Back-to-School with AI-Powered Anomaly Alerts in ClearGuide® Signal Trends

3 min. Read • Posted 09/17/2025 by Jeff Venables

It’s September, and kids across America are officially back in school—some even returned as early as July.

As we know, this seasonal shift makes our roadways busier for both drivers and pedestrians, especially during campus drop-off and pick-up times. With over 25,000 students injured in vehicular crashes on their way to or from school each year (Source: U.S. Transportation Research Board), Iteris remains committed to improving safety and helping communities manage congestion effectively.

To support this mission, Iteris is helping agencies stay ahead of signal performance issues and proactively address safety concerns before they escalate. Iteris ClearGuide® Signal Trends is a probe data-based solution for improving signal performance. With this technology, agencies can zoom in at the intersection level—without needing field equipment connectivity—and access movement-level performance metrics every 5 to 15 minutes. ClearGuide uses anonymized trajectory data from cloud-connected vehicles to pinpoint when and where issues occur, and how they evolve over time. Plus, ClearGuide now integrates artificial intelligence (AI) with anomaly detection, offering a new alert feature to help agencies monitor and manage signals proactively.

Let’s take a look at what back-to-school traffic looks like in DeKalb County, which includes several eastern suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. The school zone we’re focusing on is located just six miles east of downtown Atlanta.

In ClearGuide, control delay data from last week is color-coded, and a ranking table lists all signals in the county from longest to shortest delay. While this data is valuable, it’s not always immediately actionable for agencies.

Now, Iteris helps agency users with alerts that flag when signals begin to underperform. In the upper left corner of the map, you’ll see a school—no geofencing setup was required to access this insight.

By narrowing alert parameters to signals within the school zone and comparing current performance to data from the past 30 days (during summer break), agencies now receive a daily email listing the top five worst-performing intersections. This enables teams to quickly identify and prioritize areas needing intervention during the back-to-school traffic shift.

ClearGuide automatically detects real-time anomalies and sends email alerts, ensuring staff can instantly see which intersections require attention. With this feature, agencies can stay informed and take proactive steps to maintain optimal signal performance and account for seasonal changes in Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs).