While many Americans are preparing to travel during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, law enforcement will be ramping up their seat belt law enforcement efforts. With overwhelming evidence that seat belts save lives and help prevent serious injuries from automobile crashes, Texas’ Click It or Ticket campaign has had over 10 years of success. Since […]
Click It or Ticket Enforcement Mobilization Begins
TTI Pavement Testing Technology Voted SHRP2 Top Ranked Implementation Product
A recent state survey conducted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) of all the products developed under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) ranked a project conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Flexible Pavements Program as its highest ranked for implementation. The project was led by Senior Research […]
TTI Earns Recognition From Women’s Transportation Seminar
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute has been named Employer of the Year by the Heart of Texas Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. The organization also honored as its Woman of the Year, Cinde Weatherby, Director of TTI’s Strategic Transportation Solutions Center. The Chapter’s Employer of the Year award each year goes to a business […]
In Texas, Most Motorcycle Crashes Happen in May
May marks the start of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month when drivers of all other vehicles and all road users are reminded to safely “share the road” with motorcyclists, and to be extra alert to help keep motorcyclists safe. Consider these facts: In 2012, motorcyclists accounted for 14% of all traffic-related deaths in Texas. 460 motorcyclists […]
TTI Assistant Director Steve Roop Recognized at Patent Awards Luncheon
Texas A&M Transportation Institute Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop was honored by the Texas A&M Office of Technology Commercialization for three patents he received as part of the Freight Shuttle System, an innovative freight-movement system. The annual Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon was held Friday, April 26, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the […]
TTI Conducts Eagle Ford HazMat, Truck Traffic Study in South Texas
In 1849 Sacramento Valley, California, it was gold. In 1901 Spindletop, Texas, it was black gold. And now, thanks to advances in hydraulic fracturing (commonly called “fracking”) of rock formations to enable access to crude oil and — the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas is already producing another energy boom for the Lone […]
New Study Shines Light on Pavement Markings and Safety
When you drive at night and your headlights illuminate a lane marking, it makes you feel safer, right? After all, bright pavement markings are designed to help you stay in your lane and prevent you from running off the roadway. Called retroreflectivity, special materials in edge lines and lane lines create the brightness. With age […]
Getting Disabled Drivers on the Road Again: A TTI Tradition Continues
For the last 28 years, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has been quietly improving the lives of people suffering from a myriad of life-changing illnesses — from debilitating arthritis to paralysis — that prevent them from driving. The four-member TTI team from the Riverside Campus responsible for improving mobility for this population has just […]
Voice-To-Text Apps Offer No Driving Safety Benefit; As With Manual Texting, Reaction Times Double
Texting drivers may believe they’re being more careful when they use the voice-to-text method, but new research findings suggest that those applications offer no real safety advantage over manual texting. The study was sponsored by the Southwest Region University Transportation Center and conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). SWUTC is a part of […]
Sequester, Business Aviation, Hot Topics at Upcoming Conference
In the past month, news of the potential closure of 14 air traffic control towers as a result of the March 1 sequester deadline made headlines throughout Texas. And even though the Federal Aviation Administration recently announced plans to delay tower closures until June 15, the topic is still expected to be a major point […]
Work Zone Safety: We’re All In This Together
Roadway work zones are hazardous both for motorists who navigate through lane changes and slowed speeds and for the dedicated workers whose office is often mere feet away from moving vehicles. Each year in April, National Work Zone Awareness Week is held to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in […]
Turnbull Participates in White House Special Forum on Women in Transportation
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Executive Associate Director Katie Turnbull participated in a Special Forum on Women in Transportation sponsored by the White House Office of Public Engagement and the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) on April 4, 2013. Turnbull was one of approximately 60 women leaders from industry, public agencies, professional organizations, universities […]
As Distracted Driving Becomes an Increasing Threat on Texas Roadways, TxDOT Ramps Up Public Education
Talk. Text. Crash. campaign launches statewide It happens every day. You get a text or a phone call and you feel the need to respond immediately, even when you’re driving. But what you may not know is a simple text or call can cost you your life or someone else’s. “Distracted driving is unacceptable, and […]
Taking Research Further with the Driving Simulator
At the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), researchers have the ability to take transportation studies even further using the Institute’s driving simulator. TTI’s portable desktop driving simulator is housed in the Center for Transportation Safety (CTS). The Realtime Technologies, Inc. system uses SimCreator, software that allows researchers to test real-world roadway scenarios. Most simulators (including […]
Briefs Summarize Active Transportation and Demand Management Process
Ask any transportation professional or decision maker from an urban area what the number one challenge is, and the answer you’ll likely get is congestion. Though the problem is nothing new, the approaches to solving it are evolving. One approach that is gaining in popularity throughout the country is active transportation and demand management (ATDM). […]
Using Social Media to Tell the TTI Story
Two years ago, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) made a major leap into social media to extend the Institute’s reach in telling our story. Communications Specialist Michelle Hoelscher was asked to lead the effort to establish a social media presence for TTI. In 2011, she created a TTI Facebook page and a Twitter account […]
TTI Transportation Planners Find New Ways to Conduct Travel Surveys
Using new methods for obtaining traveler information, researchers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) are using technology in new ways to conduct an external travel survey for Omaha, Nebraska, and neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa. The survey will take place this spring. Instead of relying on traditional, more intrusive methods to obtain traveler information that […]
Upcoming Symposium Explores: Are Mileage-Based User Fees the Right Tool for the Job?
If mileage-based user fees (MBUFs) become an accepted way to pay for transportation projects, technology will play a major role in implementing them. But, which technology will be used? Does current technology offer the best solution for collecting data and funds? On April 24, the 2013 National Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees: A Technology Workshop […]
TTI Student Competes in Energy Innovation Challenge
TTI Graduate Student James Robertson and his two teammates will split a $5,000 educational scholarship for their participation in the 2nd Biennial Texas Energy Innovation Challenge. The Texas A&M University team competed against teams from The University of Texas and Texas Tech University. Their challenge: how to get power to all Texans, especially those living […]
TTI Staff External Awards and Committees
TTI researchers and staff contribute to the growth of the transportation profession by participating in, and leading, numerous local, state and national organizations. Many have recently won significant professional awards and hold elected offices or committee appointments in a variety of professional organizations. For example, more than 80 TTI researchers lead or serve on one […]