Archive

By Ginger Goodin And Christopher Poe Despite their rarity, reports of crashes involving self-driving cars underscore an important point: all of the players in industry, government and research must work to strike a balance between accelerating technology with the potential for positive outcomes and minimizing public and private risk. Technology will surely solve some problems, […]

With decades of experience helping cities establish rail-monitoring systems for the safety and convenience of their citizens, Leonard Ruback added Fremont, Nebraska, to his portfolio when that city’s system went on line in May. Ruback is a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Ruback’s work developing rail-monitoring systems began more than […]

Melissa Tooley, senior research engineer and director of external initiatives with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), received the Ethel S. Birchland Award Oct. 1 in New York City at The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) national convention. Named after Ethel S. Birchland, ARTBA’s executive director in the mid-1920s, ARTBA’s Transportation Development Foundation […]

By Johanna Zmud Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) are putting a dent in public transit use. And that matters to you, even if you never hail a car or board a bus. TNCs have been an established fixture in urban transportation landscapes for only a few years, so their impacts on other mobility modes have been […]

The City of Bryan will introduce two electric self-driving trolleys to Downtown Bryan this October in partnership with the Texas A&M College of Engineering, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), and Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI). In contrast to other programs, the Downtown Bryan location provides a pedestrian rich environment […]

The traveling public and the freight and logistics community have been hearing for years that a state of the art 21st century transportation network is nearly upon on us. But it is not that simple, is it? TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree and others will engage in a panel discussion titled: Delivering Effective Cooperative, Connected […]

“This is Texas together on the road to zero,” said Robert Wunderlich as he opened the 2018 Traffic Safety Conference in Sugar Land, Texas, August 8–10. Wunderlich, the director of the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), made the announcement after he asked attendees to stand if they work to […]

Beverly Kuhn, senior research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), is the recipient of the Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award. Kuhn received the award at the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Annual Meeting in August. The prestigious Matson Award is given annually to those considered pioneers in their engineering professions. For Kuhn, transportation […]

By Jolanda Prozzi The current tropical storm season has barely begun, and we’re still recovering from the last one, mindful of a few sobering realities: Weather and climate disaster events — which include hurricanes and other major flooding — are becoming more frequent. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. suffered 203 […]

Assistant Research Scientist Haneen Khreis with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH) has been awarded the prestigious 2018 Rebecca James Baker Award by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). Khreis received this award for her work on the influence of traffic-related air pollution […]

By Gregory Winfree and Zachary Grasley In August, we mark 11 years since the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring 145 more. For anyone not living there, or otherwise not personally affected by that tragedy, the anniversary will likely pass without a single thought as to […]

Flooding has plagued Houston roadways for decades, but now, thanks to a first-of-its-kind warning system initiated by Houston TranStar and developed by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), motorists will be warned in real time about locations where roadway flooding is likely occurring. “Houston was ground zero for Hurricane Harvey last year, and the world […]

Teen drivers understand that texting and talking on their cell phones are among their most dangerous behaviors behind the wheel, but they admit to doing them anyway. That’s one of the findings from the Teen Driver Risk Awareness Survey conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The survey — one of the largest of […]

Jon A. Epps, Executive Associate Director, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, is the 2019 recipient of the Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lectureship. Epps will deliver his lecture, “Innovative Asphalt Pavement Technology: Paving the Way for the World’s Roadways,” during the 98th TRB Annual Meeting, on Monday, January 14, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in […]

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) looked at nearly 2,800 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes from 2011 through 2014 in 20 counties across the state of Texas.  Half of the counties had high levels of oilfield activity. The researchers used statistical tools to identify the top factors associated with more severe crashes. The Federal Motor […]

Five-Year NHTSA Project Examines Collision Avoidance The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has selected the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to lead a team of accomplished researchers on a recently announced, $7-million contract designed to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles. The five-year NHTSA Crash Avoidance Human Factors Research project is an indefinite delivery/indefinite […]

Neology, a leading provider of tolling, electronic vehicle registration and public safety technologies, is partnering with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to establish a state-of-the-art R&D test facility at The Texas A&M University System’s RELLIS Campus. The goal of the long-term master research agreement is to expand and improve transportation technologies. The new RELLIS […]

The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter at Texas A&M (TAMU-ite) is preparing for an international competition next month after winning the Texas District Traffic Bowl in June. The four-member TAMU-ite team includes two graduate research assistants with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), Xiaoyu (Sky) Guo and Jayson Stibbe. The team’s coach, Kartikeya […]

In a rare moment for child passenger safety seat technicians (CPSTs), nearly 300 technicians and safety advocates heard firsthand from a mother who assured them that the work they do saved her daughter’s life. Michele and Brooke Ice were the keynote luncheon speakers for the 2018 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference, held June 24–26 in […]

By Johanna Zmud Texas A&M Transportation Institute What do self-driving cars and teenage drivers have in common? Experience. Or, more accurately, a lack of experience. Teenage drivers – novice drivers of any age, actually – begin with little knowledge of how to actually operate a car’s controls, and how to handle various quirks of the […]