Location Based Systems

Innovative vehicle and infrastructure technology being developed in the European Intersafe-2 research project is targeting known issues of road safety at intersections, with the aim of improving safety at intersections by up to 80 per cent. Four systems giving assistance to drivers for right turns, left turns, intersections and addressing give way situations could make major reductions in accidents. Sensor technology installed in vehicles and at intersections relay messages and help boost safety. Finnish re

A new vehicle routeing initiative has arisen to help improve emergency response and relief following natural disasters in Japan. David Crawford reports Japan’s national ITS group ITS Japan and the country’s leading automotives have agreed on a new combined approach to the organisation of traffic management and emergency response in the wake of major natural disasters. A new, robust traffic information platform using probe data obtained from vehicles to support traffic flow will build on the shared experienc

Johnson Controls has announced the results of a survey of some 2,800 young people in Germany, Great Britain, China, and the US, to find out what ‘digital natives’ expect from the car of the future. Approximately 2800 young people were surveyed in Germany, Great Britain, China and the United States. Their key desire: to stay connected to the digital world while driving, too.

Highway surveying company Yotta DCL has signed a four year contract worth around US$3.61 million with the UK Highways Agency to survey and monitor some 140,000km of motorway and other major roads across England. As part of the agreement, the company DCL will perform a traffic speed condition survey (TRACS) to determine the condition of the road surface, assess the areas in particular need of repair and determine where immediate action needs to be taken. The company will use its new state-of-the art Tempest

Bosch has received the Global NCAP Award 2012 for developing and launching the electronic stability programme (ESP). The award, which is conferred by the Global New Car Assessment Programme, was presented during the consumer safety organisation's annual meeting in Malacca, Malaysia. Global NCAP’s rationale for this award was ESP’s high level of effectiveness and its ability to significantly reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities – thereby supporting the aims of the UN Decade of Action for Road S

The number of insurance telematics users in Europe will grow from 1.5 million in 2010 to 44 million in 2017, initially driven by the UK and Italy, according to ABI Research. Despite aggressive efforts from Progressive, North America will continue to lag behind the European UBI market, it says. Vice president and practice director Dominique Bonte comments, “While insurance telematics or usage based insurance (UBI) is far from a recent phenomenon, renewed interest in this market has been observed from both es

Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) has published the results of its survey on the availability of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems in Europe and reveals that its vehicle safety rating assessment programme will include AEB technologies in its star rating from 2014. Real world performance data suggests AEB systems can reduce accidents by up to 27 per cent. Although the introduction of these active safety technologies is reducing road deaths and injuries, the availability of AEB in Europe is fa

Wabco has expanded its long term partnership with Kögel through a new supply agreement for the company’s TrailerGuard system, a state-of-the-art telematics technology for trailer fleet management. Kögel, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial trailers in Europe, is headquartered in Burtenbach, Germany.

Cellcontrol, a leading developer of distracted driving solutions, has launched what it claims is a first-of-its-kind programme with specialist member-owned insurer Pure (Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange) to help prevent distracted driving incidents caused by teenage drivers. As part of the pilot, Pure has offered complimentary devices and a full year’s subscription to Cellcontrol’s technology to drivers under the age of 18, and will be providing the technology at a discounted rates to the entire P

Mercedes-Benz and Glympse, a mobile technology company that pioneered temporary real-time location sharing, are teaming up to provide real-time location sharing to their drivers by integrating Glympse into the new Mercedes-Benz Digital DriveStyle application, set to launch in the new A-Class in September. Drivers will be able to select a recipient, set a timer, and ‘send a Glympse’ to anyone they choose. The recipient will receive a text or email link, which will show the driver’s real-time location on an i