A TCMS is an integrated system that collects information from the field, process that information and provides directions to drivers. Data collection is performed by a number of sensors, pre-processed and then sent to the TCMS Supervisor. The Supervisor is in charge of forecasting traffic evolution and to provide directions to drivers in fully automatic mode. These messages are displayed by CMS (Changeable Message Signs) or VMS (Variable Message Signs) deployed along the roads.
Additional subsystems may be added to the TCMS, as video recording and incident detection, the meteo subsystem to detect local weather conditions and SOS Columns.