News

According to Belgian entrance control company Automatic Systems, the market for automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) systems is set to reach over US$800 million in 2018. Automatic Systems says its ParkPlus and TollPlus barriers for toll and parking applications are fully compatible with the ALPR technology and its mechanical and electronic components can be seamlessly integrated within the robust barrier housing. Designed for highway toll booths, the TollPlus series of barriers offer a wide rang

A US$4.6 million Highways Agency project to boost safety and reduce congestion around key junctions along the A585 south of Fleetwood in Lancashire, UK, is underway. The road is to be widened and improved at two junctions, boosting capacity between Bourne Way and West Drive and providing an additional lane in each direction. Signals at the junction with Bourne Way will improve the safety and ease for drivers joining and leaving the A585. Work on the improvements started on Monday 15 September and is due

A new study published in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook suggests there is a strong case for advanced economies to take advantage of low borrowing costs to increase spending on key infrastructure projects. The study examines the effects of public investment in a large number of countries; it claims that many advanced economies are stuck in a low growth and high unemployment environment and borrowing costs are low. The report says ‘an increase in infrastructure investmen

According to a new research report from analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was four million in Q4-2013. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3 per cent, this number is expected to reach 8.1 million by 2018. In Latin America, the number of active fleet management systems is expected to increase from 1.9 million in Q4-2013, growing at a CAGR of 16.1 per cent to reach 3.9 million in 2018. The top t

A new report, A Vision for Transport Planning, has been produced and published by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and the Transport Planning Society (TPS), setting out the key role transport planning can play in meeting the pressing challenges the nation will face over the next 20 years. Taking a view to 2035, the report focuses on how the UK can benefit to the greatest extent possible from transport planning’s unique influence – ranging from its major impact on national economi

TomTom and Volkswagen Group Research have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join forces for the development of highly automated driving (HAD) systems. Their aim is to jointly develop the digital map that is essential for automated driving by combining TomTom’s expertise in map content and map making with Volkswagen’s know-how of the car and automated driving. The map that is used today for navigation, including geometry, street names, and addressing, is not sufficient for the future needs of a

According to road safety engineer Alan Vass of the Traffic and Road Safety section of Ayrshire Roads Alliance in Scotland, LED road studs have contributed to a 100 per cent reduction in incidents on a stretch of the A719 road in the county. Vass says the active studs, which use LED and solar technology to create delineation shown to be far more effective than traditional retro-reflective studs, could hold the key to a brighter future. He said: “There had been a number of accidents on the A719 near Wat

Mercedes-Benz is to begin testing its autonomous cars on a unique site in California, at the Contra Costa Transportation Authority Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS), the largest test bed site in the US. Since mid-September the company has also held an official licence, issued by California, to test self-driving vehicles on public roads. The additional testing opportunities provided by the CNWS site will enable the company to significantly expand the scope of its research activities. With a test ar

New South Wales Minister for Roads and Freight, Duncan Gay, has announced that speed cameras in ten locations across NSW are to be removed as soon as any safety works such as additional signage, barriers and markings and that work has been finished. Gay said in a statement that the government is keeping to a statement that it made while in opposition, and removing any speed cameras that did not add a proven safety benefit. The 2014 Speed Camera Review of the state’s cameras indicates that early result

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has responded to the joint report by the Eno Center for Transportation and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which highlights the benefits of life cycle cost analysis in planning transportation infrastructure projects. Executive director and CEO Pa trick D. Jones said: “We commend ENO and ASCE for issuing an important report, Maximizing the Value of Investments Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis. This report is especially timely

The Jakarta administration is set to kick off a second trial run of the electronic road pricing scheme aimed at helping ease traffic congestion, with the aim of having the system up and running by January 2016. Norway-based Q-Free has set up a gantry with cameras and sensors for the trial run in South Jakarta. The system works by detecting cars passing beneath it, and then remotely deducting a toll from a stored-value card in an on-board unit (OBU) inside the vehicle. OBUs have been installed in 100 car

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)’s chief executive Rob Wallis, attending the United Nations Climate Summit in New York last week, was delighted to be able to pledge TRL’s support to the UEMI initiative, by UN-Habitat. “The UEMI initiative, aimed at substantially increasing the adoption of electric vehicles within urban environments, aligns strongly with TRL’s own strategy and current activities,” Wallis explained. “TRL is actively engaged in leading innovative research programmes to understan