News

Safety amongst company vehicle drivers is under the spotlight in the UK following a series of serious accidents. Research undertaken by the UK's Department of Transport into unlicensed driving has found that the time spent by unlicensed drivers on the road is a significant menace to road users. Companies have a Duty of Care to check employee's driver's licences at least every 12 months under the Health and Safety Act.

London's Metropolitan Police Motorcycle Tasking Team is now carrying out a trial of the electric Zero Motorcycle. The Metropolitan police will test the Zero DS (Dual Sport) electric motorcycle and this will be used at its roadside tasking sites, educating on and enforcing correct road behaviour.

Malaysia has set aside a budget worth nearly US$310 to develop five regional corridors in the country. The projects include the construction of a coastal highway linking Nusa Jaya and Johor Baru. Malaysia's Government would also set aside $31.2 billion in all for a series of major infrastructure projects under its Second Rolling Plan (RP2) in 2012 and 2013.

Indonesia will be the partner country of bauma 2013. A memorandum of understanding outlining Indonesia’s role as partner country for the Munich, Germany-based construction trade show was signed at last week’s Conbuild Mining Indonesia event by Djoko Kirmanto, minister of public works of the Republic of Indonesia; Klaus Dittrich, chairman and chief executive of Messe München International; and Walter Hess, the VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau) special envoy for Indonesia. The VDMA trade assoc

Better connected transport will drive economic growth and better protect the environment, according to the Transport Outlook 2012 report on mobility trends produced by the International Transport Forum at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The new influential report was launched by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría during the Annual Summit of Transport Ministers held in Leipzig, Germany. “Transport and technology form the backbone of global trade,” said Gurría at the summ

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a US$151.70million contract to HCC Concessions to expand the NH-8's Vadodara-Surat section into six lanes. The contract, for a 12-year concession period, includes 30 months to construct the new six-lane section. The toll-based project also includes the development of an extra-dosed bridge with four lanes across Gujarat's Narmada River.

The I-95 Corridor Coalition, the University of Maryland and Inrix have announced a three-year extension and expansion of the I-95 Coalition Vehicle Probe Project (VPP), operational since 2008, that uses crowd-sourced traffic data and advanced analytics techniques to turn billions of data points into insights that are transforming the manner in which member states build, manage and measure their road networks.

Researchers at Oxford University in the UK have developed an autonomous vehicle based on a 'Wildcat' vehicle built by BAE Systems. Supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and in collaboration with BAE Systems and Nissan, Professor Paul Newman of Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science, is leading the US$2.2 million research project."Our long-term aim is to enable a new generation of robotic vehicles that can make the roads safer, less congested, cleaner, an

Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute have revealed how texting impairment is even greater than many experts previously believed, and demonstrates how texting drivers are less able to react to sudden roadway hazards.The findings of the study, the first published work in the US to examine texting while driving in an actual driving environment, extend to other driving distractions that involve reading or writing, such as checking e-mail or Facebook, according to the researchers.

The two-lane Shivpuri-Dewas road in India's Madhya Pradesh will be widened to four lanes in a major upgraded project. The work is expected to take 30 months to complete and the work will be carried out on the 332km route by GVK Transportation. The contract is a design, build, finance, operate and transfer package and will feature a 30 year concession period.

The Italian island of Sicily is to benefit from major investment in its road network, in a move designed to help boost its economy.

Canada's Henri IV road will be widened and upgraded in a project worth US$413.6 million ($400 million). The road is located in West Quebec and work is not expected to commence until 2013. Quebec's Ministry of Transport has explained that the Henry IV road will be widened as this will be more effective at reducing congestion as well as being cheaper than the alternative, which would have been to extend the Félix-Leclerc highway.

In the US city of Milwaukee plans are in hand for a major highway upgrade that is expected to cost US$300 million. The upgrade will focus on Interstate 794 where it runs through the centre of Milwaukee, as well as the Hoan Bridge. This three year project is due to start at the end of 2013 and will improve connections with the Port of Milwaukee.

Work will start in the second half of 2011 on a new stretch of Hungary's M3 highway between Vasarosnameny and the number 49 highway.