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 […]
Federal Funding Accelerates Teen Driving Safety
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 […]
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 […]
One Year on the Road: TTI’s Instrumented Vehicle
In March 2007, TTI researchers began monitoring drivers who volunteered for a variety of projects designed to study human behavior with the help of a $100,000 ‘smart car.’ TTI’s Instrumented Vehicle is a 2006 Toyota Highlander equipped with numerous video cameras, a Global Positioning System (GPS), radar and an on-board computer that is able to […]
Texas Perpetual Pavements: TTI Testing Reveals Good News
In 2000, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) began constructing sections of eight heavily traveled roadways (mainly on I-35 between Laredo and Dallas) with thick, 15- to 20-inch asphalt layers. The hope was that the extra cost of so-called “perpetual pavements” would be recouped over their estimated 50-year lifespan since reconstruction would not be necessary. […]
TTI Researchers Honored at TRB Annual Meeting
A prestigious “best paper” award was given to a team of TTI researchers during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 87th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. The paper, “License Plate and Telephone Numbers in Changeable Message Sign AMBER Alert Messages” won the D. Grant Mickle Award for outstanding paper in the field of operation, safety and […]
Man Credits TTI-Designed Guardrail with Saving Life
At only 23, paramedic Garrett Placke has a lot to look forward to. Following his crash into a guardrail, he says he owes the rest of his life to TTI and Trinity Industries. It was raining that Sunday afternoon as he traveled toward College Station on State Highway 47, ironically, not far from the entrance […]
Paul Brubaker Tours, Praises TTI
President Bush appointee Paul Brubaker, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), told TTI employees, “The world is going to look very, very different in 10 years.” Brubaker was referring to the nation’s growing and shifting population, the price of oil and the challenge of financing infrastructure projects. […]
State Representative Visits TTI
In her first visit to TTI, Rep. Lois Kolkhorst was introduced to numerous facets of transportation research. The District 13 State Representative met with the Institute’s Leadership Team on Nov. 19 during an informal gathering at Riverside Campus. The Brenham, Texas, native is in her fourth term representing Austin, Grimes, Walker and Washington Counties. Cathy […]
Experts Tackle Deer-Vehicle Crash Problem
In the continuing effort to reduce the number of collisions between deer and vehicles, a symposium, headed up by the director of the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center (DVCIR Center) at TTI, Keith Knapp, was held at the New York State Department of Transportation in Schenectady. Nationwide there are an estimated one million deer-vehicle […]
Reilly Named 2007 Research Champion
The 2007 TTI/Trinity Research Champion Award has been presented to Dr. Robert J. Reilly, the former director of the Cooperative Research Program at the Transportation Research Board. “Bob Reilly is much deserving of this award,” noted Director Dennis Christiansen. “Under his 22 year leadership, the program has grown dramatically. Bob established the hallmarks of the […]
Statewide Survey Highlights Teens’ Risky Driving Habits
Most teenage driving fatalities happen at night and, based on a survey by TTI researchers, teens really are in the dark about the dangers associated with nighttime driving. That was the message of an Austin news conference conducted by the Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Program Oct. 30, just days before the end of […]
Argentina and TTI Create Transportation Partnership
With a growing population and improved economy, Argentina is facing some unique challenges related to highway safety and road construction and design. The Asociación Argentina de Carreteras (Argentine Roads Association) and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will be working together to find transportation solutions in Latin America. The agreement was signed by the president of […]
81st Annual Transportation Short Course Embraces Change, Looks to the Future
The opening session of the 81st Annual Transportation Short Course highlighted past achievements of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) while acknowledging the challenges ahead for Texas transportation professionals. Dr. Dennis L. Christiansen, director of the Texas Transportation Institute, and Dr. Michael D. McKinney, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, welcomed TxDOT and members […]
Texas Transportation Hall of Honor Welcomes the Class of 2007
The stately board room in the Texas Department of Transportation’s historic Dewitt Greer Building in Austin was an apt setting for the induction ceremony of three transportation visionaries into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor on September 25. The class of 2007 includes J.C. Dingwall, Ernest E. Howard and Marcus L. Yancey, Jr. Texas Transportation […]
Annual Study Shows Traffic Congestion Worsening in Cities Large and Small
COLLEGE STATION, TX — Traffic congestion continues to worsen in American cities of all sizes, creating a $78 billion annual drain on the U.S. economy in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel—that’s 105 million weeks of vacation and 58 fully-loaded supertankers. These are among the key findings […]
Center Opening Doors for Transportation Solutions
The newly formed University Transportation Center for Mobility (UTCM) at the Texas Transportation Institute is opening new doors for researchers and educators to pursue projects for mobility enhancement. Congestion management and mitigation, nationwide mobility, rural public transportation and infrastructure financing have far-reaching implications in the lives of every American. For this reason the UTCM is […]
TTI Researchers Familiar with Mexican Truck Issue
Barring delays from anticipated legal challenges, Mexican trucks will soon be allowed into the U.S. interior to haul goods from and then back to Mexico. However, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers who have worked along the Texas/Mexico border do not expect an inundation of Mexican trucks into the United States. “I was surprised to learn […]