ITS European Congress called off

Not surprisingly, the ITS European Congress planned for Lisbon from 18-20 May has been postponed. Somewhat more surprisingly, it’s off until 2023. Organisers ERTICO – ITS Europe has issued a statement saying, “In the context of the current health crisis and keeping in mind the safety of our participants, ERTICO – ITS Europe, the Host […]
Hampshire SME supports Covid test centre

The Waterlooville-based technology provider Smart Video and Sensing has provided a CCTV traffic management system for a new drive-through coronavirus test centre. The 30-camera system monitors traffic to and from the site, which is being used to test NHS and care staff from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. SVS has provided a number of […]
Models will have to be redesigned – Aimsun

The President of the American division of Aimsun, world’s leading transport modelling companies, is warning that transport models will be have to be redesigned when the Coronavirus crisis is over. Matthew Juckes told an ITS Canada webinar that there is a question over whether we will ever go back to the “normal” we had before, […]
RAC warns car journeys creeping up

The RAC says analysis of its black box insurance units in vehicles shows an increase in the number of journeys being taken during the current restrictions. Monday saw the busiest weekday traffic levels since everyone was told to stay at home if they could, with the number of journeys up 14 per cent compared to […]
Waymo virtually driving 20 million miles a day

Google’s driverless car division Waymo has reached the milestone of simulating a daily total of 20 million miles of autonomous driving on virtual roads as it tries out new scenarios for its software. SiliconAngle.com reports that the testing replicates congested roads, intersections and other challenging driving environments with engineers able to tweak these simulations to make […]
All this year’s big conferences ‘at risk’

The former President of ITS America is warning that it might take time for large-scale meetings such at the ITS World Congress to attract visitors on the scale it has previously. Scott Belcher, who’s now an independent consultant, told an ITS (UK) webinar that ten-thousand people meetings will be “challenged” as people worry about social […]
‘Change of thinking’ needed to alter traffic’s environmental impacts

A new survey of British drivers suggests that three quarters of people are worried about the environmental impact of traffic, but only a minority prepared to change routes to alleviate the problem. Kapsch TrafficCom asked people about what traffic would likely be after Coronavirus restrictions are lifted and most think jams will return. As research […]
Cambridge scientists link Covid-19 severity with pollution

A group of academics at Cambridge University have found there’s a correlation between poor air quality and how lethal the Coronavirus is to people who catch it. The team at the university’s MRC Toxicology Unit studied death rates and air pollution data across 120 regions found that the levels of some markers of poor air […]
Jakeman takes up senior ITS (UK) position

Karla Jakeman of Innovate UK is the new Vice Chair of the UK’s Intelligent Transport Society. She’ll work alongside new chair Ryan Hood of TRL who took over from WSP’s Ian Patey at the beginning of the month. ITS (UK) is a membership organisation of public organisations, consultancies, suppliers and other innovators. It’s run by […]
HE restarting M1 smart motorway works

Highways England’s going to continue converting the M1 near Milton Keynes into a smart motorway, telling nearby residents construction will begin again next month. Local radio station MKFM reports that piling work will begin from 12th May. It quotes Highways England as saying the activity will have strict safeguarding measures.