MyriadSafety Begins Drive to Protect Highway Workers

As interstates and highways around the St. Louis area have become obstacle courses bogged down with construction projects, the odds of accidents in construction zones are greater. The Federal Highway Administration estimates there are more than 100,000 highway construction work zones in the United States on any given day. Because of projected increased activity with the extension and increased funding of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the level of activity is expected to increase 44 percent during the next four years. Jack Toman, a St. Louis inventor and president of MyriadSafety Technologies, has invented and patented two devices aimed at cutting down mishaps in construction areas. One of the devices, MyriadSafety Sentinel, is a radar emulator that sets off radar detectors in cars to get drivers to slow down. Available in 35 states, more than 1,000 have been sold at $500 each; it was made available in 1994. Toman’s second invention, the MyriadSafety Observer III System, is a work zone intrusion response system which uses microwave beams to warn workers that vehicles are entering the work zone.