On Roads

In this history of roads and what they have meant to the people who have driven them, one of Britain's favourite cultural historians reveals how a relatively simple road system turned into a maze-like pattern of roundabouts, flyovers, and spaghetti junctions. Using a unique blend of travel writing, anthropology, history and social observation, he explores how Britain's roads have their roots in unexpected places, from Napoleon's role in the numbering system to the surprising origin of sat-nav. Full of quirky nuggets of history, such as the day trips organised to see the construction of the M1 and the 2.5m Mills and Boons used to build the M6 Toll Road, On Roads also celebrates innovators whose work we take for granted, such as the designers of the road sign system. On subjects ranging from speed limits to driving on the left, and the 'non-places where we stop to the unwritten laws of traffic jams, these hidden stories have never been told together, until now.

In Scotiabank Giller Prize–longlisted author Andrée A. Michaud’s genre-defying, ethereal mystery, a writer encounters her double and must grapple with an undetermined crime — and her own identity. In the dubious sanctuary of a wintry forest, a writer encounters a woman who she suspects may be her double. So begins a journey of inquiry in which nothing, not even the author’s own identity, is certain. Who is Heather Thorne? Is she a stranger dangerously out of place in the woods, the victim of an accident or of a crime? Who is the author? Is her own name not in fact Heather Thorne? Brimming with the snowy menace and mystery of the boreal woods, where nothing is ever entirely known, the celebrated and prize-winning Quebec noir novelist Andrée A. Michaud once again defies categorization in an ethereal story that is also a meditation on the very process of literary creation.

It is possible to eliminate death and serious injury from Canada’s roads. In other jurisdictions, the European Union, centres in the United States, and at least one automotive company aim to achieve comparable results as early as 2020. In Canada, though, citizens must turn their thinking on its head and make road safety a national priority. Since the motor vehicle first went into mass production, the driver has taken most of the blame for its failures. In a world where each person’s safety is dependent on a system in which millions of drivers must drive perfectly over billions of hours behind the wheel, failure on a massive scale has been the result. When we neglect the central role of the motor vehicle as a dangerous consumer product, the result is one of the largest human-made means for physically assaulting human beings. It is time for Canadians to embrace internationally recognized ways of thinking and enter an era in which the motor vehicle by-product of human carnage is relegated to history. No Accident examines problems related to road safety and makes recommendations for the way forward. Topics include types of drivers; human-related driving errors related to fatigue, speed, alcohol, and distraction and roads; pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit; road engineering; motor vehicle regulation; auto safety design; and collision-avoidance technologies such as radar and camera-based sensors on vehicles that prevent crashes. This multi-disciplinary study demystifies the world of road safety and provides a road map for the next twenty years.

The International Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks is the leading international gathering of scientists and engineers from academia and industry in the field of ground vehicle dynamics to present and exchange their latest innovations and breakthroughs. Established in Vienna in 1977, the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics (IAVSD) has since held its biennial symposia throughout Europe and in the USA, Canada, Japan, South Africa and China. The main objectives of IAVSD are to promote the development of the science of vehicle dynamics and to encourage engineering applications of this field of science, to inform scientists and engineers on the current state-of-the-art in the field of vehicle dynamics and to broaden contacts among persons and organisations of the various countries engaged in scientific research and development in the field of vehicle dynamics and related areas. IAVSD 2017, the 25th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics was hosted by the Centre for Railway Engineering at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia in August 2017. The symposium focused on the following topics related to road and rail vehicles and trains: dynamics and stability; vibration and comfort; suspension; steering; traction and braking; active safety systems; advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous road and rail vehicles; adhesion and friction; wheel-rail contact; tyre-road interaction; aerodynamics and crosswind; pantograph-catenary dynamics; modelling and simulation; driver-vehicle interaction; field and laboratory testing; vehicle control and mechatronics; performance and optimization; instrumentation and condition monitoring; and environmental considerations. Providing a comprehensive review of the latest innovative developments and practical applications in road and rail vehicle dynamics, the 213 papers now published in these proceedings will contribute greatly to a better understanding of related problems and will serve as a reference for researchers and engineers active in this specialised field. Volume 1 contains 78 papers under the subject heading Road.

The International Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks is the leading international gathering of scientists and engineers from academia and industry in the field of ground vehicle dynamics to present and exchange their latest innovations and breakthroughs. Established in Vienna in 1977, the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics (IAVSD) has since held its biennial symposia throughout Europe and in the USA, Canada, Japan, South Africa and China. The main objectives of IAVSD are to promote the development of the science of vehicle dynamics and to encourage engineering applications of this field of science, to inform scientists and engineers on the current state-of-the-art in the field of vehicle dynamics and to broaden contacts among persons and organisations of the various countries engaged in scientific research and development in the field of vehicle dynamics and related areas. IAVSD 2017, the 25th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics was hosted by the Centre for Railway Engineering at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia in August 2017. The symposium focused on the following topics related to road and rail vehicles and trains: dynamics and stability; vibration and comfort; suspension; steering; traction and braking; active safety systems; advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous road and rail vehicles; adhesion and friction; wheel-rail contact; tyre-road interaction; aerodynamics and crosswind; pantograph-catenary dynamics; modelling and simulation; driver-vehicle interaction; field and laboratory testing; vehicle control and mechatronics; performance and optimization; instrumentation and condition monitoring; and environmental considerations. Providing a comprehensive review of the latest innovative developments and practical applications in road and rail vehicle dynamics, the 213 papers now published in these proceedings will contribute greatly to a better understanding of related problems and will serve as a reference for researchers and engineers active in this specialised field. Volume 2 contains 135 papers under the subject heading Rail.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than ONE MILLION copies sold A TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick A New York Times Notable Book, and Chosen by Oprah Daily, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Bill Gates and Barack Obama as a Best Book of the Year “Wise and wildly entertaining . . . permeated with light, wit, youth.” —The New York Times Book Review “A classic that we will read for years to come.” —Jenna Bush Hager, Read with Jenna book club “Fantastic. Set in 1954, Towles uses the story of two brothers to show that our personal journeys are never as linear or predictable as we might hope.” —Bill Gates “A real joyride . . . elegantly constructed and compulsively readable.” —NPR The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York. Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles's third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes. “Once again, I was wowed by Towles’s writing—especially because The Lincoln Highway is so different from A Gentleman in Moscow in terms of setting, plot, and themes. Towles is not a one-trick pony. Like all the best storytellers, he has range. He takes inspiration from famous hero’s journeys, including The Iliad, The Odyssey, Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, and Of Mice and Men. He seems to be saying that our personal journeys are never as linear or predictable as an interstate highway. But, he suggests, when something (or someone) tries to steer us off course, it is possible to take the wheel.” – Bill Gates