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Actions are planned on road safety but are they enough? - *Charles Melhuish and *Alan Ross report. Deaths and injuries on the world's roads are now a major health concern. Road crashes now cause around 1.3 million deaths and injure or disable as many as 50 million persons globally each year. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries (over 90%) occur in low- and medium- income countries adding to their already overburdened health facilities as well as adversely affecting economic and social development

Sunward has focussed particularly on building small-medium sized machines, said Li Lihong of the firm. An innovative development from Sunward is its new hybrid excavator design. This 22.6tonne machine has been developed with a view to offering lower fuel consumption than conventional excavators in its size class. As fuel prices are high in China, a hybrid machine offers incentives to the customer base and is said to be most effective in operations requiring slewing, such as for production truck loading. Pow

The authorities in the Czech Republic have been criticised for taking a low cost approach to speed enforcement in some areas. Instead of installing traffic lights at many busy junctions, cardboard cut-outs of female police officers wearing mini-skirts have been employed instead. The cardboard policewomen were installed at busy junctions, with the aim of encouraging drivers to slow down and proceed with caution. The authorities say that drivers automatically slow down when they see a police officer, although

An elderly British driver was charged with dangerous driving by police after he mistakenly drove his car onto the platform of a railway station. The man explained that he must have taken a wrong turn. Witnesses pointed out that he drove his car 200m up a footpath that was clearly marked. The man then drove his car almost the full length of the platform and at times was close to the edge and in danger of falling onto the busy commuter line leading to London. Waiting rail passengers had to scramble out of the

Police in Poland were recently filmed at a training facility practicing interception techniques for car chases. However as a cost saving measure the police were instructed to push the vehicles and eliminate the expense of fuel. The police claim the measure is needed to trim budgets and has the added benefits of being environmentally friendly and keeping the force fighting fit. However critics have responded saying that as most criminals can afford fuel for their cars, training police to push vehicles is a t

Paul Nordengen of South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) introduces a comprehensive self-regulation initiative to improve road wear, road safety and transport productivity in South Africa

Zoomlion is now offering a highly productive, high reach concrete pump developed with the benefit of expertise from its Cifa facility in Italy. Featuring a six section boom, the new Zoomlion-Cifa 63M pump is mounted on a five axle truck as standard. Carbon fibre has been used in some of the boom sections to provide the necessary light weight