News

Automotive supplier Visteon Corporation, in collaboration with Cohda Wireless, is providing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications equipment for the US Department of Transportation safety pilot program. The project potentially offers significant improvements in driver awareness including collision, hazardous road and curve speed warnings and traffic flow information. The safety pilot program is led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and will integrate 5.9 GHz dedicated short ra

An extensive traffic management systems upgrade is under way in Northamptonshire, where UK company Siemens is supplying Northamptonshire County Council with the latest PC SCOOT urban traffic control system and the recently-launched Siemens InView hosted fault management solution. Subsequent phases of the upgrade will see the existing analogue TC12 outstations replaced by the latest Siemens UTMC compliant UG405 outstations and ultimately the migration to a new hosted traffic management service solution. In

PowerPoint presentations from September’s Connected Vehicle public meeting in Chicago are now available for viewing on the internet. The meeting, which was organised by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO), focused on vehicle-to-vehicle safety, the current safety pilot model deployment, development of a robust vehicle-to-infrastructure environment, connected vehicle deployment strategies, and preparation for NHTSA's 2013 decision. In addition, participants had an opportunit

The city of Albuquerque in New Mexico is to get a new regional traffic management centre according to mayor Richard J. Berry, who has unveiled plans for a brand new facility located at Kirtland Air Force Base. The centre is proposed to be located in the Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center which was relocated onto Kirkland Air Force Base. The City of Albuquerque owned the property, and had been leasing it for a dollar a year to the armed services. “And now”, says the mayor, “the armed services are donating

Japanese motor manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has begun tests of Ha:mo, an optimised urban transportation system. The tests involve TMC and its collaborative allies such as the municipal government of Toyota city, Yamaha Motor, Aichi Loop Line, Nagoya Railroad, Aichi Rapid Transit, Meitetsu Kyosho, Chukyo University, Meitetsucom, Hitachi and Meitetsu Bus. Ha:mo is the name being given to TMC-developed systems that seek to provide user, town, and community-friendly transport support through the

September saw the first Transport Protocol Experts Group (TPEG) Testfest in Munich, Germany, where sixteen organisations active in the provision of TPEG services around the world gathered to carry out three days of intensive testing. Jointly organised by ERTICO and Traveller Information Services Association (TISA), the Testfest follows a series of interoperability test events already organised by ERTICO on various ITS services, such as cooperative mobility and eCall. Tests focused mainly on the implementat

The Moscow region’s first toll road opened on 1 October 2012 on the M4 Don highway. The state-owned company Russian Highways (Avtodor) has invested US193 million to reconstruct the road before introducing the toll system, which it is planned to extend in the future. Car drivers will pay US$0.32 at night and US$0.96 during the day; truck drivers will pay from US$0.48 to US$3.8 depending on vehicle size and time of day. Drivers can pay by cash, credit cards, prepaid contactless smart cards, or via transpond

Following its receipt of an order earlier this year for the supply of supply traffic safety systems and the set up and support of local operations, and following acceptance testing, German traffic systems manufacturer Jenoptik has successfully implemented its automated enforcement system in Malaysia. The system includes the enforcement cameras and back office system; prior to implementation, the complete system was rigorously tested, from the recording of offences and transmission to the back office, to the

Slough Borough Council (SBC) in the UK has joined the growing number of UK local authorities to deploy the latest version of Comet, Siemens’ traffic management and information system. Comet will enable SBC to meet its policy, operational and travel information requirements including the ability to set network strategies. The solution will provide a command and control system for strategic variable message signs (VMS) and car park guidance and will also provide dynamic content to SBC’s planned internet and

IBM and Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board (ESB) are set to work together to deploy more integrated charging IT system for electric vehicles in Ireland. With 1,000 such public charging points now installed around the country, drivers will also be able to access all charging stations using an ID card. ESB Networks, which is currently rolling out the public charge points around Ireland, will be using IBM's Intelligent Electric Vehicle Enablement Platform to operate and manage these charge points. Apparently,

Road Expo, Scotland's largest traffic management and highway maintenance event, opens on 7– 8 November 2012 at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh. Road Expo provides road professionals with the opportunity to see the latest technology and get to grips with the implications of legislative changes. The 2012 show will be packed with features offering visitors the opportunity to network with peers, exchange ideas and discover ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Over one hundred leading suppliers i

Public transport in the northern Indian state of Himachal will shortly benefit from safer travel and a more efficient service, when the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) installs a vehicle tracking system based on GPS on buses in the state. Jointly funded by HRTC and the Indian government, the system will be installed on a total of 2,000 buses and will send real-time information about the location and speed of the vehicle to a central server. This information will be integrated with the passenger

Greece has successfully completed the first tests of its automatic emergency call system, eCall, within the framework of the eCall pilot national research project, a European initiative intended to bring rapid assistance to motorists involved in a collision anywhere in the European Union. eCall uses a device installed in vehicles that will automatically dial 112 (the pre-assigned European emergency number) in the event of a road accident and wirelessly send airbag deployment, impact sensor information and G

Toshiba International is to replace over 20,000 high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lamps in San Antonio, Texas with LED luminaires. The city’s existing 250-watt HPS luminaires consume 310 system watts and are being replaced by Toshiba’s 100-watt 42-chip TGT LED luminaires. According to Toshiba, product durability and low energy consumption means LED lighting provides one of the lowest life cycle costs of any lighting technology.

UK company Ecotricity is to install a network of rapid charging points in motorway service stations around the country enabling an electric car to be recharged in around 15 minutes. Conventional charging points usually take several hours to provide enough power for modern electric cars. With a range of around 100 miles, this has meant the vehicles are largely used for short journeys in towns and cities, limiting their uptake by consumers.