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Bentley Systems, the specialist in software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has acquired InspectTech Systems, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based provider of field inspection applications and asset management services for bridges and other transportation assets. Among current InspectTech users are federal and state departments of transportation, major transit agencies, toll authorities, counties, cities, and national and local consultants across the United States, as well as a major roadway authority

Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained significant attention over the last few years from various European governments as they look to promote the deployment of EV charging infrastructure. According to new analysis from Frost & Sullivan, contained in 'Strategic Analysis of the European EV Charging Station Infrastructure' there are strong indicators that the EV market will grow from less than 10,000 public charging points in 2010 to close to two million public charging points by 2017. Some three per cent of thi

Public safety officers in Las Vegas, Nevada, are on the air with a 700 MHz Band 14 LTE (Long Term Evolution) solution through a pilot programme to demonstrate the potential of next-generation wireless broadband technology. Harris Corporation is providing Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) the system that delivers the power of LTE through modems installed in department vehicles. The system puts integrated, mission-specific information into the hands of public safety officers who respond to mill

The Victoria Park Tunnel, a significant infrastructure improvement to connect the Auckland harbour bridge to the Central Motorway in Auckland, New Zealand, has deployed a SwiftGate automated lane closure system. At the heart of the infrastructure project is an additional on-ramp built to increase the accessibility of the northbound highway lanes directly from urban downtown streets. This additional access is only available during peak hours when a movable barrier is shifted out, which meant that the ramp en

A French study cliams that nearly one-tenth of car accidents causing bodily injuries are associated with the use of mobile telephones. Compared to drivers who do not have phone conversations while driving, the risk of an accident increases threefold whether a driver is talking directly into a mobile phone or using a hands free kit. At any given moment, it is calculated that roughly six per cent of all drivers are talking on their mobile phones or hands-free kits.

The South Korea Times reports that a government automotive policy advisor suggested that the installation of video data recording devices in all vehicles may be mandatory in the country within a matter of a few years. Kim Pil-soo, professor of Daelim University, said discussions are already underway, led by a special government committee set up last year.

The latest national traffic signal assessment conducted by the US National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC), a group of transportation associations, shows that gradual but steady progress is being made on the management and operation of traffic signals despite continued funding challenges. NTOC has released the 2012 National Traffic Signal Report Card and it scores a modest four point improvement over the 2007 result. The effort to improve the nation’s traffic signal systems is driven by benefits

At a time when there is intense debate about the role of government, a majority of Americans support additional laws and want more action by government officials to improve highway safety, a new survey released yesterday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety claims.

Redflex shareholders rejected the bid by US-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group and Australia's major investment bank Macquarie Group to take over the traffic enforcement products and services specialist. Despite the Redflex board having unanimously recommended acceptance of the offer, which was AU$2.75-a-share, valuing the company at $303.5 million, the bid remained unsuccessful.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Canada’s British Columbia has announced the Greenhouse Gas Reduction regulation that advances the adoption and deployment of natural gas vehicles in BC. The regulation permits a utility to spend up to $62 million on vehicle and ferry incentives, up to $12 million on compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations and up to $30.5 million on liquefied natural gas stations, for a total of $104.5 million.

Ford's industry-exclusive rear inflatable seat belts - one of the 2011 Explorer's breakthrough safety innovations that helped nearly triple the vehicle's March sales - earned the 2011 Traffic Safety Achievement Award from the New York International Auto Show's World Traffic Safety Symposium.

Road tunnels are a particularly dangerous environment. Not only do fires burn more violently in enclosed environments, as happened in the 1999 Mont Blanc tunnel disaster, the low lighting and confined reaction space mean accidents are more likely to happen. Authorities must, therefore, be easily and quickly alerted to accidents, breakdowns and equipment must be working at all time.

International Road Dynamics (IRD) has received a contract valued at approximately US$1.22 million from Canada's Prince Edward Island Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (PEI DTIR). The contract is for the supply, installation, and maintenance of a mainline weigh-in-motion (WIM) sorter system, and will complement the weigh station operation located 1 km east bound of the Confederation Bridge. Installation is scheduled for completion by the end of June 2011.

Euro NCAP (the European New Car Assessment Programme) has awarded the 100% electric Nissan Leaf the highest five star car safety rating following its performance in the independent organisation's stringent crash tests. It is the first electric vehicle ever to earn this distinction.

A day after ITS International published details of a report from The Mobility Collaborative - $4 per gallon gas won't alter driving behaviour, claims national study - the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and Building America's Future (BAF) has released a study which draws the opposite conclusion and predicts that record numbers of Americans will turn to public transportation as a cost-cutting measure in the face of volatile gas prices.