20 Years of Highway Safety and Intelligent Transportation
For 20 years, FLIR and DIR Massif Central have developed intelligent transportation systems that detect incidents, support faster decision-making, and improve safety along one of France's most challenging highway corridors.
A Highway in Constant Motion: The A75 Story
The A75 is a critical north-south route through the Massif Central, connecting central France with the Mediterranean. It's changing traffic, challenging conditions, and complex infrastructure demand constant vigilance.
For 20 years, FLIR and DIR Massif Central have worked together to evolve the intelligent transportation systems that support the network, helping operational teams detect incidents, make informed decisions, and respond with confidence.
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20Years
Continuous partnership between
FLIR and DIR Massif Central
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900 km
Total DIR Massif Central
road network managed
(including 320 km
of motorway)
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5 Tunnels
130 CamerasComplete smart hardware
coverage across the corridor
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21,000Annual interventions
managed by operational teams -
40,000
–45,000Daily summer vehicles during
peak Mediterranean travel -
24/7/365
System availability requirements
One highway. Constantly changing conditions.
The Challenge vs The Outcome
The Challenge
The A75 is a demanding highway environment, crossing the Massif Central and carrying traffic between central France and the Mediterranean. Operators must manage changing weather, seasonal traffic peaks, and a complex motorway network of viaducts, bridges, and tunnels, while roadworks and contraflows continually alter how traffic moves. Fog, snow, freezing temperatures, and changing light can make incidents harder to detect, while high summer volumes can reach 40,000-45,000 vehicles a day. Across 320 km of motorway and tunnels, maintaining reliable incident detection is critical to helping operators understand what is happening on the road and respond quickly.
The Outcome
FLIR’s intelligent transportation technology gives operators the visibility and information they need to respond with confidence, helping teams identify incidents day or night, and in challenging conditions such as fog and snow, and focus on the events that require action. Early warnings of events such as stopped vehicles and wrong-way drivers give operators more time to assess and respond, while dynamic lane-by-lane filtering helps maintain effective detection during roadworks and contraflows without overwhelming the control room with unwanted alarms. The result is a more informed control room, faster decision-making, and a more responsive approach to managing the A75.
Automatic Incident Detection: When Seconds Count
On a high-speed corridor like the A75, wrong-way drivers and other incidents can create serious risks in seconds. Early detection is critical to providing operators with the information they need to act before an incident escalates or results in a secondary collision.
FLIR’s Automatic Incident Detection (AID) continuously monitors traffic and alerts control room operators to abnormal events, enabling a real-time response to incidents, congestion, and changing conditions during roadworks. This early warning helps teams assess situations, manage traffic flow, and respond before risks escalate
"Wrong-way and crossing detection is extremely valuable...
without it, we could miss this type of event."
— Laurence Champin, Head of Control, DIR Massif Central
From Detection to Decision: Inside the Control Room
Effective incident response depends on clear, actionable information. FLIR’s detection software has evolved over 20 years into FLIR Cascade, bringing incident detection, alerts, and live video together to give DIR Massif Central greater visibility and command from the control room.
As traffic conditions change, including during roadworks and contraflows, Cascade enables operators to adapt detection on a lane-by-lane basis, helping to maintain high-sensitivity detection on open lanes, while suppressing unwanted alarms in active work zones. The result is clearer information, fewer distractions, and greater confidence when managing incidents.
"Teams can respond in real time, helping to prevent an initial
incident from leading to another accident."
— Julien Champeymond, Engineer, DIR Massif Central
See how control room operators interact with the Flir Cascade platform in real time, verifying automated alerts, managing live incidents, and adapting detection parameters to changing road conditions across the A75 corridor.
Explore how the software evolution from legacy platforms to Flir Cascade modernized system architecture, ensuring open integration, 100% functional continuity, and strict cybersecurity compliance for DIR Massif Central.
Embedded AI & Next-Gen Smart Cameras
As highway monitoring evolves, so does the technology behind it. The A75 has transitioned to smart cameras with embedded AI, moving intelligence directly to the edge for faster, more responsive detection.
Operators can use Dual AI analytics to enable real-time vehicle classification, speed monitoring, and threat detection without separate processing hardware, helping operators gain more insight from the network while simplifying the system architecture.
Thermal Cameras for Reliable Detection in Challenging Conditions
The A75’s challenging conditions, from dense fog and snow to complete darkness, can make detection difficult. Thermal imaging detects heat rather than reflected light, helping maintain reliable incident detection when visibility is reduced.
By delivering consistent detection day and night, thermal cameras help operators identify stopped vehicles, pedestrians, and other hazards in conditions where conventional cameras can struggle.
"The improvement from switching to thermal cameras was immediately noticeable... there's no longer a difference between detection during the day and at night."
— Benoit Beaufreton, Head of Maintenance, DIR Massif Central
Road Safety, Reliability & Long-Term Value
Keeping critical highway infrastructure running 24/7/365 requires more than reliable technology. It requires ongoing support, maintenance, and a long-term approach to system performance.
Over the past 20 years, FLIR has supported DIR Massif Central with proactive maintenance, remote diagnostics, and field support, helping maintain system availability while reducing the need for roadside intervention and delivering lasting value across the A75 network.
"It's a relationship built on trust. The system lasted 20 years, that means for 20 years, it delivered complete satisfaction to the operator."
- Mario Pinto, Key Account Manager, Flir
From the A75 to Global Intelligent Transportation Systems
For 20 years, Flir and DIR Massif Central have worked together to make the A75 safer, smarter, and more resilient. As the network has evolved, so has the technology, from thermal detection and intelligent cameras to AI-powered incident detection and connected control room systems.
That same combination of technology, engineering expertise, and long-term partnership is at the heart of Flir’s Intelligent Transportation Systems. From tunnels to large-scale highway networks, Flir combines thermal and visual sensing, embedded AI, and intelligent software to help road authorities detect incidents, respond faster, and manage critical infrastructure with confidence.
FAQ
Automatic Incident Detection (AID) continuously analyses live traffic video to identify abnormal events and potential hazards, detecting incidents such as stopped vehicles, wrong-way drivers, pedestrians, and traffic disruptions, then automatically alert control room operators.
By flagging events as they happen, AID gives operators more time to assess the situation, verify what is happening, and take action before an incident escalates.
Yes. Thermal cameras detect heat rather than relying on visible light, allowing them to maintain detection when conventional cameras can struggle with reduced visibility.
On the A75, thermal imaging helps operators detect vehicles, pedestrians, and other hazards through challenging conditions, including fog, snow, and darkness. This provides more consistent detection across changing weather and light conditions, helping operators maintain awareness day and night.
FLIR Cascade brings incident detection, alerts, and live video together in the control room, giving operators a clearer view of what is happening across the network.
When an event is detected, operators can quickly assess the alert, verify the situation through live video, and respond accordingly. Detection can also be adapted lane by lane as traffic conditions change, helping maintain effective coverage during roadworks and contraflows while reducing unwanted alarms.
Yes. FLIR ITS is designed to work with existing highway infrastructure and can integrate detection, cameras, and software into established operational environments.
The A75 demonstrates how an intelligent transportation system can evolve over time, from legacy platforms to modern software, smart cameras, and AI, while maintaining functional continuity. This allows road authorities to modernize their networks without having to replace everything at once.
Dynamic lane filtering allows operators to adjust detection according to how traffic is actually moving. During roadworks, contraflows, or temporary lane closures, operators can enable or suppress detection on specific lanes through the control room.
This keeps detection focused on active traffic lanes while reducing alarms from areas where normal traffic flow has been disrupted. The result is more relevant alerts and less noise for operators managing a changing road environment.