In 2019, the Secretary of State for Transport asked the department of transport to carry out an evidence stock-take to gather the facts on the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations. So, the question is are smart motorways safe. This podcast features an interview with Kate Carpenter, Fellow of CIHT and an expert in road safety and then later plays clips from the Transport Select Committee hearing on smart motorways.

As the UN Decade of Action – started in 2010 has concluded – where are we heading next for efforts to reduce those being killed or fatally injured on road networks across the world? Road safety is an urgent health and development matter. The number of deaths on the world’s roads remains unacceptably high, with an estimated 1.35 million people killed each year. In addition, as many as 50 million people are injured. Road traffic crashes are the eighth leading cause of death globally for people of all ages, and the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years. Road traffic deaths and injuries shatter lives and throw families into poverty. On average, they cost countries 3% of their GDP. To explore this question, CIHT is joined by Matts Belin. Dr. Matts-Åke Belin has over 30 years of experience within the Swedish government primarily worked with overall safety policies, strategies and collaboration with different stakeholders. In 2007 – 2009 Dr. Belin worked for World Health Organization in Geneva where he participated in the development of global road safety strategies and global partnerships.Dr. Belin has also chaired the technical committee 3.1 on National Road Safety Policies and Programme, World Road Association and served as the international representative at the US Transportation Research Board (TRB) standing committee ANB 10 Transportation Safety Management. Dr. Belin is also the Swedish delegate in UN Road Safety Collaboration and he has served as national and international senior policy adviser and supported different Vision Zero initiatives around the world. Dr. Belin was also deeply involved in the preparation and organization of 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm February 2020. Currently, Dr. Belin is Director of Vision Zero Academy at the Swedish Transport Administration.Parallel with his work within the Swedish government, Dr. Belin also has an academic carrier. Dr. Belin has a PhD in public health policy from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also affiliated with KTH Royal Technology Institute, in Stockholm, where he is serving as an adjunct professor on traffic safety. Dr. Belin is also responsible for a research program funded by the Swedish Transport Administration, in order to promote research in policy, implementation and innovation within the transport sector with focus on Vision Zero.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance and is shaping industry and investment. This is having an impact on the construction and infrastructure sector and the impacts of this are wide ranging. This podcast features an interview with Mark Coates, Strategic Industry Engagements Director in the UK for Bentley Systems.

This podcast episode explores the impacts of covid on the construction and transportation industry. Is the industry reinventing itself now from the covid pandemic? What is the role of digital communications in construction? Featuring an interview with Marek Suchocki from Autodesk. Buildings are made of concrete and steel, both of which produce a lot of emissions when they’re being made. In fact, these two materials account for around 10 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gases. The interview looks at how the industry is addressing the carbon challenge. The role of technology in attracting people to the construction sector is also explored.

Professor Carlos Moreno, is the architect of the idea of the 15 minute city – this was picked up last year by the World Economic Forum and as part of a global TED talk conference. The idea of being able to get all our urban necessities within a 15 minute walk has clearly gained traction across the world. This podcast explores how the idea is being implemented, focusing on the Corona pistes for cycling in Paris and on recent measures to trial schools as multi-purpose buildings.The impact of Covid is part of the discussion and looks at imaginative ways of rethinking how art and shopping can interact.

Despite the recent Government announcement to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, the UK is currently not on track to switch all new vehicles to fully battery-electric by 2030. Beyond 2030, significant questions remain that need to be addressed – such as the increased demand for electricity and where this will come from, sourcing and supply of rare earth materials for battery production and capacity for battery recycling.Featuring an interview with Professor Sergio Matteo Savaresi. He is the Full Professor in Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano since 2006 . He is Deputy Director and Chair of the Systems&Control Section of Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano. He is author of more than 500 scientific publications. His main interests are in the areas of vehicles control, automotive systems, data analysis and system identification, non-linear control theory, and control applications, with special focus on smart mobility. He has been manager and technical leader of more than 400 research projects in cooperation with private companies. He is co-founder of 8 high-tech startup companies.This is the second episode of a two part podcast on the future of mobility.

