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Siemens’ largest Urban Traffic Control (UTC) system installation has been upgraded to Siemens PC SCOOT.

The automated road safety enforcement industry in the United States had a very robust 2010. The industry continued to grow to the point that providers now have nearly 5,000 cameras deployed in 25 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 650 communities utilising such life-saving technology. Intersection safety cameras are the most common application but more communities are also implementing road safety camera programmes to deter excessive speeding. Deploying cameras to protect children

DG TREN's Fotis Karamitsos, on why the European Commission's new ITS Action Plan is looking to the past for future direction. The European Commission's (EC's) new Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe, which was announced as 2008 drew to a close, intends that transport and travel become 'cleaner; more efficient, including energy efficient; and safer and more secure'. At first sight, that wording might be interpreted as marking a significant policy shift within Europe, wit

Swedish company ABC-CAD Elektronik has announced a new vehicle detector, the ABC043. The device, which has a built-in PIC processor for intelligent control, features automatic calibration with the attached loop. Sensitivity and trigger level can be adjusted in 10 different states. A 10 LED bar graph shows the signal level and can be used for adjustment of sensitivity, trigger level and pulse/presence.

David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri

David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri

Vicon Industries is introducing a new, progressive scan camera within its SurveyorVFT 35X zoom domes. According to the company, the new camera delivers superior video quality in two modes (Normal and High Sensitive); it will be included in all in SurveyorVFT outdoor, impact-resistant and pressurised housings.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America's Presentation Products Division, has announced an addition to its SeventySeries display wall product line, the SeventySeries: FLAT, a super-narrow bezel LCD panel designed for transportation management centres, emergency operation centres and security operation centres.

ParkingPal, a new barrier-less approach to pay-on-foot parking, integrates Parking Applications' Veri-Park management and control system with a significantly enhanced Parkeon Strada Pay & Display (P&D) terminal equipped with a full-colour touchscreen.

UK-headquartered Siemens Mobility, Traffic Solutions has released its latest UTMC-compliant Outstation Transmission Unit (OTU) to provide customers with the full benefits available within SCOOT MC3 and fully implementing the latest UG405 communications protocol. According to Keith Manston, the company's Head of Product Management, the introduction of the new UTMC OTU and associated Siemens instation components has the potential to initiate a dramatic shift in the way UTC control is implemented on street.

For major road works schemes, necessary lane closures are timed to minimise congestion, most frequently at night and on weekends when traffic is at its lightest. As a result, rigid timetables are used in planning, programming and implementing work. In the UK, to calculate the expected traffic demand through roads works, historic profiles from the loop-based MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection Automatic Signalling) system were used. These provided a valuable indicator of anticipated traffic behaviour but were

General Motors has revealed a new innovation behind the front grill of its Chevrolet Cruze Eco model where an automatic air shutter system allows the car to change shape and cut through the air more smoothly.

VeriLocation, a telematics company which currently tracks more than 10,000 devices and vehicles across the UK, Europe and the Middle East, has launched a new smaller trailer tracking device with a three-year battery life. The revised VL-Trailer uses GPS satellite tracking to fix its location anywhere in the world, and reports it once a day using mobile phone networks to send data.

UK-headquartered Magnadata Group has been awarded a five-year, US$37.35 million contract by ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) to produce the iconic orange magnetic rail ticket and associated products for all the UK train operating companies.

Gardasoft Vision has announced its next-generation strobe LED for intelligent traffic solutions. The new VTR2, designed to meet the growing needs of ANPR/LPRbased applications, offers a 600 per cent increase in light output, providing the ITS market with a solid state lighting alternative to conventional xenon-based lighting solutions.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2010 it became evident that the IntelliDrivesm programme direction had been reestablished, by the USDOT's ITS Joint Program Office (JPO), after being adrift for a few years. The programme was now moving toward a deployment future and with a much broader stakeholder involvement than it had exhibited previously. By today not only is it evident that the programme was reestablished with a renewed emphasis on deployment, it is also apparent that it is moving along at a faster pa

The city of Temecula in California has approved McCain as the sole supplier for its citywide adaptive traffic signal synchronisation system.

Magnetic levitation has been dismissed as unproven, too costly, or pie in the sky. It's time to reappraise it. With the unveiling by China (see News section, page 10) of its own, home-grown magnetic levitation train, it would be odd if politicians, policy-makers and the ITS industry did not want to take a closer look at the 'unproven' technology that is magnetic levitation. Fortunately, doing so is easy. The non-profit International Society for Maglev Transportation (The International Maglev Board) has an e

Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has announced the availability of the Opticom Infrared System Model 794 LED Emitter and Model RC790 Remote Coding Unit for emergency vehicle pre-emption and transit signal priority applications. The company claims the emitter delivers the advantages of LED technology, including more consistent performance over the life of the product and 90 per cent less power consumption. It is designed to be used with any of the installed base of Opticom Infrared Systems.

Peter George, MVA Consultancy, questions the future direction of environmental impact assessments