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Thieves in Turkey recently stole a bridge, which is then thought to have been cut up for scrap. The 25m long bridge weighed 22tonnes and was located close to a small village in Turkey’s western province of Kocaeli. When villagers realised the bridge had disappeared they called police who quickly ascertained that the structure had been cut to piece and hauled away for scrap. This follows a similar incident in India when a steel bridge was stolen by enterprising thieves, who convinced locals with forged docum

From New Zealand comes the news that three dogs have been taught to drive a car. The dogs came from an animal shelter and were taught to drive so as to highlight their intelligence. The vehicle used had a number of special features to allow the dogs to steer with their paws.

A wide variety of road safety measures are being implemented across Europe, and with generally beneficial effects. According to the latest data from the European Commission, road fatalities across the EU dropped 9% for 2012 compared with the previous year. In fact 2012 also saw the lowest numbers of people being killed in road traffic crashes in EU countries since data first began being collated. But country by country statistics show that the number of road deaths still varies greatly across the EU.

Vital Technology has launched Xtend - a mobile rapid deployment CCTV and onboard video analytics tower system which provides surveillance and intelligent scene analysis at locations that are proving vulnerable to theft, trespass and vandalism. Described as purpose-built to cope with difficult terrain and weather conditions, the ruggedised solution incorporates a hydraulic mast (extendable to 9m) and 360° rotation tower housed in a trailer base unit with an environmentally-friendly 3000rpm generator. Xtend i

As part of the Ecotaxe toll project, Siemens is supplying service operators Eurotoll and Total with On-Board-Units worth €50 million (US$65.14 million). The project involves introducing a toll based on road performance for HGVs above 3.5tonnes on France's national highways. Production of the On-Board-Units began in Orleans in February this year. The operator écomouv is setting up a new service based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), as well as the required infrastructure for the new toll in

Satellite vehicle tracking technology from Isotrak is helping Skanska UK’s utilities business save on fuel and be kinder to the environment by reducing emissions. Using the real time system to track the company’s mobile workforce on the road enables efficient vehicle management and provides detailed reporting on individual driving styles for each driver. This is said to have enabled Skanska UK, a leading utility infrastructure and asset management provider, covering telecommunications, gas, power and water

Road users on a busy California highway faced an unexpected delay when a large group of motorcycle riders stopped, blocking the road as well as an exit. One of the motorcyclists set o a smoke device to highlight that the bikes had come to a halt. His friend, another of the motorcyclists, had arranged the stunt so that he could propose to his girlfriend and he promptly went down on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage. As soon as she accepted, the motorcyclists remounted their bikes and rod

A disabled French driver had a terrifying experience when the accelerator pedal on his specially- adapted vehicle failed. The man was making a trip to the supermarket when the accelerator jammed at a speed of 100km/h. But when he tried to brake, the car accelerated instead of slowing down. The driver used his cellphone to call the emergency services and several police cars came rushing to his assistance. The police cars escorted him as he roared along a major highway in Northern France, with t

A Welsh teenager has taken a rather lower cost route to becoming a racing driver than is usual. The lad was a keen kart racer from a young age and showed ability but was not deterred when the local kart track closed down. Instead he continued to hone his skills by playing videogames, nally winning the European round of a gaming competition run jointly by Sony and Nissan to see if gamers could become proper racing drivers. After completing intensive driver training, he then went on to come th

In Belgium a pensioner planning to drive 61km to a train station to pick up a friend made a somewhat longer journey than expected. The woman followed the advice of her satellite navigation system, which directed her through six countries in all and she ended up in Zagreb in Croatia, 1,440km from her original starting point. Despite seeing road signs in dierent languages, having to stop to refuel on a number of occasions and even parking in a roadside rest-stop for a sleep in her car, the woma

A British man from Suolk has now been banned from driving for a record 44 times following recent vehicle and theft oences. He has not been fazed by this apparent setback however and has reportedly vowed to continue driving as soon as he completes his 10 month jail term and despite his ongoing disqualication. His last recorded oence was in 2010 when he was involved in a hit and run crash that caused a serious injury to a pedestrian. Following that incident, the man was banned for dangerous