Highway & Network Management

A survey of more than 200 major global cities shows that commuters in Istanbul experience the worst overall traffic congestion. The average 30-minute drive in Istanbul takes more than an hour during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 125 hours wasted stuck in traffic every year, according to the latest Traffic Index Survey from Tom Tom. However, in Los Angeles, a 30 minute commute in the evening rush hour will take 54 minutes, adding an extra 92 hours annually.

In its latest three-year strategic plan, the European Traffic Police Network has reaffirmed its commitment to the European Union’s road death reduction target of 50% by 2020. World Highways reported last month that road deaths fell by just 1% in the EU in 2014, according to data released by the European Commission. There were 25,700 road deaths across all 28 Member States of the EU. The European Commissioner of Transport, Violeta Bulc said at the time that the statistics give some cause for concern. S

The US-based AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has carried out research revealing shocking figures on young driver distraction. According to video analysis, 58% of moderate-severe crashes involving teenaged drivers in the US include distraction as a causal factor. This figure is around four times than was previously thought based on police reports.

Traffic on an eight-lane road through one of Seoul’s wealthiest districts was disrupted for half an hour by two men sitting in chairs in the middle of the road. It wasn’t a political protest but reportedly a dare agreed by the men, in their 20s, to see who could last the longest sitting in the road, the fashionable Gangnam Avenue. The two men were sitting in the road for half an hour before police arrived to arrest them, Korean media reported. A witness apparently said they didn’t appear afraid of getting h

South Korea’s capital Seoul plans to create dedicated fire truck lanes to ensure traffic congestion and other obstacles don’t interfere with the emergency service. The city council hopes to start work in May to improve access in more than 700 areas of Seoul and the greater city area, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported. Inspections will be carried out to pinpoint the best routes to delineate, from back alleyways – where illegal parking is rife – to main roads where one lane could be set aside for emergenc

When you have only a limited time to visit a large exhibition, such as Bauma in Munich, Germany, you have to move fast to touch base with all people you need to see. There is a video that shows how one man -- obviously he was in training for a while – made the most of his less than 3 minutes at Bauma. The video reminds World Highways’ editorial director Geoff Hadwick that he has been there and done that… in his younger days, at least.

DEELLC’s Heavy Utility Gate, or HUG, is self-contained and solar powered making it suitable for harsh environments. The Hug, which features a 3m reflective arm, has several options to allow access, including radio control key fobs, visor remotes, keyed switch, and a stainless key pad with adjustable gate timing. The key pad offers from 1 to 999-second gate delay and also millions of codes. There is also a long-range intercom with a remote control gate opener operated from the office. The all-steel American-

International Road Dynamics (IRD) will design, supply and install 19 mainline weigh-in-motion systems throughout the US State of Georgia. IRD, based in the city of Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, said the contract is worth US$7.93 million. The deal includes mainline WIM scales on the interstate, at the roadside and in scale houses as well as license plate reading, USDOT number reading, side view cameras and over-height detection systems at 19 weigh station locations. IRD’s systems will c

Traffic accidents in the UK capital London have declined 40% since the introduction of a congestion charge in 2003, according to a new study. The number of accidents per million miles driven in the congestion zone fell to 2.6 accidents per million miles from an average of 12.4 before the introduction of the charge. Researchers at Lancaster University also found a similar fall in the number of people seriously injured or killed. As well, accident rates fell in adjacent areas as a result of fewer motorists dr