News

Cause for concern has been revealed by a poll of 841 drivers carried out by UK insurance company Direct Line in partnership UK road safety charity Brake. This poll revealed that 48% of those with mobile phones use them whilst driving. Worse still, with two in three drivers admitted using hand-held devices whilst at the wheel. Of those questioned, 25% stated that they use their mobile phone whilst driving at least once/week. And 44% of young motorists and more than 25% of older motorists admitted to texting

Plans are well in hand for the fourth Laos-Thai Friendship Bridge connecting Laos with Thailand. The bridge is expected to be complete by 2014 and spans the Mekong River between Thailand's Chiang Rai province and Laos' Bokeo province. The two countries have also reached an agreement for the fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, which will span from Thailand's Bung Kan province to Laos' Bolikhamsay province.

The world famous Munich, Germany-based construction industry show is offering the Award in five categories: machinery; machinery component; construction process/construction work; research; and design. Backed by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), the head associations of the German construction industry and Messe München International, the bauma 2013 Innovation Award is welcoming applications from now until August 31, 2012. bauma is held from April 15 to 21, 2013.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a US$182.5 million contract to widen the Yamunanagar-Saha-Barwala-Panchkula route in Haryana. Gammon Infrastructure Projects will handle the work, which will see the highway widened to four lanes. The construction work is expected to take 30 months and this forms part of a 22-year concession deal for the link. The work will be carried out under the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model.

Figures now available from Italy’s transport and logistics commission have highlighted the enormous cost of road accidents in the country. The data reveals that the social cost of road accidents in the country is around €30 billion, or 2% of Italy’s GDP. The country’s road accident rate is higher than many other EU countries, despite having the strictest set of regulations. Italy also suffers from insufficient road infrastructure in comparison with the number of registered vehicles. Accidents in the road tr

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Bobcat compact excavator range, a new Limited Edition version of the Bobcat E16 1.6 tonne compact excavator is being unveiled at INTERMAT 2012. The Limited Edition E16 model is said by Bobcat to be available as standard with a retractable undercarriage, while also offering powerful performance, superior reliability and durability. The machine’s smooth responsive hydraulics are said to enable precise movements and fast cycle times.

Asphalt Burner Services (ABS), a provider of asphalt servicing and spare part products, has fitted one of its Vulcan Burner’s at Cemex Shap, in Cumbria, North West England. ABS says Cemex has noted that fuel usage has reduced, emissions have lowered and overall plant performance has increased substantially.

Zoomlion is now offering a novel new tower crane model that complies will all CE requirements. This is the first crane model Zoomlion has developed following its acquisition of a German specialist in 2011. Lifting capacity is said to be good for this class of machine, which offers high performance and productivity and also comes with an array of safety features. The crane structure is said to be extremely strong and able to cope with repeated load cycles, allowing a long working life.

Intermat Preview News, latest news for Intermat 2012 before the show opens. Four leading business-to-business magazines are working together to bring you the latest Preview News and live content Intermat News from the Daily News website for Intermat 2012: World Highways, Aggregates Business Europe, Construction Equipment from the US, and CMTM (Construction Machinery Technology & management) from China, bring their collective editorial expertise together for Intermat news and products in 2012. The te

Strong potential for electric vehicles is expected in India. Existing problems of pollution and massive population growth in cities and urban areas is expected to help fuel demand for electric vehicles in the country.

The Albanian Government has reduced its estimate for the cost of the new road link between capital Tirana and Elbasan. This $110 million reduction sees the project now costing an expected $290 million, instead of the $400 million originally forecast.

The Moroccan Government is planning to increase its investment in infrastructure. Rural road and highway development projects are being planned and by 2015 the Moroccan Government wants the new network to extend to 15,000km.