Patent ID: 7021857

Claim:
A road segment comprising a first roadway ( 80 ) and an adjoining second roadway ( 81 ), said road segment being adapted to facilitate merging of at least two successive vehicles ( 66 , 66 ′) traveling over the first roadway ( 80 ) with at least one further vehicle ( 67 ) traveling over the second roadway ( 81 ), at least the first roadway ( 80 ) being provided with a road marking system ( 60 ) comprising a plurality of road marking units ( 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″. . . ), each one of the road marking units ( 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″, . . . ) being provided with a light source for emitting light in the direction of a driver ( 5 , 5 ′, . . . ) of one of the vehicles ( 6 , 6 ′, . . . ), the road marking system including detection means ( 2 ) for detecting the flow of traffic and conversion means for converting the detected flow of traffic to a desired distance between the vehicles ( 6 , 6 ′; 16 , 16 ′; 26 , 26 ′; 36 , 36 ′) and a desired speed of said vehicles ( 6 , 6 ′; 6 , 16 ′; 26 , 26 ′; 36 , 36 ′), said road marking system generating a guidance light ( 1 , 1 ′, . . . ; 11 , 11 ′, . . . ; 21 , 21 ′, . . . ; 31 , 31 ′, . . . ) which seemingly moves along with the flow of traffic and is generated by switching the light sources in the road marking units ( 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″, . . . ) so as to cause the flow of traffic to move along with the guidance light ( 1 , 1 ′, . . . ; 11 , 11 ′, . . . ; 21 , 21 ′, . . . ; 31 , 31 ′, . . . ) said guidance light ( 1 , 1 ′, . . . , 11 , 11 ′, . . . ; 21 , 21 ′, . . . ; 31 , 31 ′, . . . ) indicating the desired mutual distance between the vehicles ( 6 , 6 ′; 16 , 16 ′, 26 , 26 ′; 36 , 36 ′) and the desired speed of the vehicles ( 6 , 6 ′; 16 , 16 ′; 25 , 25 ′; 36 , 36 ′) a road marking system further generating a continuous marking line ( 87 , 87 ′) extending between the first and the second roadway ( 80 ; 81 ) as long as the distance between two successive vehicles ( 66 , 66 ′) traveling over the first roadway ( 80 ) is insufficient to permit said merging but, when the distance between the two successive vehicles ( 66 , 66 ′) traveling over the first roadway ( 80 ) is sufficient to permit said merging, changing the continuous marking line ( 87 , 87 ′) between the first and the second roadway ( 80 ; 81 ′) to a discontinuous marking line ( 88 ) so as to allow the further vehicle ( 67 ) traveling over the second roadway ( 81 ) to merge with the traffic traveling over the first roadway ( 80 ).