mobile, cloud, and V2X infrastructure.
With TrafficAuth-Mobile, workers can become active participants in the safety network. With NMI, trusted work-zone data can be distributed to the systems that need it. With partner integrations, cone positions, sensor detections, roadside equipment, and vehicle alerts can become part of a common safety environment.
The result is a practical, scalable approach to work-zone safety: better data, faster alerts, stronger trust, and more time for workers and drivers to avoid danger.
