The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) hosted the first ever virtual Traffic Safety Conference June 10–12, 2020. The conference, supported by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), focused on traffic safety issues and forward-looking research aligned with TxDOT’s goal to end all traffic fatalities on Texas roadways by 2050. For more information on the zero […]
A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Safety Innovation at the 2020 Virtual Traffic Safety Conference
For Post-COVID Transportation, We Really Can’t Settle for “Normal”
Future Transportation Workforce Video Awarded Gold in Telly’s General Recruitment Category and Silvers in Craft Writing and General, Not-For-Profit
A five-minute video celebrating the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Centennial has been awarded three 2020 Telly Awards. Produced by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the video highlights the excitement, challenges, and fulfillment of working in the transportation research field. The video premiered during TRB’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. in early January. TRB is […]
In Memoriam: Clifford Spiegelman
TTI Senior Research Scientist Clifford Spiegelman recently passed away. While at TTI, Spiegelman received numerous awards including the 2007 Jerome Sacks Award for Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Research and the 2016 Don Owen Award from the San Antonio Chapter of the American Statistical Association. He served as a distinguished professor with the Texas A&M University Department of […]
Post-COVID Transportation Planning Demands the Right Data, Not Guesswork
By Johanna Zmud When will people start vacationing? How many will stick with work-from-home routines? Will online grocery shopping be a fading fad or an enduring trend? The answers to these and other related questions have big implications not only for how Americans live and work after the current crisis, but also for how they […]
The Safe System Approach with Robert Wunderlich, P.E.
Robert Wunderlich, P.E., ITE Fellow and Director of the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, discusses the Safe System approach to reducing serious injuries and fatalities on roadways. He highlights the various aspects of the Safe System, including roadway design that reduces user error and lowers impact forces, and explains what […]
TTI, Texas A&M Partner on Senior Driver Assistance Technologies Study
TTI Human Factors Program Manager and Senior Research Scientist Michael Manser recently concluded a study in which he partnered with Ranjana Mehta, associate professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and director of Texas A&M’s NeuroErgonomics Laboratory. The study examined how senior drivers prefer to learn about assistance technologies. Researchers discovered […]
Teleworking – The New Normal?
By Melissa Tooley When companies across the country recently announced new work-from-home policies in response to COVID-19, the news sent employees and companies alike into a tailspin, creating hardships for many. Workers scrambled to retrieve computers, files and supplies from their workplace and identify a space at home to work; IT departments hustled to assist […]
Truck Drivers Are Essential Workers, Too
By Allan Rutter When the Oxford Dictionary chooses its word of the year for 2020, “essential” will be a strong contender, as the label for these service providers we couldn’t function without during the COVID-19 pandemic: First responders, nurses, doctors, and other hospital workers. Grocery store stockers, cashiers, and baggers. And of course, truck drivers. […]
TTI’s Kuhn Named Regents Fellow for Transportation Leadership, Service
With an unmatched dedication to improving the lives of motorists in Texas and across the country, Senior Research Engineer Beverly Kuhn has been named a Regent’s Fellow by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The 30-year employee of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) will be honored with the Regents Fellow Award during […]
The Paradox of Public Transit in a Pandemic
By Michael Walk During a pandemic, public transit may illustrate the ultimate Catch 22, even as dire conditions underscore the vital need for transit services in many communities. In the widening battle against COVID-19, we’ve been admonished to distance ourselves from each other to lower our risk of contracting the disease or spreading it to […]
How Tech Can Untangle and Transform Campus Traffic
Texas A&M’s living laboratory environment harnesses the brainpower of students, faculty and researchers and fosters innovation to maintain campus mobility By Katherine Turnbull and Peter Lange Texas A&M University’s main campus, a 5,200-acre classroom/laboratory without walls in College Station, has consistently ranked in the top five for the largest student population in the nation, with […]
Are You Currently “Home” Schooling? Add Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety to Your Child’s Schoolwork
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has closed schools statewide and left a lot of parents “home schooling” their children. If you have an elementary-age child, this is a great time to incorporate pedestrian and bicycle safety into their schoolwork. Teaching your children pedestrian and bicycle safety will help them be safer as they explore your neighborhood. […]
2020 National Work Zone Awareness Week
Safe Work Zones for All: Protect workers This week, April 20-24, is National Work Zone Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Safe Work Zones for All: Protect workers. Protect road users.” Across the country, various agencies will work together to promote safe driving habits in work zones with an emphasis on reminding drivers that work […]
Now’s the Time to Teach Your Teen to Drive
The Silver Lining in the COVID-19 Cloud The entire world is practicing social distancing, and some of us are under shelter-in-place orders. You might find you have some extra time on your hands. If you’re a parent with a teen at home, you might find yourself even growing a bit antsy for something to do […]
Car Crashes Are Down. Working From Home Keeps Us Safe On the Road
By Gregory Winfree No one yet knows how many Americans will die this year from COVID-19. But here’s a pretty safe bet on the number who will die in car crashes: Likely not as many as last year. Call it an unintended benefit of widespread stay-at-home orders designed to fight the spread of the coronavirus. […]
Need a Free, Fun Science Activity for Your 4th–6th Grader?
TTI Sheds a Light on Traffic Sign Reflectivity The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is offering parents and their homebound students a unique and inspiring lesson in the science behind how roadway objects like street signs and lane markings can be seen at night—a property called retroreflectivity. Aimed at 4th to 6th graders, the at-home […]
TTI’s Lomax Receives TSPE 2019 Engineer of the Year Award
Known for his leadership in producing the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Urban Mobility Report, TTI Research Fellow Tim Lomax received the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) Brazos Chapter 2019 Engineer of the Year Award Feb. 18. Founded in 1936, TSPE is a state society and part of the National Society of Professional Engineers. […]
Coronavirus Is Forcing Americans to Develop Work-From-Home Habits That Could Benefit Us for a Long Time
Suppressed traffic makes travel easier for emergency vehicles and supplies and offers long-term benefits, too. By Bill Eisele America’s answer to our public health crisis is, naturally, all about preserving human life. Working from home will surely help limit the spread of the coronavirus and save many lives. But this new workday normal is serving […]
A Good Time for a Walk? Sure, but Stay Safe
Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has temporarily altered life as we knew it — we’re all operating under more stress and often in tighter quarters. With some of our communities currently under shelter-in-place orders, many of us now work remotely, while others still must venture out to provide essential services. You might have already noticed that more […]