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Research from a UK insurance company that provides vehicles with black box, telematics technology throws a light on what causes crashes. According to the firm, Insure The Box, its analysis of around 5 billion km of driving data provides a crucial insight. The telematics pioneer uses black box data to target regular speeding culprits and provides safer driving support. According to the firm’s data analysis, drivers who speed more than 20% of the time increase their risk of having an accident by 87%. Meanw

Worrying figures have been revealed regarding the UK’s road casualty rate for the last 12 months year ending on June 2016. There were 1,800 reported road fatalities during this period, a 2% increase from the 1,770 recorded for the previous year. However, this increase may come from a combination of factors that have come about by chance, rather than any specific change. The killed or seriously injured casualties (KSIs) increased by 3% to 24,620 compared with the year ending June 2015. This change is s

A high road casualty rate in Myanmar has been revealed by the latest official data. In the period from January-September 2016, nearly 3,500 people were killed in road crashes in the country according to figures released by the police. The data shows that there were 11,970 reported crashes, which caused 19,095 injuries and a total of 3,480 fatalities. If the current crash rate continues, then the numbers of incidents, injuries and road deaths will most likely exceed those recorded in 2015. Myanmar has amongs

Illinois tollway has outlined its budget plans for 2017. The agency expects toll revenues to hit US$1.38 billion for 2017. The plans in the tentative budget call for 75% to be directed to develop infrastructure. Some $336 million will be used for operations and maintenance while $639 million will be used for capital investments. The combined figures planned in the tentative budget for operations and maintenance and capital investments represent an increase of $14 million over the combined sum for 2016. A

Estonia is developing plans to use recycled shale ash in road construction. Energy firm Eesti Energia is working on developing technical standards for the use of shale oil ash in road building. The firm expects to take 12 months to develop the necessary standards, with the use of the material due to commence in 2017. Eesti Energia claims that shale ash offers excellent binding properties, which suits its use in road building. A number of test projects have been carried out for Eesti Energia using the materi

After several years of declining numbers of road crashes and improving safety statistics, the Netherlands is seeing an increase in road fatalities. Research by Dutch insurance umbrella body Verbond van Verzekeraars reveals that the number of crashes in the country is now increasing once more. During 2015 there were 502,000 personal claims following road crashes in the country, coampred with 462,000 in the previous year. Meanwhile the road fatality rate increased from 570 in 2014 to 621 in 2015. Similarly, t

Indonesia is setting a massive infrastructure budget in place. Some US$29.52 billion will be invested in infrastructure under the 2017 budget. The country is planning to construct around 550km of new bridges and 9,400km of new roads.

Malaysia’s road safety record is worsening with an increase in road fatalities in 2015. There were 6,706 road deaths in Malaysia during 2015, compared with 6,674 in 2014. The country has been taking some measures to reduce the casualty toll but has not managed to halt the increase in road deaths/year. In 2015 the number of road crashes reached 489,606, growing by 2.8% compared with 2014. Of the road deaths in 2015, 62% (3,816) were of powered two wheeler riders (387 deaths were of pillion riders). The in

Germany has made a U-turn on its controversial proposals to allow private investment into the administration of the Autobahn network. The proposals had attracted a great deal of political criticism and had become the subject of some debate. Proposals may yet allow private investors to take stakes in motorway construction projects. The country has a substantial backlog of road projects. The suggestion to allow private investment into Autobahn projects has come following discussions between the Federal Govern

Angola’s high rate of road crashes is costing lives. Official data reveals that 2,189 people were killed in road crashes over the first nine months of 2016. Meanwhile 8,518 were injured in 8,452 road crashes in this period. However there is some overall improvement in road safety in Angola as the fatality rate for this time period is 827 lower than first nine months of 2015. In addition, the number of crashes dropped by 3,453 while the number of injuries fell by 3,443, showing that the country’s road safety

Plans are being drawn up in Malaysia for a major bridge project, which will boost transport links and economic development for the region. The project looks likely to be run under the public-private partnership model. The bridge will link Sabah and Labuan and will be at least 10km long. A Chinese firm has reportedly shown an interest in carrying out the project and is evaluating possible financing options. The bridge will form part of the Pan-Borneo highway project when it is complete, an important road lin

Construction software solutions provider Bentley Systems announced that its OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition will be available from December. OpenRoads CONNECT Edition is the successor to Bentley’s civil engineering brands InRoads, GEOPAK, MX, and PowerCivil. OpenRoads Designer is a multi-discipline 3D modeling application for roadway projects from conceptual design through construction stages. Bentley Systems said that it “blends traditional engineering workflows for plan, profile and cross-section

The contract for a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) has been awarded in the US state of Virginia. The project will cost close to US$100 million and will be built in Stafford County. The contract will be handled by Shirley Contracting Company, of Lorton. The new DDI facility will replace the existing Interstate 95/Route 630 (Courthouse Road) interchange. The aim of the project is to increase traffic capacity as growing vehicle use is expected at this location in the Fredericksburg District. The work will

German transport infrastructure financing company VIFG, which is 100% owned by the German federal government, is to take over the planning and construction of motorways. According to the official website of the VIFG, planning and construction is done mostly be state governments. The VIFG has promised more transparency of road contracts.