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Enhancements to the Digital Ally DVM-250Plus Video Event Data Recorders (VEDRs) now enable the recorder to utilise up to eight different cameras while maintaining a dual recording feed. Users can customise the automatic record triggers to activate specific cameras, providing the best angle for each type of event while minimising video file sizes and making current or post-event review easier. The automatic trigger can also activate the integrated monitor hidden behind the glass of the rear-view mirror, esp

Toyota is to equip all of their Toyota Land Cruiser V8, Grand Prius+ Lounge version, Prius Solar Premium version cars sold in Belgium with traffic information for their in-car systems on DAB, powered by traffic and mobility information provider, be-mobile, and using the RTBF DAB network in French-speaking Belgium and the VRT DAB network in Flanders. The company says DAB represents a major industry advancement for real time traffic information; larger traffic data volumes can be processed which ensures more

Vehicle manufacturers have targeted 2015 for the first cars to roll off European assembly lines fitted with operational V2X technology. They and their partners in the Car 2 Car Communications Consortium are confident of meeting the target, reports Jon Masters. Around three years from now vehicles should be appearing in showrooms boasting the capability of communicating with each other. Manufacturers will have started fitting the first proprietary car-to-car driver-aid safety devices and deployment of ‘vehic

UK-based metric parking is to supply a further twenty-seven of their Elite pay and display parking machines for an extension to a parking project in a suburb of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The order follows the shipment of eighty-two similar machines last year to the city of Petaling Jaya and brings the total number of Metric machines in Malaysia to more than 1,000. Metric Group export manager Mike Hewett praised the part played by the Metric Group’s Malaysian distributor My One Solution, and said:

The Municipality of Randers in Denmark is using Bluetooth technology from Danish company Blip Systems to improve traffic flow in the city. Consultancy company Cowi developed the Cowi CitySense system using BlipTrack sensors from Blip Systems. The popularity of Bluetooth technology makes it ideal for traffic monitoring, as increasing numbers of drivers use Bluetooth-equipped headsets or hands-free systems for their mobile phone. Small boxes with built-in Bluetooth sensors monitor traffic on a 2.5 km long st

A recent study by the University of Minnesota found strong support for automated speed enforcement, particularly in work zones and school zones and if revenues from fines are dedicated for road safety programs. Presenting the findings, Frank Douma, associate director of the State and Local Policy Program in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs said automated speed enforcement has been deployed in fourteen states and in many countries, especially in Europe. Automated speed enforcement is proven to be an ef

Bus passengers in London can now use their use their contactless debit, credit or charge card to touch in on the yellow Oyster card readers and pay the single Oyster fare on any of London's 8,500 buses. Introducing the scheme, Transport for London (TfL) says the new payment option will also be good news for the approximately 36,000 people per day who board a bus and find they have insufficient pay as you go balance on their Oyster to pay for their journey as they will be able to use the other card they may

A number of new and highly significant open road tolling schemes have just been launched or are soon to ‘go live’. Systems of road user charging are flexing their muscles as the means to solve politically sensitive transportation problems, reports Jon Masters. Gothenburg, January 2013, will be the time and place for the launch of the next city congestion charging scheme in Europe. In a separate development, Los Angeles County’s tolled Metro ExpressLanes began operating in November 2012 – the latest in a ser

A decision on mandating connected vehicle technology is expected in 2013, when associated political issues such as privacy are likely to come to the fore. Pete Goldin investigates industry’s preparations for the challenge. Once in a while new technology comes along with the power to revolutionise the way we live our lives. Connected vehicle technology could be such a game changer. If mandated in the United States, it could quickly become the status quo for transportation in the US, and such a disruptive cha

A new report from ITS America, Smart Parking and the Connected Consumer, looks at the size of the parking industry and the smart parking opportunities for facility operators and municipalities. The parking industry, defined as parking facility management, billing and collection, enforcement, and other ancillary services, is a US$24-25 billion dollar industry. The commercial parking lots and garages industry includes about 3,000 companies with combined annual revenue of more than US$8 billion. The parking cu