This podcast is looking at the future of our global carbon budget, the impact of the autonomous car on future mobility and other things including the world’s first race of autonomous cars.This is the first of a two part podcast by CIHT, the second will focus on impact of electrification on future mobility. Featuring an interview with Professor Sergio Matteo Savaresi. He is the Full Professor in Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano since 2006 . He is Deputy Director and Chair of the Systems&Control Section of Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano. He is author of more than 500 scientific publications. His main interests are in the areas of vehicles control, automotive systems, data analysis and system identification, non-linear control theory, and control applications, with special focus on smart mobility. He has been manager and technical leader of more than 400 research projects in cooperation with private companies. He is co-founder of 8 high-tech startup companies.On the Indy Autonomous Challenge:https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/

Bridge collapses and Grand Challenges. What are the lessons from the Genoa Bridge collapse? In this episode there is an interview with Richard Fish, a chartered bridge engineer with extensive experience in the industry.In the year of a pandemic, understanding risk has become part of our public discourse. Today we try and answer the question: what risk do bridges in the UK face and what are the grand challenges for bridges.The Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa collapsed on the 14th of August 2018, killing 43 people. The reasons for the collapse are explored as well as the wider lessons from this. As Richard Fish said: 'A big risk is a fact that people become complacent...they say: "this bridge has stood there for decades it's not going to fall down, is it?' and sadly, occasionally things do fall down' The interview explores what happened with the closure of the Hammersmith Flyover and the Forth Road Bridge. The BOF Grand Challenges are also explored, recently published. The first of the five Grand Challenges is on preventing bridge failures, as the document states:Polcevera Viaduct, Genoa collapsed on 14th August 2018 making headlines around the world. 43 people lost their lives and the disruption is estimated to have cost the economy around €600 million. Since 2000 there have been 125 bridge collapses worldwide that have claimed at least one life, resulting in 982 fatalities and significant economic loss.Catastrophic bridge collapses occur too frequently even though, with hindsight and timely investment, most could have been predicted and prevented.The human, financial and reputational costs of such incidents, which frequently make international news, are unacceptable by any reasonable measure. Can we be more successful in preventing them?Responsible bridge owners have robust regimes in place to inspect and manage their bridges in line with prevailing good practice and yetcatastrophes are seldom anticipated or, when they are, the risks are underestimated or ignored.As bridge stocks continue to age, the likelihood and frequency of bridge collapse can only increase, along with the financial and reputational damage. It is therefore crucial that we find better ways of meeting the challenge.BOF Grand Challenges: http://www.bridgeforum.org/bof/meetings/bof64/Grand%20Challenges%20-%20Bridges%202020.pdf

This year the BBC wrote a piece on the rest and be thankful with a headline that included the phrase: an infamous road through a mountain in torment. That description of torment was from 1913. Indicating, that the challenges of the location, perhaps the most challenging site that Transport Scotland manages, have been long running. The A83 runs for almost 100 miles from Loch Lomond to Campbletown at the foot of the Kintypre penisula. The one section, near the rest and be thankful– has become infamous for landslips, closures and long diversions. This podcast features an interview with Professor Mike Winter exploring what we can learn from elephants in Burma to what trees in British Colombia might tell us about managing rainfall. Featuring research:A83 Rest and be Thankful: Ecological and Related Landslide Mitigation Options: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/13533/a83-rest-and-be-thankful-project-ecological-related-landslide-mitigation-options.pdf The economic impact of landslides affecting the Scottish road network: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303885334_The_economic_impact_of_landslides_affecting_the_Scottish_road_network CIHT's podcast feature in the Top 10 Transportation Industry Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/transportation_industry_podcasts/

Policy impacts from new research exploring the issue of light pollution and how reducing it can help to address major societal challenges are discussed in this latest episode of the CIHT Podcast, featuring Dr Christopher Kyba of the German Research Centre for Geosciences.In conversation Dr Kyba explains the research which involved measuring from satellites the contribution of street lighting to night time light emissions from urban areas.The findings indicate that most wasted artificial light does not come from street lights but from other sources.Direct measurement of the contribution of street lighting to satellite observations of nighttime light emissions from urban areas - published in journal of Lighting Research & Technology: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1477153520958463 Radiance Light Trends:https://lighttrends.lightpollutionmap.infoCIHT's podcast feature in the Top 10 Transportation Industry Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/transportation_industry_podcasts/