News

One of the largest ever field trials of car-to-X communication (C2X) is getting underway in Germany in a trial that consists of 120 vehicles that will take to the roads of the Rhine-Main region until the end of the year. Each car has a network link to the others, as well as to the traffic infrastructure, and they will keep each other updated about the current traffic situation.

Surrounded by elected officials, transportation engineers, and dignitaries, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday to begin construction of the I-95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia. The project will build 29 miles (46.7kms) of express lanes on I-95 from Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to Edsall Road in Fairfax County, and will connect the I-95 Express Lanes to the I-495 Express Lanes currently under construction to provide a seamless network of new lanes to reduce

Chrysler Group and Sprint have developed a new wireless in-vehicle connectivity experience for the Ram 1500 pickup and SRT Viper. The companies are evolving Uconnect to include a variety of new, easy-to-use connected features and services that are designed to help keep drivers focused on the primary driving task. Chrysler Group has enlisted the network, systems integration and consumer market expertise of Sprint in a strategic partnership designed to seamlessly integrate wireless technology into Chrysler Gr

The Italian Transport Ministry has approved two significant projects aimed at improving public transport links in Palermo, Sicily. The tram project involves the construction of three lines covering a total of 15 kilometres. Work on Line 1 began in 2007 and is scheduled to be open for testing by the end of this year. Line 2 is 30 per cent complete while Line 3, between Cep and Corso Calatafimi, will be the last to be finished.

Altair, a leading provider of simulation technology and engineering services to the world's automakers, has announced what it claims is the automotive industry's first award programme created specifically to acknowledge innovations in vehicle light-weighting, thereby improving fuel economy and performance. The inaugural Altair Enlighten Award, presented in collaboration with the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR), will recognise achievements in weight reduction across the automotive industry from motorcyc

Doha's Qatar Railways Company (QRail) has now awarded contracts for project management and construction for its Doha metro development. Three project managers have been selected and are made up of US firm Louis Berger with French Egis Rail for the Gold Line, US firm Jacobs Engineering for the Red Line and US firm Hill International for the Green Line.

Dutch electronics firm, Philips, is working with the Ministry of Industry in Spain to improve the efficiency of lighting and safety on roads. The collaboration has involved a series of pilot projects and tests on the main roads in Madrid. A kilometre of LED SpeedStar lights with CityTouch control and management systems has been installed on the M11, for example, which links Madrid with Barajas Airport. Initial results indicate that there has been a 67 per cent improvement in energy consumption as a result o

The automotive industry appears to be on the cusp of revolutionary change, which will be engendered by the advent of autonomous or ‘self-driving’ vehicles - and the timing may be sooner than you think, according to a new report unveiled by KPMG and the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR).

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Europe was 2.5 million in Q4-2011. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9 per cent, this number is expected to reach 5.7 million by 2016.

Traffex 2013, the 26th international traffic engineering, road safety, parking and highway maintenance exhibition will take place in Hall 5 at the NEC Birmingham from 16 - 18 April 2013. According to the organisers, the event is set to be one of the largest in its thirty year history, and will once again be co-located with Parkex; Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition. The combined Traffex, Parkex Exhibition will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to see over 500 exhibitors from the worl

GE researchers, in partnership with Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan, are working together to develop a smart, miniaturised sensing system that has the potential to significantly extend the life of car batteries over conventional battery systems used in electric vehicles today.

The Malaysian the government will use over 1,000 cameras to monitor roads nationwide under its Automated Enforcement System (AES) scheme. The programme will see 250 mobile cameras, 566 fixed speed cameras and 265 traffic light cameras being used to monitor the roads. It is claimed that each camera will be able to capture around 600 road offenders daily.

Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.

Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.

Austria-headquartered Kapsch TrafficCom has announced that its subsidiary, Kapsch TrafficCom Canada (KTCC), has made a significant investment in Simex, Integracion de Sistemas, a Mexican systems integration company with 28 years of experience in the Mexican market in the fields of automation and control, toll collection, security and parking systems.