The Chilean subsidiary of Canadian highway traffic management technology company International Road Dynamics (IRD) has been awarded a major contract state of the art weigh in motion (WIM) and related control equipment to a customer in Paraguay. The contract, valued at around US$3.6 million, was awarded to PAT Traffic and also includes a central control centre connected to all the weigh stations to provide real-time station management and statistical reporting. It is anticipated the project will be completed

Israel-headquartered HTS, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and computer vision systems specialist has been awarded a patent for its license plate character recognition systems by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent covers HTS's system for providing automatic character recognition and specifically, the multi-level neural network based characters identification methods and system. According to HTS, its systems enable precise, reliable, fast and automatic identification of characters on site and

Sensys Traffic has obtained an order worth more than US$200,000 for mobile speed monitoring systems for a new market in the Middle East. Sensys says their mobile speed enforcement systems are very compact and versatile, containing a radar, a processing and data storage unit and a digital camera. The system is non-intrusive and requires no in-road sensors. The equipment is ideal for in-vehicle operation or may be installed on a tripod. "The Middle East is our second home market, where we have previously del

John Horsley will hang up his hat as executive director of AASHTO in February 2013. After 14 years at the helm, he will bow out convinced of the current and future benefits of ITS for US transportation. Alot of exciting career opportunities still await young engineers in US transportation, says John Horsley, outgoing executive director of AASHTO – the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials. Horsley will be dedicating more of his time to matters of ITS after he stands down in Februa

In August this year, Tracy Marks took over the presidency of TransCore, succeeding John Simler, who has moved on to other roles within parent company Roper Industries. A 19-year veteran of the company, Marks describes himself as having been groomed for the job. Previously responsible for TransCore’s Southern region in the US, he also took on a series of roles, including the top job at United Toll Systems, as part of moves which were carefully choreographed to prepare him for where he is now. The appointmen

A Siemens type C940ES traffic controller, part of a shipment to the Glückstein district of Mannheim, was also the 25,000th traffic controller of the series. The controllers will be used to upgrade traffic signal control at all junctions in Glückstein, and is specifically designed to meet the requirements for controlling 40-volt LED (light-emitting diode) lighting equipment, which saves up to 90 per cent of the energy consumed by conventional bulbs. The high safety level of the controllers installed in Mannh

The European Union is to co-finance a project to electrify a 58 km section of British rail infrastructure with US$6.5 million from the TEN-T Programme. The project, which was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call, is part of the Railway/road axis Ireland/United Kingdom/continental Europe TEN-T Priority Project 26, and will bring considerable benefits to rail traffic in the area. The project consists of the works necessary to install a 25kV AC overhead electrification line on a 58 km single

According to a new market research report, published by US-headquartered global market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets, the smart transportation market expected to reach more than $102.31 billion by 2018, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.6 per cent. The report, Smart Transportation Market - by Solutions (Ticketing Management, Parking Management, Passenger Information, Traffic Management), Services (Traditional, Advanced, Software) Worldwide Analysis and Forecasts (2012 - 2018)

Recently launched by Eberle Design (EDI) the MMU2-16LEip and MMU2-16LE SmartMonitors fully comply with the recently updated NEMA TS2-2003 (R2008) Standard for Traffic Controller Assemblies, Amendment No. 4-2012. This new standards update defines Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) operation for both the controller unit and the MMU. EDI says it is also very proud to be the first MMU manufacturer to be fully conformant to the new NEMA standard and MUTCD requirements. The new SmartMonitor series is designed to monitor

In an effort to reduce the increasing number of road traffic accidents and fatalities on the region’s roads, and following extensive testing, the Kurdish Ministry of the Interior has awarded a contract for 300 mobile PoliScan speed enforcement systems to Vitronic Machine Vision Middle East and their local partner Safetico. Using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to detect speeding vehicles, PoliScan speed enforcement systems can detect multiple incidents over several lanes, and can detect vehicles which a