News

On 10 November, the European Parliament’s Transport Committee adopted its report on sustainable urban mobility. FIA Region I welcomes the balanced outcome, which acknowledges that diverse local situations must not be decided upon in Brussels. Jacob Bangsgaard, FIA Region I Director General, said: “With the population in European cities growing by 2 million each year, policymakers need a clear strategy to bring about the mobility solutions that can meet the needs of city residents. Intelligent Transport

TRL, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory, has developed proposals for technical requirements and test procedures for the European type-approval of eCall in-vehicle systems. The draft proposals, which were developed for the European Commission, provide recommendations on the safety requirements for eCall systems in preparation of the mandatory European roll-out in 2018. Following the publication of eCall Regulation (EU) 2015/758 in May 2015, TRL was commissioned by the European Commission to develop dr

The forthcoming Highways UK event at the ExCel in London on 25 and 26 November will debate the future of smart roads, what they will look like and whether they are actually needed, along with in-car robotics and communication with intelligent infrastructure. Daniel Ruiz, Managing Director at Imtech Traffic and Infra UK will be debating the many cultural and social challenges of intelligent transport systems with Isabel Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport at the GLA and others in an agenda-setting Highway

European safety organisation Euro NCAP is introducing a new test that will check how well vehicles autonomously detect and prevent collisions with pedestrians, which it says will make it simpler for consumers and manufacturers to find out which systems work best. According to Euro NCAP, independent analysis of real world crash data in the UK and Germany indicates that the deployment of effective autonomous emergency braking systems on passenger cars could prevent one in five fatal pedestrian collisions.

Star Systems International, an RFID solution provider with a focus on technical implementation and support, has renewed its exclusive distribution agreement and entered into a cooperation agreement with Infinity RFID. This partnership helps Star Systems International bring customer-focused products and solutions to the North American access control market, while maintaining a high level of personalised technical support. Los Angeles-based Infinity RFID has an excellent reputation in the market for provid

According to a new research report from analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 4.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5 percent, this number is expected to reach 9.7 million by 2019. In Latin America, the number of active fleet management systems is expected to increase from 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, growing at a CAGR of 14.6 percent to re

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has launched its position paper, Improved Signage for better Roads: An ERF Position Paper towards improving Traffic Signs in European Roads, which is aimed at a broad range of stakeholders and seeks to identify key actions that ERF and its members believe should be prioritised so that traffic signs can continue serving the needs of Europe’s road users. Vertical signage is an essential element not only of a modern and well-maintained road infrastructure, but also o

In the first project of the ‘digital A9 motorway test bed’ to show how vehicles on a motorway can share hazard information, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Fraunhofer ESK and Nokia Networks have carried out a real-time demonstration of communication between vehicles via the Deutsche Telecom LTE cell network. The project, which aims to improve road safety and traffic management, involved upgrading Deutsche Telekom's existing LTE network at sections of the A9 motorway test bed with Nokia Networks’ mobile e

Spain’s highway agency and technology company Sistemas y Montajes Industriales are developing unmanned drones to monitor traffic on public highways and may have drones ready to come into operation from next year, according to Euroweekly News. Alberto de Laorden, the director of Sistems, was at the Seventh National Road Safety Congress in Valencia and confirmed that the prototype is on course to be ready by next year. Laorden spoke about the advantages of the aircraft at the Congress, “Much cheaper tha

D’Artagnan Consulting has been retained by California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as the prime contractor to assist the Caltrans with formulation, design, management and implementation of the California Road Charge Pilot Program. A key element of the program is the California Road Charge Pilot Project, which will demonstrate and evaluate an operational road charge system with 5000 volunteer vehicles from summer 2016 to spring 2017.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government is to carry out a smart parking trial in part of Manuka starting in the first quarter of 2016. UK company Smart Parking will deliver the project using its SmartPark solution and construction is to begin in early November. A successful review of the pilot could then see further sensors installed across the rest of the city. The initial year long contract will see Smart Parking deploy 460 in-ground sensors which use infrared technology to detect when a park

UK start-up Cuvva intends to change the way we think about driving cars owned by other people, in the event of needing short term car insurance. Launched in October, Cuvva is a short term car insurance app that allows drivers to get fully covered any car in the UK for as little as an hour. The Cuvva app is available for iPhones operating iOS 8.1 and above. Once registered UK drivers aged between 21 and 65 years old can get fully covered for between one hour and twenty four hours, providing they have

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Strategies for Driver Monitoring Systems in Europe, indicates that, as the loss of driver attention due to fatigue or drowsiness is a common cause of road accidents worldwide, there is a clear need for driver monitoring systems (DMSs) globally. DMSs can analyse driver behaviour or detect patterns tending towards micro-sleep to issue appropriate warnings and help revive the driver’s focus. Several original equipment manufacturers (O

Daktronics is to supply the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit with 630 digital rail platform displays, to be installed by the July 2017. The multi-coloured LED displays, part of the subway system's Public Address Customer Information System (PACIS), will feature next train arrival and destination information as well as graphical information. A text to speech function aids visually impaired transit riders with clear and easy to access messaging. According to Daktronics,

A UK enforcement expert and the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) have branded as ‘unhelpful’ the proposal by Olly Martins, Police Commissioner for Bedfordshire to use money from speed camera fines to fill a shortfall in police funding. Martins told the Home Affairs Select Committee that the force was ‘stretched to the limit’ and said, "We’ve extensively lobbied the Home Office for fair funding but they haven’t listened and the Chancellor's spending review at the end of the month means we face more c