Have you ever been driving down a road when you are suddenly confronted by a long, black tube that is stretched across the entire street?
Although it may look like nothing more than a displaced garden hose, it actually plays a very important purpose — one that could impact whether or not you end up getting a speeding ticket in the future.
So what is this mysterious tube, who put it there and how does it work?
It’s called a pneumatic road tube and according to the U.S. Office of Highway Policy Information, when a car passes over one of them, it releases a burst of air pressure.
This pressure, in turn, sets off an electric signal, which delivers information to analysis software.
Using these tubes can help highway officials to determine how many drivers use a road per day, as well as which direction they are traveling and during what times of day.
The Federal Highway Administration stated that the “Advantages of road tube sensors are a quick installation for (the) permanent and temporary recording of data and low power usage. Road tube sensors are usually low-cost and simple to maintain. Sensor manufacturers often supply software packages to assist with data analysis.”
If you’re looking to game the system, you can drive over the tubes on the roads you want to be repaired. While it isn’t a guarantee, it only makes sense that your local officials will pay more attention and give more funding to busier roads.
In the video below from the city of Bloomington in Minnesota, you’ll learn how the government takes your driving history and uses it to its advantage. They try to use the data to turn it into useful changes for the public. Or do they have a more sinister motive?
Have you ever questioned what these black tubes were doing on your roads?
Watch it here: Youtube/CityofBloomingtonMN
Sources: Awm, Mentalfloss, Quora