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The RIDERSCAN project is now launching its third and last survey targeting European motorcyclists. Focusing on new technologies and powered two wheelers, the survey will feed the RIDERSCAN report on Traffic Management, providing an opportunity for European riders to express their views on coming intelligent transport technologies. Efficient transportation has become critical for Europe to remain competitive globally. Technological development is often intended to provide people with more freedom and the ti

Developments in super-capacitors will see these replacing batteries in applications such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. New generation super-capacitors are said to be more reliable, less costly, less affected by temperature variance and also safer. Super-capacitors have been recognised for their high power density, long lifetime and low internal resistance, and they can be constructed from commonly available, low cost materials. In the recently updated IDTechEx report "Supercapacitor/ Ultracap

Europe’s contractors’ association, the FIEC, has criticised the EU’s new public procurement package, describing it as a missed opportunity. “The EU institutions did not seize the opportunity to solve one of the most severe shortcomings of the existing public procurement directives,” said Ulrich Paetzold, FIEC director general. “I mean by that the identification and treatment of abnormally low tenders, which is a real curse in the construction sector.” Today’s adoption by the European Parliament of the thre

The Trimble Quantm alignment planning system allows road designers to reduce planning time and deliver projects with minimal environmental and social impact at a lower construction and operating cost. The system, on show at Conexpo 2014, analyses millions of alignment alternatives and returns a range of options to the planning team for consideration. When new data becomes available the Quantm system can quickly recalculate more alignment options.

Caterpillar claims it can boost compaction efficiency for contractors with its new machine drive power (MDP) package. This innovative machine-integrated soil compaction measurement technology has been tested by contractors at several jobsites around the world and is now coming to market. The MDP package is one part of an intelligent compaction (IC) offering from the firm.

Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles were up significantly in France in 2013 compared to 2012, reports Avere France. Electric utility vehicle sales were up 42% to 5,175 units, electric sales rose 50% year-on-year to 8,779 units, and there was a 60% rise in hybrid car sales to 46,785 units. In the latter segment, Toyota is still the leader with 27,536 vehicles sold thanks to the Yaris, Auris and Prius. In electric cars, the Zoé (Renault) is the leader with market share of around 63%, in front of the Leaf

Two Chinese provinces are investing a combined US$9.36 billion in transport infrastructure during 2014. Shaanxi province in northwest China plans to invest $5.79 billion (CNY 35 billion), enabling the upgrade of 5,000km of rural roads and the construction of around 1,110km of highway. The authorities will also strive to complete the Xianyang-Xunyi, Luofu-Weizhuang and Jiangzhang-Famensi highways in 2014, which will add about 160km of highway in Shaanxi province. Meanwhile in southwest China, the Yunnan pr

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) in Nicaragua plans to build more than 200km of new roads during 2014. The MTI reportedly has a budget of US$151.87 million (NIO 3.88 billion), of which $58.44 million (NIO 1.5 billion) belongs to the Treasury. One 10km project originally earmarked for 2013, the Malpaisillo-Mina El Limon road, will be carried out in 2014. The 28km Nejapa-Empalme de Puerto Sandino scheme is also said to be under development.

Case Construction Equipment will be exhibiting its new M Series dozers at Conexpo 2014. Ranging in power from 68kW to 157kW, the new M Series models – the 750M, 850M, 1150M, 1650M and 2050M – were introduced in North America in October 2013 and will be fully launched by March 2014.

Official data from Poland shows a continued improvement in road safety. The data reveals that there were 5% fewer accidents, almost 8% fewer fatalities, a 5% decrease in injuries and a 5% reduction in drink-drivers. The information was made available recently through Pan-European police body TISPOL. According to TISPOL, the statistics confirm that police action can be effective in reducing vehicle crashes. Comparing the data for 2013 with statistics for 2012 and 2011 reveals a notable drop in road crashes,

The organisers of the Samoter construction equipment show being held in the historic Italian city of Verona are bullish for the success of the event. This will be the 29th edition of Samoter, an international triennial exhibition focussing on earthmoving and site machinery. It will also be the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the event, which will also co-host the Asphaltica exhibition for road paving, safety and infrastructures for the first time. Asphaltica is organised in cooperation with Siteb, the

As part of Ireland's Operation Artery, police officers staged a number of Super 'Mandatory Alcohol Testing' (MAT) checkpoints in a crackdown on drink-driving in Dublin over the weekend of 11-12 January 2014. In addition to intoxicated driving, general road offences were also targeted, including use of seatbelts, vehicle lighting, tyre condition, driving licences, insurance and road tax. Four separate Super MAT one hour checkpoints occurred simultaneously between the hours of 11.30pm on the 11 January and

The average social cost of each New Zealand road accident death is $3.75 million (NZD 4.54 million), according to an estimation by the New Zealand ministry of transport (MOT) The New Zealand MOT also estimates that the average cost of serious injuries due to road accidents is $392,989 (NZD 473,600) per person. The social costs include financial and non-financial costs of accidents such as property damage, medical and legal expenses as well as loss of quality of life. The number of road accidents in New Ze