News

Honda Motor has begun to sell its all-new fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in Japan, the Clarity Fuel Cell; its first-year sales target is 200, mainly through lease sales mainly to local government bodies or businesses Honda has already been working with to popularise FCVs. Making the fuel cell powertrain more compact using original Honda technologies and fitting it entirely under the hood of the car enabled Honda to create an FCV to carry five passengers rather than the usual four. Combined with the improved

The Total Passango e-tag for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which is already accepted in France, Spain, Portugal and the Belgian Liefkenshoek tunnel, will be accepted in Belgium from the beginning of 2017, as part of the new kilometre-based VIAPASS toll system. By the end of 2016, the tag will also be accepted in Austria and on the bridges linking Denmark to Sweden. Passango simplifies toll use and provides HGV drivers with access to electronic toll payment, easier management and additional services, as we

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has launched its annual research review 2014-2015, containing a summary of 18 months of research activity at TRL, along with expert commentary on connected and automated vehicles; electric vehicles; healthy transport; safety and smart infrastructure. It also looks at implications of healthy transport on road networks, infrastructure and planning as the government announces ‘healthy towns’ and provides insight on the future for self-driving cars and their safet

Pursuing goals of zero emission vehicles and zero fatalities on the road, Nissan has unveiled its vision for intelligent mobility, based on safety innovations through autonomous technology such as high-stability control and high-reliability drive systems. At the core of Nissan intelligent mobility are three areas of innovation: Nissan Intelligent Driving spearheaded by Nissan’s autonomous drive technology, Piloted Drive, Nissan Intelligent Power and Nissan Intelligent Integration. Many of these advanc

A village in Derbyshire, UK, is tackling the issue of speeding drivers by installing the latest Swarco Traffic moveable vehicle activated signs (MVAS), lightweight portable signs designed specifically for parish councils to improve road safety and encourage safer driving speeds. Signs are installed at either end of the main road through the village, although there are three pairs of locations where the signs can be placed. Approved for use by Highways England, they are simple to deploy, feature a besp

A new book by Alastair Gollop, senior ITS consultant at Mott McDonald, Traffic Signals, offers a comprehensive guide to traffic signals from first principles and design issues to equipment and testing, commissioning and assessments. In addition, there are sections covering the history and future of signals. Although based on equipment and operating systems utilised in the UK, the principles covered are relevant to users worldwide. Aimed at anyone interested by traffic signals, Gollop says the book assume

Electric vehicle charge-point provider POD Point is to partner with Volkswagen in the UK as their recommended supplier of home and workplace charge points. Anyone purchasing a plug-in vehicle from Volkswagen in the UK will have access to POD Point range of home charge-points and installation services. POD Point will also help get charging stations installed at the customer’s place of work and highlight the benefits that electric vehicles can bring to their organisation.

A UK motorist has escaped a fine and points on his licence after anti-motor fraud specialist, Asset Protection Unit (APU), was able to prove his innocence by analysing the vehicle’s telematics data. The driver, from Wembley, London was accused of speeding in Lincoln in November last year even though the vehicle thought to be involved, a BMW 2 Series, was actually still in Wembley. Police issued the fine of £100 and three penalty points when a vehicle was caught by a fixed speed camera in Lincoln trave

Inrix has completed the acquisition of OpenCar, a US-based automotive software and services provider, in a purchase which enables Inrix to extend its cloud platform into the dashboard with a broad portfolio of third-party content and applications in a customisable automaker-controlled user experience. OpenCar, backed for the last five years by a strategic partnership with Mazda Motor Corporation, offers a white label, standards-based application development environment and framework, fully controlled by

The New Jersey E-ZPass Group has awarded Xerox an eight-year contract to provide a state-of-the-art customer service centre, violations processing and financial back-office services for its E-ZPass System. Once fully operational, drivers will be able to contact support representatives via phone, e-mail, fax, a mobile application, web and online chat functions. Additionally, all customer correspondence will be presented in a single, dynamic dashboard, allowing agents to view past customer information and

New research by ABI Research forecasts that shipments of new cars featuring autonomous parking technologies to grow at 35 per cent CAGR between 2016 and 2026 and for revenues to likewise show growth at 29.5 per cent CAGR. ABI Research identifies three phases of autonomous parking, with each successive stage set to gradually displace the former and all three coexisting to some degree over the next decade. Ultimately, technology will reach a point in which the car parks itself entirely, with no driver assi

Reno A&E (RAE has introduced a new signal monitor recertification program, which provides a new factory two-year warranty, hardware and firmware updates, minor repairs, test report, new warranty label, and a certificate of recertification for any RAE signal monitor less than 12 years old. RAE’s signal monitors are designed to withstand harsh intersection operational environments; to ensure the proper operation of these passive devices when conditions demand they should be periodically tested to ensure

The Vision Show, North America’s largest vision and imaging trade show and conference, will be held in Boston, Massachusetts at the Hynes Convention Center, 3-5 May 2016. Founded by AIA in 1996, The Vision Show provides vision users, system integrators, machine builders and OEMs with access to the latest vision and imaging technologies and applications from nearly over 100 leading manufacturers, distributors and suppliers from around the world. The accompanying conference features in-depth tutorials

US-based electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions provider EV Connect has been awarded a US$1.8 million contract from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to complete key routes of the West Coast Electric Highway, a network of fast charging and Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations that will stretch from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. In addition, EV Connect will provide management of the charging network which includes the charging stations, host locations, electric utility interaction and the

Egis Easytrip Services has expanded its services to transport and logistics clients with the acquisition of Dutch VAT and excise recovery specialist Versluis, which will also enable Versluis’ customers to benefit from Easytrip’s expertise in European electronic tolling, train booking, ferry and tunnels booking and fuel payments. The acquisition enables Easytrip to provide its more than 14,000 HGV (heavy goods vehicle) fleets and 500,000 individual customers with a wide range of services such as electroni