highway

The mantra for the California's Hydrogen Highway has been, "build it and they will come." That planned thoroughfare will soon see more zero-emission traffic now that the California Energy Commission (CEC) released funds for three new hydrogen refueling stations across the state.

Stations in Laguna Niguel, West Sacramento, and South San Francisco should come online in the next 18 months, and will eventually serve the fuel cell vehicles that manufacturers will produce starting in 2015. To ensure these stations aren't fly-by-night operations with all the curb appeal of a scrap yard, they are required to be … Read more

It looks like automakers will be required by law to add audible alerts to silent-running electric vehicles to keep sight-impaired pedestrians safe.

President Barack Obama this week signed into law the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841), which will protect the blind and other pedestrians from injury as a result of silent-vehicle technology, said the National Federation of the Blind.

The new bill, sponsored by Senator John Kerry, and 29 other co-sponsors, allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) begin crafting standards for an alert sound.

"The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that this critical legislation … Read more

SunHydro opened its first solar hydrogen fueling station in Connecticut last week, marking what the company hopes will be the start of the East coast hydrogen highway.

From Maine to Miami, the Connecticut-based company plans to open a network of mostly 24-hour self-service stations that generate hydrogen onsite using solar energy and a proton electrolyzer made by Proton Energy, SunHydro's sister company.

The station is in SunHydro's parking lot in Wallingford, Conn., and its rooftop is equipped with 75 kw worth of solar panels that the station's generator uses to produce approximately 2.6 kilograms of hydrogen … Read more

The big news this week in the world of iOS devices is that we are drawing ever closer to iOS 4.2, the update that will add new features and bring the iPad up to speed with the feature set on the iPhone 4.

As noted by our own Josh Lowensohn a couple of days ago, iOS 4.2 for iPad has been seeded to developers so they can get started bringing their apps up to date. With iOS 4.2 on your iPad, you'll be able to multitask like the iPhone, make folders for your apps, get connected with Apple's Game Center, and get an updated interface for iPad e-mail. Josh also pointed out in another story this week that the 4.2 update will turn the iPad's rotation-lock switch into a volume-mute switch just like on the iPhone.

Even more exciting, both the iPhone and iPad will receive AirPrint, a service that automatically locates connected printers on a network and over Wi-Fi without additional driver software. iOS 4.2 will also bring AirPlay to all iOS devices, letting you stream all of your multimedia to multiple TVs, computers, and set-top boxes.

iOS 4.2 is set to be released in November, but you can bet that Apple will have more tweaks before then.

This week's apps include an image collage maker with a ton of features and a driving game where the undead try to make you crash.… Read more

Every now and then we run across a recent rendition of a classic video game, and the reproductions are often so faithful that we don't have much to say besides, "If you liked the original, you'll like this, too." This is the case with Highway Encounter, a game originally released in 1986 and lovingly recreated here. By modern standards it's not terribly exciting, but it remains fun and worth playing for the nostalgia factor, if nothing else.

The object of Highway Encounter is to push a Lasertron along a highway riddled with dangerous obstacles. A … Read more

Oprah Winfrey, who's famous for giving away cars to audience members, is now promoting driver safety by making cars a "No Phone Zone."

The Governors Highway Safety Association, and its member state highway safety agencies, today announced it is joining forces with Winfrey and Harpo Studios to fight distracted driving during "No Phone Zone Day" on Friday, April 30, 2010.

Since January 2010, Winfrey has been promoting a ban on cell phone use while driving--especially texting.

Currently the states that have banned texting while driving include: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, … Read more

With major questions still unresolved about sudden acceleration incidents in Toyotas and other vehicles, Washington is turning to NASA engineers and the broader scientific community to examine everything from mechanical defects and human error to electronic controls and electromagnetic interference.

On Tuesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the start of two major investigations designed to look deeper into potential causes of unintended vehicle acceleration, which have been tied to a number of accidents, including some fatal ones. The issue has blown up into a major problem for the auto industry and for Toyota especially, leading to a massive … Read more

When we first saw the Audi R8 E-Tron, it was making its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The E-Tron is powered by four motors, and is capable of zero to 62 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds, with a top speed at 124 miles per hour. The E-Tron looks impressive with sleek body design and slitlike LED headlights.

Here's video of the electric car prototype on a drive down the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.

The E-Tron will be available in a limited series in late 2012.

A teenager talking or texting on his or her cell phone while driving is a fear for parents and other drivers alike. According to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 25 percent of U.S. teens aged 16 to 17 who have cell phones admitted to texting while driving, and twice as many say they have been in the car with someone that has.

A new cell phone application, by Cell Cease, aims to limit this distraction. Cell Cease, which works exclusively on Windows phones, blocks calls and texts while a vehicle … Read more