The Traffic Engineering Council Technical Committee on Pavement Marking Patterns Used at Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossings: An Informational Report was selected to receive the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE’s) 2011 Coordinating Council Best Project Award. Kay Fitzpatrick, research engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), chaired the committee, and TTI Assistant Research Engineer Marcus Brewer was also a committee member.
The report can be used by decision makers and practitioners to assist in developing or refining policies and practices for applying pavement markings at uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. It also identified opportunities to educate or support these users regarding the application of pavement markings at uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.
“The technical committee included 14 members who among other tasks provided insights into U.S. and Canada regional differences in how crosswalk markings are selected,” says Fitzpatrick “ITE and ITE technical committees provide a wonderful opportunity for interactions on a national level and this technical committee benefited from the discussions we had during the committee’s activities. We are pleased that ITE recognized our efforts with this award.”
The ITE Coordinating Council Best Project Award may be awarded annually for technical committee excellence. The award recognizes an outstanding contribution to the ITE Coordinating Council of the Institute of Transportation Engineers through excellence in an ITE Coordinating Council project committee report.
Teens in the Driver Seat
TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) is the recipient of the 2011 Transportation Achievement Award in Safety by ITE. TDS Program Director Russell Henk was presented the award at the ITE Annual Meeting in St. Louis August 15. This is the second time that ITE has awarded TDS with the achievement award. The first time was in 2007.
TDS is the nation’s first peer-to-peer program focusing solely on teen-driver safety. Its goal is to prevent crashes by raising awareness of the top driving dangers for young drivers and supporting teens’ efforts to develop and deliver safety messages to their peers. Student teams at more than 500 Texas schools have started TDS programs, reaching more than half a million of their peers with safe-driving messages. Other states, including Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina and California are now implementing TDS programs.
“Most young drivers don’t know that they’re many times more likely to die in a crash than people in other age groups,” Henk Says. “This award signifies the importance of what TDS is all about — saving lives. It’s working and we are all extremely proud and honored by the recognition the program is receiving.”
To see other TDS awards, visit https://www.t-driver.com/about-us/history/.