GFIP to be 80% completed for World Cup, toll
fee escalation possible|
12 May 2010 (www.engineeringnews.co.za)
The 185 km first-phase Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) should
be 80% completed by the start of the FIFA World Cup on June 11, said
South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) GFIP project leader
Alex van Niekerk in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Africa Roads conference, he said the concrete barriers
currently protecting work areas would be removed for the sports event,
and that most newly constructed lanes would be available to road users.
There would also be no road works on primary routes for the duration
of the World Cup.
Speaking to Engineering News Online on the sidelines of the conference,
Van Niekerk also indicated that the maximum toll fee charged could increase
from the 2007 figure of 50 c/km to 65 c/km, with inflation the culprit.
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Call for new clamp on bikes
10 May (motoring.iafrica.com)
The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says its recent
research strongly demonstrates the benefits of antilock brakes (ABS)
for motorcycles.
Based on findings that ABS significantly reduces motorcycle crashes,
including fatal collisions, by more than a third, the Institute is seeking
a federal requirement that manufacturers equip all new motorcycles with
this technology.
"The best motorcycle crash is one that never happens," said
Institute president Adrian Lund. "Traveling on 2 wheels instead
of 4 is always riskier, but our new research shows that antilock brake
technology can make motorcycle riding a much safer way to get around."
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Hydrogen car set for tar
11 May 2010 (motoring.iafrica.com)
After dramatically reducing the cost of the technology used in hydrogen
fuel-cell cars, Toyota believes it will be able to produce its first
hydrogen-powered car within the next five years.
With a sticker of about $50 000 (R377 500), the vehicle that hits the
road will still not be cheap, the head of the company's advanced vehicles
division has told reporters in California, but it will mark a major
step forward in the fight against emissions of greenhouse gases.
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JHB roads agency to roll out solar power to 50 more intersections
12 May 2010 (www.engineeringnews.co.za)
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) will roll out solar power to 50
more intersections over the next six months, said CEO Dudu Maseko in
Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Speaking to Engineering News Online on the sidelines of the Africa
Roads conference, she said eight interchanges were currently powered
by solar panels, in a pilot research project to determine the viability
of this energy form to power traffic lights.
Traffic lights failed along with the Eskom power supply, causing traffic
jams.
Maseko said the Johannesburg council had granted approval for the project
to be expanded to 400 intersections, as part of larger trial.
Maseko said the JRA was seeking a research grant from the Development
Bank of Southern Africa to determine which products provided the optimal
results.
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New way to guide a car: With your eyes, not hands
23 April 2009 (news.yahoo.com)
BERLIN – Tired of spinning that steering wheel? Try this: German
researchers have developed a new technology that lets drivers steer
cars using only their eyes.
Raul Rojas, an artificial intelligence researcher at Berlin's Free University,
said Friday that the technology tracks a driver's eye movement and,
in turn, steers the car in whatever direction they're looking.
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