Learn in the textbookSystems for Finance and Social Infrastructure
DefinitionITS (Intelligent Transport Systems, 高度道路交通システム) is the umbrella term for initiatives that link people, roads and vehicles through information and communication technology to improve safety, ease congestion and more.
ExplanationITS is not the name of one device but a framework that groups many systems together. It includes, for example, VICS, which sends congestion and traffic-restriction information to car navigation units, ETC, which automates toll payment, and driving safety support (安全運転支援) to prevent accidents. Because in-car equipment talks to roadside facilities, drivers learn about conditions ahead that they cannot yet see.
AnalogyIt is like running nerves through the whole road network so that cars can feel what is happening far ahead.
Memory hookShort for Intelligent Transport Systems; the plural "Systems" is there because ITS is a collection of many systems.