Raise your hand if you’ve ever driven over two black rubber cables stretched across the road and thought:
“What the heck is that?”
You know the ones — thick, black, rubbery tubes laid across both lanes like someone left their garden hose in the street.
You hear that thunk-thunk as you pass over them.
You wonder if you just ran over something important.
And then you forget about it.
Until now.
Because those black cables?
They’re not just random road clutter.
They’re pneumatic tubes — and they’re quietly counting every car that passes.
Let’s explore what they really do — and why they matter more than you think.
🧠 What Are Those Black Cables on the Road?
You may have seen them near intersections.
You may have cursed them as you swerved to avoid them.
But here’s the truth:
Those cables are traffic counters — simple, effective, and shockingly low-tech.
They’re used by transportation departments and urban planners to collect data on:
How many cars pass
How fast they’re going
What direction they’re heading
Sometimes, even what type of vehicle it is — car, truck, bus, or motorcycle
And all of this is gathered by two simple tubes and a little puff of air.
🛣️ How They Work – A Lesson in Pneumatic Traffic Science:
