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The European Union provide €1.4 million from the TEN-T Programme a project to maximise road and tunnel safety on the planned Stockholm bypass in Sweden. The project forms part of the Nordic Triangle railway/road axis (TEN-T Priority Project 12), will help ensure safety on the new route. The project was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call. The work will cover important safety and security studies and tests for the Stockholm bypass, which will feature 18km of tunnels. These studies aim to pr

The development of social media could be behind a drop in car usage by young adults, according to new research. Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid, the Dutch knowledge institute on mobility management, found that people in their twenties in the Netherlands, as well as in Norway, Sweden, the US, England, Germany and Japan, are making less use of cars. They say the burgeoning popularity of social media often makes it less important for people to be physically present, and because young adults tend settle

Over US$ 700 million (MAD 6bn) has been released for the construction of a 172km motorway between Berrechid-Beni and Mellal in Morocco. The new highway will feature two toll booths and three rest areas. Although delays are expected, the project is due for completion in 2014. The first stretch in the Tadla-Azilal area is due for completion in June 2013. This motorway is said to form a key part of the 2008-2015 Morocco roadmap. It is funded by a loan from the Chinese government, by the European Investment Fun

Five-year notes have been issued by China-based Shaanxi Province Highway Construction Group to raise USD$476.57 million (CNY 3bn). Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China Development Bank will be the joint lead underwriters for the notes issue, launched on Monday January 14, 2013, with the latter also acting as a bookrunner. Of the total proceeds, $127.08 million (CNY 800mn) will be used as working capital. A further $111.2 million (CNY 700mn) will be used as project investment, and $238.28 million (CNY

Fiat Industrial says it has completed its new leadership team after making the final two appointments to its Group Executive Council. The appointment of Lorenzo Sistino as Iveco brand president, and Oddone Incisa, as president, financial services, follows a senior management shake-up which began in November 2012 aimed at enhancing the ‘operational integration’ of Fiat Industrial and CNH Global. Having worked for Fiat companies in various roles since 1987, Sistino was most recently head of commercial vehicle

The authorities in India and Sri Lanka are targeting drink driving in a bid to cut crashes. Both countries have high road accident levels and with high annual fatality rates. In a bid to reduce the annual death toll, similar actions are being taken in both nations that focus on tackling drink driving. Data from Sri Lanka show that in 2012, there were 2,190 reported road-related fatalities and of these, negligence and drunk-driving were the main causes of crashes. But despite increased enforcement of traffic

In the UK police are finally to be issued with a new drug testing kit. This development follows trials of testing technology able to detect the presence of illegal drugs using samples from drivers. The kit that has been approved by the UK authorities can analyse a mouth swab for traces of cannabis. Systems capable of determining the presence of other drugs are in development at present. This new kit for checking on the presence of cannabis will be used at police stations, and does away with the need to have

Official figures from Japan reveal an improving situation with regard to road safety. According to data from the Japanese National Police Agency, traffic accident fatalities in 2012 fell 4.4% compared to the previous year. There were 4,411 deaths on Japan’s roads, the first time the annual road fatality rate has dropped below 4,500 since 1951. There has also been a noted drop in the numbers of fatalities related to people driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) at 252, the lowest this has been since 19

Using experience gained during the European Commission’s PILOT4SAFETY project, FEHRL is organising a training course from 4th–8th March 2013. This course is dedicated to audits and safety inspections and will be held at the FEHRL offices, boulevard de la Woluwe 42, 1200 Brussels. This training, structured into three modules: Basics in Road Safety Engineering, Road Safety Auditing and Road Safety Inspection, will focus on the secondary road networks. It is intended for designers and managers wishing to expan

A grant worth US$18.33 million from the Chinese Government has helped fund work in neighbouring Nepal. The funding has been used to develop the road connection stretching from Syprubesi to Rasuwaghdi in Nepal. The 5.5m wide road is a single track connection measuring 16km long and features a tarmac surface. The Syprubesi-Rasuwaghadi road was opened officially on December 27th 2012 and the construction work took 30 months to complete. The road now makes it possible to reach Kerung in China, some 20 km far fr

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A total of US$1.01 billion (MXN 12.91bn) will be allocated from Mexico’s 2013 federal budget for 783 road work projects across 31 states. Chiapas will receive the largest amount at $73.64 million (MXN 940mn) for 64 projects-; followed by Guerrero’s $69.8 million (MXN 891mn) - and Hidalgo $63.92 million (MXN 816mn). The road work projects do not include any works planned for Mexico City.