Vehicle-Highway Automated Systems - The automated highway system is defined as "a lane or set of lanes where specially equipped cars, trucks and buses could travel together under computer control (Rillings, 1996)." Automated highway systems combine magnetic sensors, computers, digital radio, forward-looking sensors, video cameras, and display technologies.

Also “Congestion Pricing.” Toll facility pricing that is set based on traffic demand, with higher toll rates at high-traffic periods and lower toll rates at low-traffic periods. Rates may vary by time of day, day of the week, or may vary dynamically based on current traffic conditions. Value Pricing is designed to achieve performance objectives to reduce traffic congestion and delay by shifting travel to less congested periods or different modes, encouraging high vehicle occupancy, or reducing the number of vehicular trips taken.

VMS.  Changeable message boards located on a facility that display to customers text information such as weather and road conditions that may affect traffic conditions and travel times. Also known as Dynamic Message Sign (DMS).

Refers to an error in the toll communication system which occurs when something between the On-Board and Road Side dialogue has failed.

Violation Enforcement System. The collective equipment and procedures that capture a violation transaction, image and the citation process.

Spanish trademark for ETC.

Vehicle Information and Communication System. A Japanese system which transmits real time traffic information to a car navigation system which is them displayed in text and graphic form.

A billing system using video images of a vehicle’s license plate to identify the customer responsible for toll payment.

A sticker proving that a distance or time-related toll has been paid by the user.

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration

A record of an unpaid toll which occurs when a customer does not pay the proper amount.

Camera located at each toll lane that takes pictures of violation events. Image capture contains, at minimum, human or Optical Character Recognition (OCR) readable pictures of the front, rear or both license plates.

VES. The collective equipment and procedures that capture a violation transaction, image and the citation process.

Lights located around the lane to enhance ambient light conditions for the VES cameras to take pictures of vehicles.

VPC. A place where violation processing systems and/or human reviewers work on reviewing and processing violations through the system.

The composite set of procedures, equipment and operations used in the Back Office to examine violation images and assign the correct toll to either an ETC account holder or to a toll evader based on a Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) lookup of license plate vehicle registration. True violations will include a fine, processing/administrative fee and any other punitive action as dictated by local law.

See Variable Message Sign

Vehicle Miles of Travel. The sum of all the miles traveled by vehicles (not people) in a specified amount of time