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Peter BerghauS is now offering a redesigned countdown system for temporary and mobile traffic lights that is more visible than previous units. The red countdown display for fixed phase traffic light systems has been redesigned with a 185mm high LED display fitted in a weatherproof housing.

CitySync is offering an array of new tools for the traffic sector. The JellyBean is a mobile automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera aimed at use by enforcement agencies and is designed specifically to be mounted on police vehicles. This advanced dual ANPR camera incorporates mono and colour overview cameras, uses sophisticated infra-red LED technology and features a compact and durable casing.

According to Leica Geosystems, its new HDS6100 unit is an improved, ultra-high speed laser scanner for survey applications. The Leica HDS6100 features several upgrades over the earlier HDS6000 scanner being replaced. These include a 37% increase in the temperature range (now -10ºC to +45ºC), a battery life of 2.5 hours, an integrated wireless LAN (WLAN) scanner control option and reduced noise at ranges of 25-50m.

A British driver suffered a particularly serious pothole problem recently, which resulted in his vehicle being seriously damaged. Flooding along the busy A464 in Shropshire caused subsidence under the road, which then entirely washed away a section of the surface leaving a 1.2m deep hole.

Meanwhile in New York City, one cabbie has earned praised for his honesty. A passenger accidentally left a bag containing valuables worth US$100,000 in the cab when taking a trip across the city. When the passenger realised his mistake, he assumed he would never see the valuables again

At the recent PIARC World Road Conference in Mexico City the country’s president, Felipe Calderon, made a keynote opening address. Calderon emphasised that infrastructure investment and expansion forms a crucial component in the country’s future economy and as such, has been a priority for his administration. Calderon took office in 2006 and by the end of this year Mexico will have built or rebuilt some 19,000km of roads and highways in the country. Due to its proximity to the US, Mexico is highly dependen

Taxi drivers in the UK town of Preston have now been told to follow strict rules regarding the clothes that they wear as well as their personal health. The local authorities now require taxi drivers to dress in smart clothes and are also telling the cabbies to get fit, lose weight and stop smoking.

An Australian couple caused something of a parking problem with their vehicle in a quiet residential Sydney side-street. The issue was that their vehicle should have been in the air rather than on the ground, as it was a single engine Piper aircraft.

In Europe, considerable political noise is being made over a new vehicle scrappage scheme that is said to be better for the environment.

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 satellite navigation leads me along a series of minor roads until it chirps, "You have arrived at your destination." And there is the sports centre I've been looking for, so I indicate, turn into the entrance and squeeze my car into the last narrow parking space available. I'm here to attend an innovative road safety programme being carried out in the UK on speed awareness. Drivers caught just over the speed limit have the option of points on their license, and subsequent increases in insurance costs, o

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