News

In Switzerland the authorities intend to introduce tough regulations that will boost safety on the nation’s roads. The Swiss National Council voted measures including stricter penalties for people convicted of speeding.

Urban mobility is high on the infrastructure agenda in Mexico. While highways continue to be a priority, capital Mexico City and other large cities across the country are looking to implement mass transport systems such as bus rapid transit (BRT) lines.

The coming TRA 2012 transport event in Athens is now gathering momentum. The event will benefit from the strength of its organising body.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released estimates showing that in 2010, transportation deaths in the US was 34,925, a decrease from 35,994 recorded in 2009.

Engineering specialist AECOM will carry out a study into the proposed Lower Thames Crossing project in the UK.

Improved pedestrian safety and smoother traffic flow will result from work being carried out by Nepal’s Department of Roads. The plan will see the construction of 15 pedestrian bridges along the Tinkune-Suryabinayak section of the Araniko Highway.

Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long. The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4 billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due

The PILOT4SAFETY and BALTRIS are holding a joint workshop on "Road Safety Personnel: the importance of European standardised training and certification and their positiveimpact on civil society".

Over the past year, more than 171,000 drivers were fined US$92.50 each and given three points on their licence for driving whilst using mobiles.

In New Zealand, yearly death toll of road accidents posted at 280 as of 29 December 2011, which is a record-low figure since 1952. In 2010, road accidents claimed 374 lives.

Turkey recently unveiled ambitious targets towards improving its transportation infrastructure for 2023, the year the country will celebrate its 100th year anniversary as Republic of Turkey. The main means of transportation in Turkey is by highways, and the coach and bus industry has played a crucial role in passenger transportation. The recent increases in the number of airports and charter companies have made travel by plane a potential choice for passengers. However, railways have contributed rather insi

Worldwide new vehicle sales in 2012 are expected to rise 6.7 per cent over 2011 volumes to 77.7 million vehicles, according to Polk, a leading global automotive market intelligence firm. The company’s analysts believe the global economy will weather the current European sovereign debt crisis and consumers will return to showrooms around the world in 2012.

The Nepalese Government is pushing ahead with its road network improvement programme The government has managed to upgrade roads in 72 of the country’s 75 districts, despite the geographic challenges presented by its mountainous terrain and frequent steep slopes. One recent road revamp has been in Manang district where a new road has connected Chame with Besisahar and Lamjung. The link from Besisahar-Chame is 65km long, with plans in hand to surface a 35km stretch with asphalt over the next two years. Work