The second stage of the EC’s HeERO project, which aims to address some of the issues surrounding the eCall system, has just got underway. Jason Barnes reports. As the European Commission (EC)’s Harmonised eCall European Pilot (HeERO) project progresses into its second stage, ‘HeERO 2’, significant progress has already been made in addressing the technological and institutional issues relating to the pan-European deployment of an eCall system based around the new ‘112’ universal emergency telephone number.
What price can be put on the value of a life? How much should be spent on preventing untimely deaths? Difficult questions such as these help to put the comparatively small costs of ITS systems into context. While monetary analysis may seem cold and inhumane in consideration of road casualties, death and costly clear-up are often the stark reality transportation authorities are dealing with. This issue of ITS International contains numerous examples of large benefits to be gained from relatively modest inves
New Zealand-based Frogparking is showing a new, GPS-enabled electronic parking permit that gives parking companies more visibility of their customers’ movements. The permit can be scanned by parking wardens to check its validity, while a built-in accelerometer allows the parking company to know exactly when a driver has parked or moved off, enabling precise billing of the time used.
The Inrix Traffic Scorecard 2015, which measures progress in improving urban mobility, reveals strong economic growth and record population levels resulting in London becoming the first city to surpass 100 hours wasted per driver in gridlock.
The report analysed traffic congestion in more than 100 cities worldwide. London topped the list, with drivers wasting an average of 101 hours, or more than four days, in gridlock in 2015. Across the UK, drivers spent 30 hours on average in delays last year, consist
