News

UK company, CA Traffic has combined their Evo8 ANPR camera and Black Cat traffic monitoring technology to provide weigh in motion (WIM) and speed violation detection with high quality ANPR data. Both systems are configured with the local classification scheme, maximum road speed, vehicle speed and weight limits by class. Vehicle data (class, speed and weight) is sent from the Black Cat system to the EVo8, which checks for compliance with the data set for the road.

Swedish company, Sensys Traffic is to supply red light enforcement systems to the Royal Oman Police to boost traffic monitoring system in the city of Muscat, as part of a three party agreement with the police and its local partner, Trifoil. In a contract worth US$3.6 million, systems will be installed at complex crossroads in the city, using the company’s new RS242 radar to monitor violations, identify lanes and classify vehicles.

In China, Yunnan Investment Holdings Group and BYD have announced their intention to open new-energy vehicle manufacturing plants in Yunnan Province, expanding BYD’s EV and new-energy businesses into southwest China and neighboring Asian countries. The BYD-Yunnan cooperation will be developed in three stages, with BYD initially supplying Yunnan Investment Holdings

TagMaster, Swedish producer of advanced RFID solutions for railway applications, has received additional orders for the XT-3HD long-range RFID reader from Trafikverket (the Swedish Rail Administration), following successful field testing. The RFID readers are to be installed as part of Trafikverket’s nationwide system for tracking railway goods wagons on the main Swedish rail network. The XT-3HD long-range RFID reader is the heavy-duty model of TagMaster’s XT-series of UHF readers and is fully EPC Gen 2 (IS

TomTom Business Solutions, supplier of GPS and fleet management solutions, has announced an incentive program in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help New York commercial and government fleet operators improve fleet productivity and fuel efficiency. In partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, NYSERDA is providing US$250,000 in funding toward this program which allows participating New York State businesses to receive special

German traffic solutions manufacturer, Jenoptik, which has already successfully installed systems in several Middle East states, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, is to equip a further 600 sites in Oman with their latest speed and red-light monitoring systems. They will also provide assistance with planning, carry out training, upgrade existing systems, supply and install software for an efficient incident processing centre and support the commissioning process.

Members of the Slovak Parliament are assessing the new EU regulation which introduces the electronic safety chip as part of the mandatory car equipment from 2015. The chip is intended to save lives of car accident victims, as it will automatically call the rescue service in case in the event of a serious crash, relaying the time and place of the accident and exact location of the vehicle.

Ontario-headquartered Pelmorex Media, parent company of The Weather Network and MétéoMédia, has acquired Beat The Traffic, Californian provider of vehicle traffic reporting solutions for broadcast media and consumers. The acquisition gives Pelmorex Media a significant boost to its expertise in traveller information and access to technology and patents that will enhance the services that will be provided by Travelers Network, to be launched in late October. Travelers Network will be established as its own d

An traffic management solution to reduce queues and congestion around Barnsley, UK, designed and deployed by Siemens, has been selected as one of three finalists for the Highways Magazine Excellence Awards, Congestion Reduction Scheme 2012. Celebrating excellence and achievement, the award recognises traffic management schemes where innovation, design, technology, and changes to driver behaviour have improved traffic flow for road users. Award winners will be announced and presented at a special ceremony in

US headquartered Peek Traffic Corporation has announced that its VideoTrak-IQ video-based vehicle detection system has been approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). VideoTrak-IQ combines multi-channel viewing, easy set-up and multiple individual zone settings, and offers the ability to conveniently modify the configurations of up to 26 detection zones per channel. The colour camera delivers the powerful option of lens control over the coax. Zoom and focus settings can be controlled from

The United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) has announced a series of webinars for its Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS) program. The webinars will review the conclusions of an extensive benefits/cost analysis, three draft concepts of operations devised by the program to describe Transformative Concepts, as well as a summary of the results of an eco-approach field experiment. The webinars are free and open to the public, but interested attendees need to re

GreenRoad, provider of driver performance management for fleets, has partnered with fleet GPS tracking provider, GPS Insight, to offer fleet tracking capability, as part of the GreenRoad driver performance management service. GreenRoad will integrate the GPS Insight solution and offer it to customers as GreenRoad Advanced Tracking. “The comprehensiveness, flexibility, and effectiveness of the GPS Insight service are truly impressive. Now, with the GPS Insight partnership, we can offer the tools to also c

Following the introduction of its real-time online bus tracking system, Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) in California has launched a new free app for iPhone and Android that enables passengers to track any bus approaching a bus stop. RT’s online real-time bus tracking allows RT call center specialists and passengers to view the location of any bus moving in real time on a virtual map and sign up for email or text alerts telling them when the bus has arrived at a given stop. According to Mike Mattos of Sa

New research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service indicates that production of passenger vehicles (cars and light trucks) rose from 74.4 million in 2010 to 76.8 million in 2011, and 2012 may bring an all-time high of 80 million or more vehicles. Global sales of passenger vehicles increased from 75.4 million to 78.6 million over the same period, with a projected 81.8 million in 2012. The major driver of increased production and sales are the so-called emerging economies, e

The Autostrade led Ecomouv consortium is developing the next big system of truck tolling likely to be introduced in Europe – France’s ‘Eco-tax’. Jon Masters reports. Since October last year, a consortium of companies has been working on developing the technological and administrative systems necessary for a national system of truck tolling in France. Eco-tax, France’s truck toll, is not necessarily going to be implemented. The Ecomouv consortium has been set up as a long term concessionaire, but so far only