World's first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden

The world’s first electrified road that recharges the batteries of cars and trucks driving on it has been opened in Sweden.

Just over a mile of electric rail has been embedded in a public road near Stockholm, and the government’s roads agency already has plans future expansion.

The technology solves the issu of electric vehicles charged as energy is transferred from two tracks of rail in the road via a movable arm attached to the bottom of a vehicle. The design is similar to that of a Scalextric track, although should the vehicle overtake, the arm is automatically disconnected.

The electrified road is divided into 50m sections, with an individual section powered only when a vehicle is above it.

The system is able to calculate the vehicle’s energy consumption, which enables electricity costs to be debited per vehicle and user.

The “dynamic charging” – as opposed to the use of roadside charging posts – means the vehicle’s batteries can be smaller, along with their manufacturing costs.

Säll said: “There is no electricity on the surface. There are two tracks, just like an outlet in the wall. Five or six centimetres down is where the electricity is. But if you flood the road with salt water then we have found that the electricity level at the surface is just one volt. You could walk on it barefoot.”

Photograph: Joakim Kröger/eRoadArlanda

Please read the full article at The Guardian

How leaves on the road could save you from a parking ticket

In winter sometimes fallen leaves can obscure yellow lines, resulting in drivers receiving parking fines for stopping on roads where they thought that it was ok to park.

If leaves are obscuring lines on an un-spwept roads it is worth being aware that this is grounds for appealing a parking ticket, but only if certain conditions are met.

This is because it is the responsibility of local councils to keep roads clean with parking restrictions clearly visible. If the lines were covered by leaves and there was no relevant signage close to your vehicle then you have a good chance of having the ticket overturned.

In order to appeal  you need to do the following upon finding the parking fine.

• look for signs that state the restrictions. (If there’s one right next to your car then your appeal is likely to fail).
• Measure its distance from your car to the nearest signage. (One pace = around a metre) 
• Take a picture of your car in relation to the sign
• Take a photograph of the road showing that the lines are obscured by leaves or flooding.

Most phones will embed Exif data on the image, this information can be used to prove the location and time that the photo was taken. This could be vital in any appeal.

The Source of this information is aph.com, there are also many other helpful tips for winter in their article

This Dorking road has a very bizarre and unrealistic speed limit

A lane in Surrey has been challenging drivers to keep to a speed limit which seems to defy logic.

On Wotton Drive, in Dorking , people are tasked with driving at eight and three-quarter miles per hour as they approach the entrance to De Vere Wotton House.  The unique speed limit is one of many quirks at at the luxury hotel.

Some believe this quirk is a reference to the world-famous series by JK Rowling, in which young wizards and witches begin their journey to Hogwarts by running through a brick wall between platforms nine and ten - platform 9 3/4.

The management of De Vere Wotton House said the reasons behind the limit was to add a touch of "magic" to guests' visit.

"There is no real logical reason - it's to add a bit of magic, and make visiting the hotel a more interesting experience," said Tracy Montgomerie.

"It's pretty quirky, and there are other surprises around the hotel and grounds for visitors. We had a six million pound refurbishment and wanted to do something different.

“The eight and three-quarters limit is one of those details. The maximum limit on the road with bumps is ten miles an hour, but we didn't want to be too straight-laced.

"It is funny, I don't think anyone can actually do eight and three-quarter miles per hour."

Source: get surrey

New roadside test will identify tired drivers

The health services provider Austin Health and the Institute for Breathing and Sleep joined together to develop a roadside test that will identify tired drivers, and keep them off the road. 

The result of the collaboration was ‘smart glasses’  - they track eye movements and measure the length of blinks. The researchers hope the product will help police ‘dramatically reduce fatigue-related road death’.

As part of the project, researchers studied drowsiness in night-shift workers during driving tests and found a tenfold increase in ‘microsleeps' and double the number of lane crossings. They also found drivers struggled to keep their eyes open and had more trouble staying in the middle of a lane.

The researchers believe the technology could hold the key to changing driver behaviour toward getting behind-the-wheel while tired, in the same way the breathalyser changed attitudes towards drink-driving.

DtT figures show that during 2015, fatigue was recorded by police as a contributory factor in 4% of fatal accidents and 2% of serious injury accidents in the UK.

However, the UK’s Road Safety Observatory suggests that sleep-related collisions are under-reported and in fact are more likely to account for 16% to 20% of all collisions.

 

- See more at Source : http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk

Stop a Douchebag

We have come across something quite interesting through "anonymous" about an issue in Russia where people are driving on pavements to avoid traffic.  A small group of people have come up with a great way to combat this problem 

On sidewalks and footpaths, the brave young protagonists stand in the way of bad drivers, politely ask them to head back to the road and if they refuse, plaster a hard-to-peel-off sticker (which proclaims in Russian: I Spit on Everybody, I Drive/Park However I Want) on the windshield, right in front of the driver’s seat.

"Stop a Douchebag" - is a Russian youth movement that attempts to enforce the road traffic regulations in Russia.

To read in more detail please visit the anonymous site

The Movement's channel on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stopxamlive

 

Man has been jailed for six months after trying to avoid paying for speeding tickets

Martin Whitworth from Wythall, Birmingham,  A man has been jailed for six months after trying to avoid paying for speeding tickets.

