State Farm has awarded a $100,000 grant to TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS), making the company the largest corporate sponsor of the growing peer-based safety program for young drivers. The funding will go toward supporting the program in Texas. State Farm made its announcement on the eve of what is typically the deadliest […]
State Farm Grant Coincides with Deadliest Month for Teenage Drivers
Christiansen Elected to ITS America Board
Texas Transportation Institute Director Dennis Christiansen was elected to a three-year term on the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) board and joined the board at the organization’s June board meeting. He will also serve on the ITS America Policy and Business Council, which focuses on transportation policy, business leadership, and government and international […]
TTI Freight Shuttle, New Guardrail Highlighted at Patent Luncheon
Eight employees of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) were recognized at the Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon recently, which was held at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. Steve Roop, Leslie Olson and Curtis Morgan were honored for their patent, described simply as a freight transportation system and method. The […]
TTI Leads Mileage-Based User Fee Conference
Some 115 federal, state and local government representatives, transportation system users, private-sector representatives and transportation researchers attended the Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees (MBUF) in Colorado, June 13-14. That represents a 60 percent increase over last year’s attendance. MBUFs, also known as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, would raise funds based on how many miles […]
Road User Fees: The Right Solution for America?
Experts, Researchers Examine the Issues during Symposium Declining revenue generated from fuel taxes is contributing to the nation’s road construction and maintenance funding crisis. A two-day Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees (MBUF) will begin Monday, June 13 in Breckenridge, Colorado, to find solutions. MBUF, also known as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, would raise funds […]
It’s Bike to Work Week: Study Hopes to Improve Austin Biking
Researchers from The University of Texas and Texas A&M University are hoping volunteers with smart phones can help them gather better data for improving bicycle routes and services in the Austin area. Using CycleTracks, a free smart phone application available for iPhones and Android-based phones, researchers from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and the UT […]
Seymour Receives Regents Fellow Designation
Ed Seymour, Texas Transportation Institute associate agency director, has been presented with a Regents Fellow Service Award, which is among the most prestigious honors bestowed by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The award was presented during ceremonies held March 24 by the Board of Regents. Seymour joins 75 other agency professionals singled […]
McCully Remembered for Texas Highway Beautification
Former Research Scientist Wayne McCully, who played a vital role in beautifying Texas highways — especially every spring — died recently after a long illness. He was 91 years old. McCully was the manager of the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Vegetation Management Program, a Texas A&M University faculty member in the Range Management Department and […]
Epps Part of NAPA’s Hot-Mix Hall of Fame
Jon Epps, executive associate director of the Texas Transportation Institute, was inducted into the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA’s) Hot-Mix Asphalt Hall of Fame at the 56th annual meeting of the association in Orlando, Fla., last month. The hall of fame was “established to recognize and honor individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions […]
RITA’s Appel Tours TTI and UTCs, Connects with Students
During Peter Appel’s recent visit to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC) and the University Transportation Center for Mobility™ (UTCM), it was easy to see what motivates the administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT). […]
Fight the Gas Pump: TTI Researcher Suggests “Eco-Driving”
For motorists across the country, it feels like history is repeating itself. Average gasoline prices are once again well over $3.00 a gallon. Back in 2007, fuel prices reached these levels, and hit over $4.00 in 2008. Some predictions have prices at the pump heading to $5.00. Commuters are likely once again contemplating changes in […]
TRB’s Skinner Named Research Champion
Robert Skinner, the executive director of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) was honored by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) during the Institute’s reception in Washington, D.C., Jan. 23 – which takes place each year on Sunday night of TRB’s Annual Meeting. The TTI Director’s Research Champion Award was presented to Skinner for his support of […]
By Popular Demand, Crash Reporting Changes Underway
If you want safer roads, you have to have accurate and effective accident reporting. That’s why traffic safety experts and researchers — but especially Texas law enforcement officers — are cheering a proposed new accident-reporting form. The new form was the result of a collaboration between TTI and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) designed […]
Annual Study on Nationwide Traffic Congestion to be released January 20
The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will distribute the findings of its annual Urban Mobility Report at 12:01 a.m. CDT on Thursday, January 20, 2011. Sponsors of the study, established in 1982, include the Texas Transportation Institute, the University Transportation Center for Mobility, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association – Transportation Development Foundation, and the […]
Leading the Distracted Driving Research Effort
TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) is positioning itself to become the go-to source in Texas for research related to distracted driving – a growing safety concern for policy makers in the state and around the country. Enter Joel Cooper, an assistant research scientist hired by CTS last summer. Already, he has testified twice before […]
Hydrogen Fuel Tanks Tested at TTI
The Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Roadside Safety Program is helping to determine the crashworthiness and safety of vehicles equipped with hydrogen fuel tanks in a series of unusual crash tests at the Riverside Campus. The tests will help provide data toward the development of federal motor vehicle safety standards when hydrogen becomes an alternative fuel […]
Seymour Named Regents Fellow
TTI Associate Agency Director Ed Seymour was named a Regents Fellow by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents during its meeting Dec. 2. Seymour joins 75 other agency professionals who have been singled out for the Regents Fellow Service Award since the program began in 1998. He is only the seventh TTI employee […]
Street-Sign Regulations: Fact vs. Fiction
Recent reports that new federal regulations requiring a replacement of existing road signs could bankrupt cities and other entities are not entirely based on fact, according to one of the nation’s leading experts on traffic control device regulations. “Some of the reporting is not painting an accurate picture of the economic impact,” says Gene Hawkins, […]
Anderson Joins Elite Construction Organization
Stuart Anderson, Zachry Professor in Design and Construction Integration II in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and TTI Manager of the Construction Program, was inducted into the National Academy of Construction (NAC) in ceremonies held recently in New York City. The prestigious election into the select organization “made up of industry leaders whose present […]
Following Partnership, IBM Addresses TTI Employees at UTCM Colloquium
When it comes to solving transportation issues, few techniques matter as much as data analysis. That was the main theme of the latest University Transportation Center for Mobility (UTCM) colloquium, entitled “Smarter City Vision: An Opportunity to Think and Act in New Ways,” presented by IBM. “We are gathering tons of data,” Johnny Rowland of […]