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Cycle-specific traffic signals, which are common in Europe and Australia, are now being introduced in the US alongside the more familiar traditional intersection control signals. At least sixteen US cities, including Austin, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC, have installed the lights, which feature a bicycle-shaped signal, according to an October study commissioned by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The study found that cyclists ca

A new intelligent transport system (ITS) has been launched as part of the Forth Replacement Crossing in Fife, Scotland, to ease congestion on the M90. The motorway management system will create a dedicated bus lane as well as carriageway variable speed limits which will be used during periods of congestion to help smooth traffic flow, reduce congestion and help make journey times more reliable. The system features seventeen new motorway overhead gantries linked to traffic sensors embedded in the carriageway

Historical traffic data provided by TomTom is being used by the local government in Spain’s Basque region to reduce road congestion at less cost. Old habits die hard. Photos from as far back as the 1930s show people counting cars by the roadside in order to provide congestion data to those running road networks. Today, such techniques are still used, albeit augmented by a range of automation technologies such as inductive loops, infra-red sensors and number plate recognition. Even with these advances, howe

A European Commission study report has revealed a lack of consistency or standard practice for evaluating the funding needs and fiscal performance of ITS projects. New guidelines are urgently needed for monitoring public funding of ITS schemes, says a recent report from the European Commission (EC). A specially-commissioned study has found no readily available comparative analysis of transport funding schemes and ITS investment methodologies to support project decision making. A survey of nine EU member sta

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been commissioned by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to undertake a study covering all aspects of road safety within the Sultanate of Oman. TRL’s team of experts will conduct a high level multi-sector assessment of existing road safety activity in the Sultanate. The review will evaluate the Sultanate’s road safety performance, comparing existing activities against best practice across twelve different disciplines including road safety management, safety engineeri

The world’s ITS Associations participated in the ITS World Congress in Vienna, including: New Zealand, which stressed the need for future proof ITS solutions; the Netherlands; Australia called for greater ITS content in road safety strategy; ITS South Africa discussed new strategic opportunities in the country; ITS Nigeria took advantage of the World Congress to stage its global launch; UK ITS professionals were congratulated on their achievements during the Olympic Games by ITS UK; ITS Canada co-hosted a w

Switching from diesel to gas, reducing rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag and introducing more hybrid and electric vehicles are identified as key opportunities for further cutting carbon and improving efficiency in the road freight sector, according to a new report commissioned by the Transport Knowledge Transfer Network (TKTN) and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP). The report, written by Ricardo-AEA for the project partners, focuses on the key technical opportunities, and identifies options

The European Commission has adopted a measure to ensure that by 2015 vehicles can call emergency services in the event of a crash. The Commission wants the life-saving eCall system to be fitted to all new models of cars and light vehicles from 2015. eCall automatically dials Europe's single emergency number 112 in the event of a serious accident and communicates the vehicle's location to the emergency services. According to some estimates, eCall could speed emergency response times by 40per cent in urban ar

The Olympic flame has moved on, allowing review of the relative degrees of London’s 2012 transportation success, how it was done and with what lasting effects. Jon Masters reports. This magazine’s international position provides a good vantage point for assessing impressions left by London’s 2012 Olympic Games. On the whole, it has been only praise and congratulations heard since the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in August and the Paralympics in September. The events looked great and ran smoothly

A new public remote charging service launched in the US by electric vehicle (EV) charging company SemaConnect enables drivers to quickly charge their electric vehicles by simply logging on to SemaConnect with their smartphone. The service can be used 24/7 and does not require drivers to swipe a credit card. EV drivers can access the new feature when visiting a SemaConnect ChargePro station by visiting the SemaConnect website via their smartphone and selecting “start charging now.” They then enter the statio

David Crawford investigates initiatives and issues in travel information for disabled passengers. World Health Organisation estimates suggest that 10% of the global population live with a disability. This can impact directly on their mobility, with implications for their independence; keeping active; and travelling to work, education and social activities; as well as the accessibility of information necessary to aid mobility. The EU-supported ‘CARDIAC’ project (Coordination Action in R&D in Accessible & Ass

Jason Barnes considers the social and ethical ramifications of using in-vehicle safety technologies to fulfil enforcement functions. Although policy documents often imply close correlation between enforcement, compliance and safety – in part, as a counter to accusations that enforcement is rather more concerned with revenue generation – there is a noticeable reluctance among policy makers and auto manufacturers to exploit in-vehicle safety systems for enforcement applications. From a technical perspective t

Comparatively little negative comment has been made in Swedish media with regard to the country’s widespread speed enforcement, according to project manager Eva Lundberg of Trafikverket, Sweden’s Transport dministration. Lundberg is due to give a presentation at the Vienna World Congress special session on enforcement, probably with more than a passing word on public acceptance. Trafikverket has put a lot of work into its Vision Zero road safety strategy over the past few years; much of it targeting reducti

The technical programme of this year’s ITS World Congress in Vienna includes a special session on the image of enforcement. ITS International examines the scale of the problem and what can be done about it. Debate on the merits and difficulties of enforcing speed limits appears centred on a conflict of principles. Put very simply, local communities, people living close to busy or hazardous roads, want to see traffic speeds calmed. Drivers on those roads, on the whole, want their principle of freedom to be m

Operators of public transport systems are arming themselves with sophisticated systems of technology to ward off terrorism threats to passenger safety. David Crawford reports. City transportation authorities worldwide are looking more keenly than ever for mass transit solutions to overcome traffic congestion and manage commuter flows. As they do so, concerns over passenger security are driving development of new technologies for terrorist incident detection, response and emergency passenger evacuation. The

Comtrol Corporation’s RocketLinx ES7106-VB switch enables easy drop-in PoE (power over ethernet) device connectivity in transportation, factory and industrial settings while the VB (voltage boost) technology provides the capability to power the switch from common 12- and 24-volt supplies. Devices such as IP surveillance cameras, scanners and wireless access points within mobile and industrial settings may be integrated without the use of separate 48V power supplies, while four PoE injector switch ports prov

The CAM2M3DS ANPR camera from Netherlands-based Arvoo Imaging Products is an all in one system for automatic licence plate recognition applications. The CAM2M3DS is a fully integrated ANPR camera system, incorporating the camera, illuminator and processor in one compact package. The system contains two 2.3 megapixel cameras, one for colour overview image and one for ANPR and, according to Arvoo, is suitable for urban and rural environments, in all weather conditions.

Rand McNally has announced a new software release for its IntelliRoute TND 510 truck GPS unit that includes updated map data, additional trucking points of interest, and many of the new features from the new TND 720 that was released in June. The software upgrade includes a wide range of new information and features, including fully updated road data with truck-specific information; fully updated data on truck stops and weigh stations; fuel logs; routes around seasonal road conditions, hazard, tolls or cons

Ambassador Bridge, a key transit corridor linking Windsor, Ontario to Detroit and one of the most heavily travelled crossings in the US, is the first organisation in the US to install the 3M ID6204 Multiprotocol Reader, capable of reading all six tolling protocols used in North America. 3M says the ID6204 (formerly Sirit) ensures seamless interoperability regardless of tag type. Exclusive software controlled radio technology enables protocols to be turned on and off remotely with a simple command.

The CAM2M3DS ANPR camera from Netherlands-based Arvoo Imaging Products is an all in one system for automatic licence plate recognition applications. The CAM2M3DS is a fully integrated ANPR camera system, incorporating the camera, illuminator and processor in one compact package. The system contains two 2.3 megapixel cameras, one for colour overview image and one for ANPR and, according to Arvoo, is suitable for urban and rural environments, in all weather conditions.