He was issued with a speeding ticket after driving through a safety camera at 64 mph in a temporary 50 mph speed limit on the M5 in August last year.

Upon receiving the notice in the post he told police that someone must have stolen or cloned his registration plates.

Thinking he had got away with it he tried the ruse again when he sped through a West Midlands camera in Shirley on 18 August.

However enforcement officers became suspicious after investigations revealed that the theft had never been reported and after viewing the photographic evidence they were convinced that the man in the image was the registered keeper.

In a bid to clear up the confusion the 46-year-old was asked to visit the station to speak to the enforcement officers. Knowing that the police were on to him he panicked and reported his plates as stolen to cover up his actions.When interviewed where he admitted that he was the driver and had fabricated the lies in a bid to avoid the penalty points and fines.

Whitworth was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 2 March after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and two counts of excess speed.

PC Jason Dooley, from the Camera Enforcement Unit, said: “This should be a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of trying to avoid speeding tickets.

“The man spun a web of lies and tried to wriggle out of paying for the fines, thinking he could evade the police.

“What he did not count on was that we would investigate the offense fully.

“If Whitworth had taken the points he would have been out of pocket for a short time but now he will have a conviction that will always be with him.”

Law Abiding Motorists Caught Out By Fake Road Sign

 Some law abiding motorists have reportedly been prosecuted after false 40mph signs were erected on a 30mph road near Rotherham for three days before the local council removed them. They appeared so genuine, even a driving instructor was among those who fell foul of them.

The Association of British Drivers has described the prosecutions as ‘outrageous’ and is calling upon the local police force to cancel the penalties.

Brian Macdowall ABD director said “It is outrageous that drivers should be penalised for speeding when they were obeying what they thought was the speed limit, There is a legal requirement on highway authorities to ensure that the correct signs are displayed… the police should also check that a speed limit is correctly signed before starting any enforcement activity. They clearly failed to do so in this case. If these penalties are not revoked it means that even the most law-abiding drivers risk that speed limit signs that cannot be trusted.”

Police told the Telegraph that they couldn’t confirm how many drivers had been prosecuted because of the fake road signs. “Nobody knows where [the signs] came from, The initial indication we have had is… somebody has clearly done it as a joke.” Not so funny for the motorists facing prosecution

Pothole Stickers Used to Slow Speeders in Canada!

This was the essence of an email that popped in to my inbox the other day, alongside these amazing images

 

Well I certainly wouldn't take the risk would you?

Upon further investigation around the internet however these giant pothole stickers are not police equipment used to deter speeding, they are however part of an advertisement for Pioneer Suspension, a vehicle suspension supplier (that's what the text is in the road ahead). The ad was intended to suggest to drivers that, with Pioneer Suspension fitted to their vehicles, they would enjoy a smooth ride even on rough roads.

Snooper Lynx GT Lite

French Police Watching British Drivers

The A64 marks the final stretch before reaching their holiday destinations in France. Most are in a hurry to get the holiday started and going a little faster than they should. French police say many foreign drivers break the speed limit because they think they can avoid a fine. EU figures from last year show that foreign drivers make up 5% of road traffic but account for 15% of speeding offences in the 28-nation bloc.

New EU legislation came in to force November last year that was aimed at tackling that anomaly. The legislation means member states can exchange data on motoring offences, to track down guilty drivers. So if a French camera catches a Spanish motorist speeding, that driver will still have to pay a fine in Spain (provided the driver is the owner of the vehicle) The UK and some others however opted out of the EU directive. This means the only way UK motorists can be sanctioned on French roads is if they are caught in the act by the police and made to pay on-the-spot fines.

There is a 32-strong special division of the gendarmerie that is equipped with special binoculars that can calculate speeds. They watch discreetly, about a kilometre before a toll booth, on a section of the A64 where the speed limit is 110km/h (68 mph). French motorists are given a fine that they can pay at a later date, but foreign drivers are in for a surprise. They have to pay cash up on the spot (the fine can be up to 375 euros (£323), If they don't have any money on them and they are on their own, they will be driven to the nearest cash point. If they really have no money at all, then an on-duty judge will be called to decide what to do. But that can mean waiting around for up to three days and the car will not be allowed to move.

• There are a variety of things that you can also be fined for including speeding
• Maximum speed on motorway is 130km/h (80 mph)
• On-the-spot fine of 90 euros if driver goes up to 40km/h over limit
• If speed breaks limit by more than 40km/h, police can seize car and demand 750-euro fine
• Driver must have a reflective jacket and warning triangle in car - fine can be 90 euros if either is missing
• In-car radar detectors are illegal
• law to carry one unused breath test see here for more information

Pretending not to speak French will not help drivers. The police quite often have a very adequate level of English. British police sometimes even join their French counterparts on missions in northern France, though they do not have the authority to issue fines on French territory.

The UK government are staying out of the new EU data exchange for several reasons. It is not happy that the directive means exchanging vehicle owner information, rather than driver information - and often, it argues, the offending driver does not own the vehicle.

The UK government also says fines are a poor deterrent for bad driving, compared with points on a driving licence, or the threat of losing a licence altogether. And the government wants to assess the cost of setting up the EU-wide data exchange system before joining in.

Sources: BBC, Sunday Times