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In the Chinese city of Wenling in Zhejiang Province, a new highway linking with the main railway station featured an unusual obstruction, an apartment block. When the authorities planned the highway they offered compensation to property owners living in its path. But one elderly couple decided the compensation was not sufficient and refused to budge. New planning laws in China meant the couple were allowed to stay put. The couple later realised that accessing the property would be difficult at peak periods

In Sao Paolo, drivers had a lucky escape when a light aircraft overshot a runway and crashed at the edge of a busy highway. Unable to stop in time, the small jet was only prevented from ploughing into traffic on the highway by the airport’s perimeter fence.

In the US state of North Carolina, a young couple recently allowed their two year old son to steer their car while driving on a busy road. The child was perched on his father’s lap while at the wheel, without the protection of a seat belt. Worse still, the incident took place on a two lane road with oncoming traffic and it was also raining at the time. The parents were caught because they filmed their son’s first attempt to drive and then uploaded the video to a social networking site. It is not clear if th

Criminals in Australia had their plans foiled when police swooped and seized a soil compactor. The criminals had used the machine in a plan to smuggle drugs into the country and had hidden around 350kg of illegal substances within the machine’s structure. Two men were arrested when the compactor was seized in the city of Sydney.

The authorities in the Italian city of Bologna are proposing a new ruling that will ban the use of two wheelers from the roads on days when the temperature drops below zero. Any cyclists or scooter riders seen on the roads when the weather is freezing will be fined the princely sum of €39 should they be spotted by a traffic officer. The move is intended to reduce the numbers of accidents. However, the city authorities have not insisted on tougher enforcement of existing laws such as on seat belt use or driv

An elderly American driver, frustrated at the presence of two cyclists on the road, drove his vehicle behind the pair while continuously sounding his horn. The cyclists rode at the edge of the roadway leaving plenty of room for the man to overtake but instead he crawled along behind the pair for five minutes. Other motorists were forced to overtake and a large queue of vehicles formed behind the man’s SUV. The cyclists had fitted video cameras to their helmets and recorded their encounter, which was then ha

A six-strong gang of car thieves got rather more than they bargained for when they tried to steal an expensive Range Rover from two brothers in the UK city of Birmingham late one night. The owner of the car just happened to be a famous boxer and when one of the thieves slapped him, the boxer punched his assailant back and knocked him out cold. The boxer and his brother, also a successful boxer, then fought back the rest of the would-be carjackers.

The joint proposal by 3F, the Danish trade union for the transport sector, and think-tank Kraka to replace vehicle registration fees with a GPS-based road user charging system is worth noting. According to 3F and Kraka, this would reduce congestion on Danish roads and generate savings worth €536 million (DKK 4 billion) for the nation’s finances. There is nothing new in this concept as such. Road user charging was proposed a few years ago for the UK and also for the Netherlands. But in the UK this proposal p

World famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has teamed up with Finning engineers and two bespoke Cat D6N Track-Type Tractors for the first ever attempt to cross the Antarctic continent during the polar winter. Joining him on the journey will be Finning engineer Spencer Smirl from Canada, who was selected from a group of volunteers by Sir Ranuph Fiennes and his expedition crew. Smirl will be vital to the expedition, as he will be tasked with driving and maintaining the CAT D6N track-type tractor, which will be

The Algerian SAPTA construction company, who specialise in road and traffic infrastructure construction, is using a Sennebogen 2200 crawler crane to assist with their commission to build a bridge in Algiers. Sennebogen service and sales partner EURL SM Maintenance delivered the 2200 crawler crane to SAPTA in July this year. It has since been set to work lifting, piece by piece, the steel support for the 600m long Algiers-based bridge. The crane will also be used for a range of other lifting tasks required a

Case Construction Equipment has unveiled the first three models in an improved range of wheeled excavators: the WX148, WX168 and WX188. The machine trio are said to benefit from the power and performance of a three-pump hydraulic system, with a dedicated swing pump, a new engine speed/working mode selection dial, a heavy-duty undercarriage and an improved operator’s cab. The revisions are also said by Case to result in improved operator comfort and ease of operation, excellent service accessibility and redu

The new Cat D6K2 Track-Type Tractor is said by Cat to deliver unmatched finish grading performance and improved fuel economy. Its new Stable Blade Control feature is said to utilise technology which complements operator blade control input, making it the best finish grading tractor in the industry. Eco Modes, both forward and/or reverse, is claimed by Cat to improve fuel economy by up to 22% depending on the applications for lower operating costs. The new D6K2 uses the Cat C6.6 ACERT engine that meets Stag

Minnich Manufacturing (MM) showcased its extensive range of concrete vibrators and dowel pin drills during the American firm’s recent Open House event at its HQ in Mansfield, Ohio. More than 150 attendees, including many suppliers and a number of contractors and local residents, saw products such as the Minnich Auto Vibe 111 Monitor and Hydraulic Vibrator and Hornet and Utility Drill Units, and watched videos of the equipment in action on job sites. Last year MM moved to a new facility in rural Ashland Cou

Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment has added two new models to the company’s range of hydraulic breakers for use on Doosan 14-38tonne wheeled and crawler excavators. Like the existing DXB100H, DXB170H and DXB260H models, the new DXB130H and DXB190H hydraulic breakers are said by Doosan to offer superior power-to-weight ratios, providing very efficient reduction of rock, boulders, concrete and other demolition waste, as well as excellent excavation work. The new Doosan DXB130H breaker is suitable for ex