Location Based Systems

Volvo Cars and Inrix are to collaborate on the automaker’s first live traffic service; Inrix will provide Volvo drivers with real-time and predictive traffic flow information for routes, travel times, and alerts to accidents and incidents. INRIX Traffic will be a part of Volvo Sensus Connect, an innovative on-board infotainment and navigation solution that allows drivers to find and pay for parking, discover new places, stream their favourite music and much more. Inrix real-time traffic will be availabl

Potentially unsafe mental distractions can persist for as long as 27 seconds after dialling, changing music or sending a text using voice commands, according to surprising new research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The results raise new and unexpected concerns regarding the use of phones and vehicle information systems while driving. This research represents the third phase of the Foundation’s comprehensive investigation into cognitive distraction, which shows that new hands-free technologies ca

Daimler and telematics service provider WirelessCar have signed a long term agreement, leveraging the technical opportunities with connected cars into new business-to-business services. From 2016, Daimler will utilise WirelessCar platform services to extend the service offerings to business-to-business customers with fleet management services, including location and vehicle follow up and extensive reporting through portals and mobile apps. The solution offers complete fleet services but is also designed

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) has published a new fact sheet, Connected Vehicle Applications: Safety. This fact sheet includes a brief description of the connected vehicle safety applications that are currently in development or under consideration. The ITS JPO's connected vehicle research aims to tackle some of the biggest safety, mobility, and environmental challenges in the surface transportation industry. Connected vehicle saf

The average UK driver is currently being outsmarted by their own car, according to new research. The survey of 1,000 British car owners, carried out by BookMyGarage.com, found that 73per cent don’t understand how to use all of the high tech gadgets and safety features in their vehicle. This is despite over half of British adults admitting they were sold on the car they bought because of the features it offered.

UK haulier KBC Logistics, which operates a 120-strong fleet of 44-tonne articulated trucks, has introduced a risk management initiative underpinned by Webfleet, the TomTom Telematics fleet management platform, which it says has helped improve the safety of its drivers by cutting instances of speeding by 95 per cent. The OptiDrive 360 indicator in Webfleet scores drivers based on a range of key performance indicators and KBC are using daily colour-coded (red, amber, green) reports to help identify areas f

TomTom is to launch its traffic service in Hong Kong, which it says is the fourth most densely populated metropolis in the world, with 7.2 million inhabitants. TomTom provides accurate traffic information for highways, major roads and secondary roads in 48 countries. TomTom Traffic includes congestion forecasting, which indicates whether a jam is growing or dispersing, and estimates how long a delay will last. According to TomTom data, the busiest hour of the day for traffic in Hong Kong is between 8a

Evidence provided by a telematics device has resulted in a suspended prison sentence for a motorist who ploughed into a pedestrian walking home from a Christmas celebration on 12 December last year, says anti-motor fraud unit, APU. The driver admitted the incident, as well as perverting the course of justice after he failed to stop after the incident and later denied responsibility. Other charges included failing to report an accident.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has given the latest sign that the iPhone maker is planning an assault on the car industry, saying there is a ‘massive change’ in the market, according to the Telegraph. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's WSJDLive conference this week, Cook talked of the growing importance of software in the car of the future, the rise of autonomous vehicles and the shift from an internal combustion engine to electrification. "It would seem like there will be massive change in that industry, mass

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) has selected TransCore to lead the initial design of its recently announced Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program. When deployed, this project will integrate TransCore’s TransSuite traffic management system technology with an in-vehicle device to further improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and improve pedestrian safety.