ROYAL RICKSHAW
A German man has combined components from a bicycle with those from a Trabant car to create a rickshaw celebrating the UK's recent royal wedding. the man has been called el Diablo for his choice of costume, wearing a red cape while cycling.
Chilean highway cost increase
Chile's Ministry of Public Works has revealed that work on the Vespucio Oriente highway will now cost US$2 billion.
Messe Muenchen boosts international profile further
Exhibition organiser Messe München International is continuing to develop its international profile with the signing of an agreement for a new partnership in Thailand.
Cause for offence
A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village.
Faster repairs
Viatec says that the latest version of its Viafix instant cold road repair material offers speedy and reliable pothole repairs. The product has now been well-proven and is winning customers in the UK, such as Wiltshire County Council. Viafix is said to conform to customer needs for reduced repair costs and increased efficiency can cope with both wet and cold conditions and can be used in an array of rural and urban applications, whether traffic loads are heavy or light.
TESTING ABILITY
A woman in South Korea retains the world record for the most number of times required to pass a driving test. the woman finally passed her theory test at the 950th attempt in 2009. the UK record for most driving tests taken is currently held by a london woman, who took her driving test 48 times until she passed in 1987. However other would-be drivers are attempting to take this record. A 26 year old in the UK has failed the British Theory test 90 times and a 39 year old, again in the UK, has failed the prac
Of cherries lost
Police in Germany found themselves dealing with a very different kind of road obstruction, when called by a motorist who reported a dead badger causing a potential hazard. The police arrived on the scene to find that the badger was very much alive, but was in fact drunk.
Tin snail no longer
Two members of an Italian rally team found a little spare time from their busy schedule to build a car for their own amusement. Finding a Ferrari F355 at a particularly attractive price, they decided to purchase the vehicle and when the saw a Citroen 2CV van, they knew exactly what to do with the Ferrari's components.
URS to operate Missouri DOT's Gateway Guide TMC
URS has been awarded a two-year contract, with the option for a two-year extension, by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to provide operations and support services for the Gateway Guide Transportation Management Centre (TMC) located in St.
US city sees stimulus bridge boost
The US city of Cleveland in the state of Ohio is to benefit from a new bridge to carry the I90 highway.
Which way now?
Drivers using GPS navigation systems are being urged not to trust their devices too closely by police forces. In the Australian state of Victoria, police are telling drivers not to throw away their maps after a series of incidents in which motorists in ordinary road cars have become stranded after following GPS directions and taking routes only accessible to four-wheel drive vehicles.
Danish highway deal
The Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet) estimates that extending the E45 highway from Aarhus, Denmark down to the Danish-German border will cost €2 billion in the period up to 2040.
PARKING ERROR
An Australian woman had a lucky escape when a parking error came close to killing her. The woman was manoeuvring her car into a tight space on a multi-storey car park in Melbourne when the vehicle broke through a barrier and fell nearly 20m to the ground. Witnesses described seeing the car bounce off a building to the rear and then bounce off the car park during its descent. The impacts appear to have slowed the vehicle's fall sufficiently for the woman to survive the incident. She was taken to hospital aft
Tourists' taxi tale of terror
A group of French tourists found that their recent trip to New York set their pulses racing a little more than they had expected. The tourists boarded a vehicle outside the Air France terminal at New York's JFK airport, unaware that this was an unlicensed cab.
Surface testing
PipeHawk has used its sophisticated ground probing radar (GPR) technology to develop the e-Spott system for the highways sector. The e-Spott package has been designed and developed in collaboration with another GPR specialist, Utsi Electronics. This new system is said to provide a fast and reliable method of testing the total thickness of bound layers to the sub-base interface or the thickness of surface concrete. This system has advantages over traditional coring methods as there is no need to cause disrup
FLAME GRILLED
In Turkey a man has received widespread acclaim for his bravery. A fuel tanker caught fire at a filling station and the man initially tried to stem the flames but when he realised his efforts were fruitless, and as others ran for safety, the man jumped into the cab and drove the burning truck away. Flames shot from the rear of the truck as he drove it to a safe distance from the filling station, located in izmir province.
Tunisia's road strategy
A technical study worth US$5.9 million (€4 million) is starting for Tunisia's Kairouan-Enfidha highway.
GOLDEN OLDIES
A group of cycling enthusiasts recently spent five days riding 'Penny Farthing' type historic bicycles from French capital paris to UK capital London. The hardy group braved inclement weather and serious discomfort on their solid-tyred bicycles, not to mention risking life and limb. The bicycles date from the 1880s and are notoriously hard to mount and stop.
Alaskan bridge project remodelled
In Alaska a decision has been made regarding the Knik Arm Crossing Project, which will now be carried out under the PPP model.
YOUNG MOTORIST
Police in the US state of Michigan recently managed to stop a vehicle that had been taken without its owner's consent, with a seven year old boy at the wheel. The boy was dressed only in pyjamas and took his mother's Pontiac for a 32km drive before the police were able to apprehend him. The boy had been staying at his mother's house and decided he wanted to go and see his father, so he took the keys and the car. A member of the public saw the boy driving the car and alerted the police who gave pursuit. The