Air Quality & Weather Systems

According to Swedish company Triplesign, its new range of variable message signs (VMS), developed for lane closure operations has a number of benefits over traditional LED VMS. Visually, the sign is like a normal static traffic sign, but appearances can be deceptive. There are actually several signs built into each unit, one for each traffic lane on a multi-lane road. Each lane can be independently operated by the traffic management system.

Skyline Products is to provide its LED dynamic message signs (DMS) throughout the state of Texas under a state-wide contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The DMS will display traffic messages to help keep the flow of traffic flowing and drivers aware of traffic conditions. Skyline has already installed signs throughout Texas in areas such as Dallas- Fort Worth, Houston, and El Paso. “Skyline Products is proud to be one of the state-wide suppliers for LED Dynamic Message Sign

IPL has announced a two year services extension worth half a million pounds from the Highways Agency (HA) which will enable the HA to manage the display information on roadside signalling devices in order to help increase road capacity, improve safety and reduce congestion. IPL has been working with the HA for over two decades, developing and delivering a set of tools to support the setup of the information on gantry signals and message signs required for schemes such as smart motorways. The tools pla

Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars), the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) are joining forces in a pilot project in which road friction information from individual cars is shared within a cloud-based system. The pilot uses 50 Volvo cars; when the test car detects an icy or slippery patch of road, the information is transmitted to Volvo Cars’ database via the mobile phone network. An instant warning is transmitted to other vehicles ap

Abu Dhabi Department of Transport has completed a US$2.45 million system that will provide real-time information on traffic congestion, route guidance and other conditions via smartphones, the internet and navigation devices in cars. The Integrated Transport Information and Navigation System (i-TINS) collects real-time data from different sources – road side systems such as traffic counting systems and travel time measurement systems and central sub-systems such as taxi and bus GPS-based tracking systems

Barcelona is to deploy a strategy using a variety of approaches to cut car traffic by more than 20 per cent to improve air quality in the city, particularly nitrogen dioxide and particulates. Barcelona's busy harbour and crowded streets mean that air pollution in the city is a constant challenge. The city's Mobility Plan includes reforms to parking charges, the bus network, and the concept of 'superblocks', where access to certain areas is restricted to private vehicles. Previous versions of the conce

Thousands of cars will be banned from Parisian roads today as the city tries to curb dangerous pollution levels by introducing alternate driving days for the first time in nearly two decades. The radical move will see around 700 police officers deployed to man 60 checkpoints around the French capital to ensure that only cars with number plates ending in odd numbers are on the streets. Parking will be free for vehicles with even number plates, the Paris city hall said, calling on residents to consult

Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is planning to invest US$2 million in a new system aimed at decreasing the number of wrong-way drivers on the state’s highways. According to Robert Rocchio, managing engineer of traffic and safety at RIDOT, the state sees a minimum of one fatal crash per year due to drivers going the wrong way on the state's major highways. RIDOT hopes to begin installing intelligent transportation systems on highway off-ramps at twenty different locations across the s

Vaisala has been selected as a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather-Ready Nation ambassador. The Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) initiative brings together government organisations, private enterprise and academia in an effort to build communities that are ready, responsive and resilient to severe weather events. The impact of extreme weather events can be mitigated with the help of accurate measurement systems, reliable observations as well as timely forecasting and predictio

Two states in the US, Florida and New York are working to reduce the risk of accidents caused by wrong-way drivers. In Florida, a six-month study conducted by Dr Haitham Al-Deek of the University of Central Florida found that only 10 per cent of drivers who witness a wrong-way driver called the police. The study does show that the number of ticketed wrong-way drivers has increased since 2005 and so have the calls to 911 reporting those drivers. "I do believe they happen more than