TRB’s 18th Visibility Symposium encourages collaborative solutions Seeing the road ahead is just about the most important requirement for driving safely. And just as importantly, a driver’s ability to process and understand what he or she sees is vital to maintaining a safe driving environment. Since 1968, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Visibility Symposium has […]
Archives for 2008
A shot of asphalt
New courses offer ground-floor training on seal coats With a tight budget and thousands of miles of paved roads to care for, the importance of effective preventive maintenance is a priority for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Seal coats, the process by which a layer of liquid asphalt is applied to an existing roadway […]
The road doctors
Got a road that’s ailing? Many older ones are. Perhaps the proper treatment requires a radical and expensive replacement of the entire roadway. But what if a less expensive procedure can cure what’s ailing that road…how’s a pavement engineer to know? Using tools such as falling weight deflectometers (FWD) and ground penetrating radar (GPR), Tom […]
Webinars encourage global knowledge exchange
Traditionally, professionals have had to travel to a distant hotel conference room if they wanted to share information face to face. Yet with today’s escalating travel costs, making that trip is increasingly and often prohibitively expensive. Web-based seminars (or webinars) now provide a convenient, cost-effective alternative to in-person seminars. Individuals interact online to share information, […]
TTI Survey: Teen Drivers Take Risks Despite Dangers
Despite knowing the dangers of risky driving behaviors, a survey of young drivers at a Texas Panhandle high school shows that teens regularly adopt those behaviors anyway. The results of the survey, conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program, were compared to results from 34 other Texas high […]
TTI: Doing Our Part to Clear the Air
Fourteen years after May was designated Clean Air Month by the American Lung Association in 1994, the quest for cleaner air has taken on added significance. In addition to the recent emphasis on global warming and greenhouse gases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that more stringent ozone standards will be put in place […]
TTI State Headquarters Breaks New Ground
On April 30 and despite wind gusts of at least 30 mph, TTI and special guests celebrated the construction of TTI’s State Headquarters and Research Building. The crowd gathered on site under a large tent in the newly completed parking lot for the new building. Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) dignitaries and Texas Transportation Department […]
Federal Funding Accelerates Teen Driving Safety
With over 100 Texas high schools now deploying Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS), new federal funding totaling $343,000, announced by U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriquez in April, will help the unique TTI teen driver safety program continue its expansion. TDS is America’s first peer-to-peer program that alerts young drivers to the distractions and behaviors that […]
Bridges Leaves Legacy of Excellence, Compassion
Transportation engineers and economists in Texas and across the country are reflecting on the lifetime achievements and visionary guidance of G. Sadler Bridges, who passed away Wednesday, April 16. Bridges’ career spanned five decades and included a pioneering transportation appointment with the Texas governor’s office, accolades from a United States vice president and debts of […]
TTI Study Pinpoints the Value of Moving Cargo by Barge
Results of a Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) study for the National Waterways Foundation and the U.S. Maritime Administration highlight the benefits of moving cargo by water. For example, barges move a ton of cargo 576 miles for each gallon of fuel expended. That’s a much better average than railroads (413 miles) and trucks (155 miles). […]
TTI Research Helps Save Time, Decrease Pollution at the U.S.-Mexico Border
The 35 million passenger cars and trucks heading into Texas from Mexico every year are bringing a big dose of frustration with them. Crossing times vary widely and can range from thirty minutes to more than two hours before the vehicles clear U.S. Customs. Long and uncertain crossing times negatively impact local commuters and businesses […]
Bridges leaves legacy of excellence, compassion
Transportation professionals in Texas and across the country are reflecting on the lifetime achievements and visionary guidance of G. Sadler Bridges, who passed away April 16. Bridges’ career spanned five decades and included a pioneering transportation appointment with the Texas governor’s office, accolades from a U.S. vice president and debts of gratitude from numerous colleagues […]
Motorcycle Safety Forum Addresses Disturbing Fatality Rate
At a time when automobile deaths are on the decline in the United States, the number of motorcycle fatalities is skyrocketing. That sobering information has placed even greater emphasis on this year’s Motorcycle Safety Forum held in Austin, Texas, recently. In his opening remarks to the 100 attendees, Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) Director John […]
Managed lanes research shows broad reach
The managed lanes strategies that maximize existing roadway use and help minimize the need for new construction were first deployed in just four places — two in Texas and two in California. A look at the list today reveals 39 projects nationwide that already exist, are under construction or are in development. More than 816 […]
12 ways TTI initiatives impact transportation
Teens in the Driver Seat To address the growing crisis of teen deaths from driving, TTI developed Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS), a peer-to-peer driving safety program unlike any safety program in Texas or the nation. TDS relies upon young drivers themselves to create safety messages and then serve as the messengers to make […]
Saving lives
Living to tell about it — there’s nothing our researchers take more seriously Nationally, in 2006, there were 5,973,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes, which killed a total of 42,642 people — 3,475 right here in Texas. Here are some sobering national numbers from 2006: 13,470 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes, nearly 32 percent of […]
The sound of safety— when hearing is seeing
Navigating through a construction zone is dicey enough for drivers under the best circumstances, but the stakes rise considerably for pedestrians trying to make their way, even through familiar territory. For visually impaired pedestrians, the challenge can be life threatening. TTI Assistant Research Engineer Brooke Ullman recently undertook a study, sponsored by TxDOT, to find […]
Innovation through research
Consider for a moment light bulbs, plastic and transportation. An unusual mix, but they share two important common characteristics. Each, in some way, impacts every day of our lives, to the point that we can scarcely imagine doing without them. And each evolved from crude beginnings, with the original idea bearing little resemblance to what […]
Increasing efficiency
How do we maximize the transportation system we already have? Through research. For over 20 years, through support from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), multiple states and metropolitan planning organizations, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers Program, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has helped […]
TTI researchers active in TRB
Throughout its history, researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) have actively participated in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies and served in leadership positions. This tradition of participation and leadership continues today. TRB is the focal point for transportation research in North America. The mission of TRB is to provide leadership […]