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New Mexico City airport 'the most advanced worldwide'
February 13, 2015
The new international airport being built in Mexico City is "probably the most advanced modern airport project worldwide," Dr Bernardo Lisker, international director of The Mitre Corporation, has said. "This is an enormously important project for Mexico, without which the nation's economy would suffer a bottleneck very soon," said Lisker, who will be discussing the technical vision of the airport at BNamericas' Mexico Infrastructure Summit taking place 18–19 February. "Building the new airport in the
Participants in new phase of global road safety initiative selected
February 13, 2015
Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the winning cities and countries selected to participate in a new phase of the foundation's Global Road Safety Initiative, which aims to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes. With a new commitment of US $125 million over five years, the program will work at both the national level to strengthen road safety legislation and the city level implementing proven road safety interventions. Twenty invited cities participated in the competition with ten c
Crashes affect one in three but drivers continue to take risks
February 13, 2015
According to the AAA Foundation’s latest Traffic Safety Culture Index, too many Americans report that they regularly speed, run red lights, use distracting devices or drive drowsy, despite the fact that one in three have a loved one who has been seriously injured or killed in a crash. The results further find that unsafe behaviour persists even though one in five drivers have themselves been involved in a serious crash, and one in ten has been seriously injured in a crash. These most recent findings from
US, Canada begin trials of truck driver awareness system
February 13, 2015
InterCore Research Canada (IRC) is to pilot a program for the use of its driver alertness detection system (DADS) with 26 trucking companies in the US and Canada. It expects to add a further 44 companies to the pilot in the next few months. DADS is a real-time cloud based monitoring and warning system that can assist in preventing accidents caused by driver drowsiness, lack of alertness or distraction. Using the data collected by the DADS certified camera, the service helps drivers determine if they are
TomTom extends traffic service
February 13, 2015
TomTom has extended its world coverage to 46 countries, with the launch of TomTom Traffic in Greece, Hungary and Slovakia. Traffic congestion levels in Greece are among the highest in Europe. In the Greek capital of Athens, an average commute takes 30 minutes longer during rush hour, according to TomTom Traffic data. In Budapest, commuting by car adds a 26 minute delay during rush hour, while the car industry in Slovakia grew in 2014 with an estimated 970,000 cars manufactured. Volkswagen, Kia and Peug
Copenhagen light rail JV appointed
February 13, 2015
Copenhagen metro operator Metroselkabet has appointed Arup as part of a joint venture with Rambøll to develop the light rail on ring 3 for greater Copenhagen. The new light rail system includes a double track alignment of 27 kilometres and 27 stations with a rolling stock fleet of 27 light rail vehicles. This major project was planned to promote the use of public transport as well as encourage the urban development along the route and the passage across the city to avoid interchanging in the centre.
Florida takes the lead in advancing multistate tolling interoperability
February 13, 2015
Florida is one step closer to meeting national mandate for interoperability, with the announcement that the Florida Department of Transportation has entered into an agreement with Neology, a subsidiary of SMARTRAC Technology Group, for the patents associated with specific licensed products that offer the 6C protocol for electronic toll collection (ETC). “The licence provided through the agreement with Neology allows the Department to implement a variety of strategies to provide toll collection services,”
Siemens to implement motorway junction improvements
February 13, 2015
Siemens is to supply and install traffic signals and controllers for two major junction improvements schemes on the M27 motorway in Hampshire, UK. The contracts, which are funded by the UK government’s US$488 million pinch point scheme, have been awarded by civil contractors Interserve Construction and Jackson Civil Engineering and are intended to help alleviate the flow of traffic joining and leaving the busy M27 junctions 3 and 5. The upgrade work, which is already underway, will see additional lane
IAM shocked by the worst speeders in England and Wales
February 12, 2015
The UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has lifted the lid on the worst examples of excessive speeding caught on safety cameras across England and Wales in 2014. Britain’s two worst speeders were caught at 146mph, both by Kent Police on the M25, one travelling anti-clockwise, the other going clockwise. There were three other recorded instances of speeds of 140mph or more; 145mph on the M6 toll road (70mph limit), 141mph on the A1 Great Ponton Northbound road (70mph limit) and 140mph on the A5 C
Framework for trialling road freight ITS begins in Australia
February 12, 2015
The Victoria Government in Australia is sponsoring a new framework to trial technology on the state’s road network that will improve the operation of heavy vehicles and promote Victoria as Australia’s freight and logistics capital. Minister for Roads, Luke Donnellan, called on the heavy vehicle, freight and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) industries to develop innovative approaches to using intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and associated technology to improve the productivity and safety of ro
Volkswagen chooses TomTom
February 12, 2015
TomTom has announced a multi-year agreement with automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Group to bring its traffic service to their cars across Europe, beginning with Audi and Volkswagen. TomTom is a major supplier of traffic information, with one of the most extensive bases of real-time GPS probes in the world, detecting the actual traffic situation on all roads. According to the company, recent industry benchmarks and awards prove that TomTom Traffic covers more jams with fewer false alerts than its comp
Q-Free reports strong revenue growth
February 12, 2015
Q-Free has reported strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, reflecting a substantial increase in sales within the advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) business following the acquisition of US-based Open Roads by the end of the third quarter 2014 and an increase in product revenues. “In early 2014, we revised our strategy and now aim at creating more leads in the small and mid-sized segments. In Q4, we have made significant progress in this respect. At the same time we succeeded
Report: wireless technologies leave vehicles exposed to hackers
February 11, 2015
New standards are needed to plug security and privacy gaps in cars and trucks, according to a report by US Senator Edward J. Markey. The report, Tracking & Hacking: Security & Privacy Gaps Put American Drivers at Risk and first reported on by CBS News’ 60 Minutes, reveals how sixteen major automobile manufacturers responded to questions from Markey in 2014 about how vehicles may be vulnerable to hackers, and how driver information is collected and protected. The responses from the automobile manufacturer
Stakeholders lobby EU for electrification of transportation
February 11, 2015
Ahead of its discussion on the European Union’s key priorities for the next decade, seven stakeholder organisations from industry, transport and cities have written to the College of the European Commission regarding the creation of a European Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy. They called on the commissioners to focus on the transport sector, which represents about a third of the EU’s overall energy consumption and is almost exclusively dependent on imported fossil fuels. The let
Mixed views on reintroduction of US Wi-Fi Innovation Act
February 11, 2015
US Senators Marco Rubio and Cory Booker have reintroduced S. 424, the Wi-Fi Innovation Act, legislation to expand unlicensed spectrum use by requiring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test the feasibility of opening the upper 5 GHz band to unlicensed use. At a time when demand for spectrum is drastically increasing, the legislation aims to provide more of this valuable resource to the public to bolster innovation, spur economic development, and increase connectivity. According to Rubio,