In order to improve the visibility of stop signs and prevent deaths especially on rural roads, engineers at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) are building a low-cost, self-powered thermal system that will detect vehicles, the German news agency reported. Ayetullah Biten, a doctoral candidate in the UTSA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, sees that "stop signs on rural roads are difficult to notice, and this leads to dangerous accidents." According to the US Department of Transportation, more than half of all roadway fatalities occur on rural roads. To improve driver safety, a researcher team at the UTSA College of Engineering created a self-powered intersection detection and warning system to alert rural motorists about potential dangers. The next-generation stop sign uses an infrared sensor that detects a vehicle as it approaches an intersection. Once the vehicle is within the sensing range, a signal beacon triggers the stop signs flashing system. The Tech Xplore website quoted researcher Zachary Balcar, co-developer of the new system, saying: "The sensor observes thermal signatures and processes them to detect passing vehicles. It distinguishes the vehicles direction of travel, estimates its velocity and determines its classification." According to the researchers, the smart system has a 90% vehicle detection rate and a vehicle classification accuracy of 72%. Compared to current traffic sensing technologies in urban areas such as video image processors and radar, the new system consumes less power and offers better accuracy.