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China’s fast growing vehicle population is posing major challenges for traffic management, especially in major urban areas. Traffic congestion is already a serious problem in the capital Beijing and other major cities; Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzen, Tianjin, Dongugan, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

Research carried out for the UK driver’s association the RAC shows that even tougher new penalties are failing to dissuade those at the wheel from using phones. The research has shown that 60% of drivers believe being the cause of a crash would make them stop using phones while driving. According to the RAC, too many drivers remain unaware of the dangers of cell phone use while behind the wheel. And 86% of drivers admitting phone use at the wheel said they would stop doing so.

Wacker Neuson has appointed Martin Lehner as CEO, replacing Cem Peksaglam in the role. Peksaglam’s contract expires in August 2017. Lehner has been CTO and deputy CEO at Wacker Neuson, and has been a member of the firm’s executive board for 10 years, responsible for research and development, procurement, production and quality at group level. For the time being, the executive board of Wacker Neuson will also feature Wilfried Trepels (CFO), currently responsible for finance, auditing and IT, and Alexander Gr

There is widespread consensus across Europe that the road death rate remains too high. There was an average of 51 road deaths/million inhabitants in the EU during 2016. Overall, there was a 2% drop in the number of road deaths between 2015-2016 in the EU. But this 2% fall in 2016 followed a 1% increase in road deaths during 2015 and a plateau during 2014. Overall, the number of road deaths recorded in Europe has fallen by a mere 1% since 2013. Switzerland was the Road Safety PIN Award Winner 2017, with the

Argentina is planning a series of road projects stretching for a total of 5,500km and worth US$4.12 billion in all over four years. These will be PPP projects and include eight key road corridors, with 1,300km of the routes being multi-lane highways. The routes include Ruta 3 to Bahia Blanca, Ruta 5 to Santa Rosa, Ruta 7 to Mendoza, Ruta 8 to Villa Mercedes, Ruta 9 to Cordoba, Ruta 19 in Santa Fe and Cordoba, Ruta 34 from Rufino-Rosario and Ruta 226 from Rosario-Ceres. Of note is that under Argentina’s PPP

Web Headline US driving distances seeing increase Main Site Taxonomy WH12, ITS16 Sub Taxonomy Image supplied Needs XSP WH & ITS A recent study from the University of Michigan highlights key diverging trends in the amount of urban and rural driving. The study into Sustainable Worldwide Transportation was carried out jointly by experts in the field, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle. The focus of the study was on changes in the distances being driven in urban and rural areas of the US. This study

Spanish contractor Sacyr Concesiones will carry out construction of Colombia’s new Cucuta-Pamplona road connection in a deal worth US$485.5 million. This particular road project is of key national importance as it will improve Colombia’s connections with neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador. The project forms of Colombia’s key 4G road development programme and the package of works was awarded by the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI).

The French city of Bordeaux has awarded Razel-Bec a contract for construction of a new bridge across the Garonne River. The city of Bordeaux awarded Razel-Bec one of the largest urban development project in France, construction of the Simone Veil Bridge. The 550m bridge over the River Garonne will be 45m wide and lie between Bordeaux and the city of Floriac. Construction will start in September and take around 32 months. Cost will be nearly €83.9 million.

Onsite work has started in the Kapiti Coast region on the Otaki-Peka Peka Expressway, part of the greater Wellington Northern Corridor project. Simon Bridges, New Zealand’s transport minister, recently turned the first sod on the US$175 million project. Travel times should be improved between Port of Wellington, hospitals, Wellington’s central business district and ferry terminals. The 110km Wellington Northern Corridor largely follows the current state highway route from the airport to Linden, near Tawa. F

The UK government plans to create of a Major Road Network class of highway which would tap into the multi-million euro annual National Road Fund. Main roads that are now overseen by local authorities would share the National Roads Fund that is financed by the VED – vehicle excise duty - which was previously envisaged to be ring-fenced for national routes. The VED was around €6.6 billion for 2016-17. Roads covered by the strategy are the A-class highways. The deal is part of an investment strategy unveiled b

Construction of Montenegro’s Bar-Bolijare highway project is being accelerated. This will ensure that the work remains on schedule and will be able to meet the planned completion date.