News

A new intelligent transport system (ITS) has been launched as part of the Forth Replacement Crossing in Fife, Scotland, to ease congestion on the M90. The motorway management system will create a dedicated bus lane as well as carriageway variable speed limits which will be used during periods of congestion to help smooth traffic flow, reduce congestion and help make journey times more reliable. The system features seventeen new motorway overhead gantries linked to traffic sensors embedded in the carriageway

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been commissioned by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to undertake a study covering all aspects of road safety within the Sultanate of Oman. TRL’s team of experts will conduct a high level multi-sector assessment of existing road safety activity in the Sultanate. The review will evaluate the Sultanate’s road safety performance, comparing existing activities against best practice across twelve different disciplines including road safety management, safety engineeri

Switching from diesel to gas, reducing rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag and introducing more hybrid and electric vehicles are identified as key opportunities for further cutting carbon and improving efficiency in the road freight sector, according to a new report commissioned by the Transport Knowledge Transfer Network (TKTN) and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP). The report, written by Ricardo-AEA for the project partners, focuses on the key technical opportunities, and identifies options

The European Commission has adopted a measure to ensure that by 2015 vehicles can call emergency services in the event of a crash. The Commission wants the life-saving eCall system to be fitted to all new models of cars and light vehicles from 2015. eCall automatically dials Europe's single emergency number 112 in the event of a serious accident and communicates the vehicle's location to the emergency services. According to some estimates, eCall could speed emergency response times by 40per cent in urban ar

A new public remote charging service launched in the US by electric vehicle (EV) charging company SemaConnect enables drivers to quickly charge their electric vehicles by simply logging on to SemaConnect with their smartphone. The service can be used 24/7 and does not require drivers to swipe a credit card. EV drivers can access the new feature when visiting a SemaConnect ChargePro station by visiting the SemaConnect website via their smartphone and selecting “start charging now.” They then enter the statio

French company Diginext is to supply Lille transport operator, Transpole, with its MobilitX multimodal traveller information system for Lille Central Station. Using the latest European standards for interoperability MobilitX integrates real time information from all traffic and transport systems in the city, to provide full travel information, regardless of the mode of transport.

US-headquartered WABCO has introduced what it says is the next step in advanced driver assistance systems with OnLane technology, a lane departure warning system (LDWS) for trucks and buses. OnLane increases vehicle safety by providing the driver with visual and acoustic warnings or an optional seat-vibration warning, in case of unintentional lane departure, which is one of the most common causes of accidents involving commercial vehicles. OnLane integrates a camera and an electronic control unit into a sin

The twin-bore Hindhead tunnel in southern England has made the A3 London to Portsmouth route safer and more efficient, aided by the large overview video wall and operator consoles installed in the control room by Electrosonic, working with main contractor Balfour Beatty Engineering Services for the Highways Agency. To meet the Highways Agency’s requirement that the control room should operate in a similar way to other traffic control rooms on the major road network, Electrosonic devised a solution based on

The UK Government has announced an investment of £9 million (US$14.4 million) with a further £4 million (US$6.3 million) from industry into a new Energy Storage R&D Centre which will work to accelerate the development of the next generation of batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills hopes that the new centre, which will be based at the University of Warwick, will help the UK to capitalise on the growing electric and hybrid vehicle battery market, which

The government of New Zealand aims to improve road safety in the country by installing more speed cameras nationwide. Currently, the ratio of speed cameras per 100,000 people stands at 1.3 compared to 2.5 and 4.8 in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria respectively. The New Zealand Transport Agency is to be allocated US$8.05 million to increase the number of speed cameras from the existing 55 units to 100 or more by 2015. Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges welcomed plans to increase

Telvent GIT, real-time IT solutions and information provider, is to implement its urban mobility control centre and traffic light installation maintenance service for the city of Castellón de la Plana, Valencia, Spain. The contract includes Telvent’s integrated service management platform, SmartMobility ICM, which will enable coordinated management of all aspects of the city’s urban mobility. Initial focus will be on centralised monitoring of smart traffic infrastructures and traveller information panels, a

In an effort to make their roads as safe as those of Europe, the Sultanate of Oman is investing in enforcement technology. As part of this initiative, the Royal Oman Police has awarded Vitronic a contract to supply 200 fixed speed enforcement systems and 26 red light enforcement systems. Poliscan speed and red light enforcement systems use laser technology to detect the speed and position of vehicles in the enforcement zone, simultaneously detecting multiple violations across several lanes, even in heavy t

Electric vehicle charging company, POD Point, has launched the UK’s first nationwide pay as you go network for electric vehicle charging. The POD Point pay as you go (PP PAYG) network is free to join, has no monthly fee and only requires a refundable £10 balance for account activation. Based on London’s Oyster model, the PP PAYG network will use SMS to access charging points and stop and start charging cycles, providing electric and hybrid vehicle drivers with the first nationwide, card-less charging networ

Georgia’s Department of Transportation’s has upgraded its Advanced Traffic Management System in response to increased traffic density and demands on its transportation infrastructure. New Jersey based-Activu has installed state-of-the-art video wall displays and intelligent network-based visualisation software that integrates with 1,645 video detection cameras, 500 full-colour closed-circuit television cameras, its NaviGAtor II and 511 systems, changeable message signs, Navigator website, and smartphone app

German traffic solutions manufacturer Jenoptik, which has already successfully installed systems in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, is to equip a further 600 sites in Oman with the company’s latest speed and red-light monitoring systems. Jenoptik will also provide assistance with planning, carry out training, upgrade existing systems, supply and install software for an incident processing centre and support the commissioning process. The order, received from Waleed Associates and the