Funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Center (UTC) Program, the Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) UTC is led by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). In partnership with San Diego State University and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), center researchers endeavor to maximize the potential safety benefits of disruptive technologies through targeted […]
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Kong Publishes Paper on Phone Usage and Distracted Driving TTI Graduate Research Assistant Xiaoqiang “Jack” Kong recently coauthored the research paper “Characterizing Phone Usage While Driving: Safety Impact from Road and Operational Perspectives Using Factor Analysis” published in Accident Analysis & Prevention. Kong’s Institute coauthors include Assistant Research Scientist Subasish Das, Associate Transportation Researcher Hongmin […]
Thinking Transportation Podcasts
Download, listen, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Every other week, we interview a TTI expert or special guest on a wide range of transportation topics and discuss how those topics impact the average person. Shaking Up the System Using disruptive technologies to create safer roads. Episode 10 Roadway safety today is about much […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: National Strategies, Local Expertise — The Evolution of the UTC Program Benefits Everyone
When the Texas Highway Department formed in 1917, its engineers recognized the value of university-based facilities like those at the then-Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (later Texas A&M University) for conducting transportation research. Fast forward to 1950 and the birth of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and its charter to apply Texas A&M’s […]
U.S. Roads Meant to Last Decades – But Not Forever
By: Gregory Winfree and Zachary Grasley The subject of our nation’s infrastructure is once again prominent, both in the wake of the recent release of the American Society of Civil Engineers quadrennial report card on the state of America’s infrastructure and among our policymakers in Washington, D.C. The ASCE report card presents one of those […]
Episode 9. Half the Wheels and Eight Times the Danger: Roadways are safer these days, unless you ride a motorcycle.
Passenger vehicle fatalities in the United States have declined recently, but not motorcyclist deaths, which total about 5,000 each year. Some reasons for that are obvious, as Senior Research Scientist Mike Manser notes, but the bigger picture is more complex. Advocates continue to prioritize robust safety programs targeting not only motorcyclists, but also those who […]
Wunderlich Featured in Washington Post Article
Texas A&M Transportation Institute Senior Research Engineer and the Director of the Center for Transportation Safety Robert Wunderlich was recently quoted in an article in The Washington Post. The story, Think the pandemic made you forget how to drive and park? Experts explain what’s going on, focuses on how some people are reporting that they’ve […]
Video Summary Report — Synthesis for Quantification of Binder Availability in Recycled Materials
Increasing recycled materials content in asphalt mixtures has numerous economic and environmental benefits, but ensuring good performance has always been a challenge. That’s because stiff, brittle, heavily aged materials can result in premature cracking. This synthesis project sets the course for revising TxDOT’s Standard and/or Special Specifications to recognize this challenge. The TTI video production […]
TTI Study Produces Insights on the Use of Automated License Plate Readers for Traffic Safety Purposes
The National Highway Safety Administration published a Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) report, State of Knowledge and Practice for Using Automated License Plate Readers for Traffic Safety Purposes, Apr. 1, 2021, in the National Transportation Library. The authors include TTI Associate Research Scientist Ben Ettelman, TTI Associate Research Scientist Laura Higgins, TTI Center for Alcohol […]
Episode 8. Hey, Where’s My Amazon Order? Promises of super-fast delivery are straining our transportation system.
The pandemic and a record-setting holiday shopping season made 2020 a year like no other for the freight and delivery industry. TTI Senior Research Engineer Bill Eisele helps us understand how clicking Next Day Delivery or Same Day Delivery directly impacts (and imposes lasting consequences on) our transportation network.
TTI’s Hansen Helps Capital Metro Shape Its Microtransit Service Standards
At the Apr. 26 Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) Board of Directors meeting based in Austin, Texas, Capital Metro adopted microtransit service standards based on research led by TTI Associate Research Scientist Todd Hansen. A relatively new term in the transit industry, microtransit services focus on meeting on-demand trip requests through dynamic routing technology, […]
Episode 7. Ante Up. Are all road users paying their fair share?
Not all classes of vehicles are created equal, because they aren’t charged uniformly for how they use our transportation network. Associate Research Scientist Brianne Glover looks at how the changing mix of cars and trucks—and questions of equity and balance—might alter how we fund our roads and bridges in the future.
Wunderlich Briefs Texas House Committee on Pedestrian Safety
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Robert Wunderlich briefed the Texas House Committee on Transportation Mar. 30, 2021 on pedestrian fatality statistics as background for House Bill 443. Wunderlich, director of TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety, briefed lawmakers on the increase in Texas pedestrian fatalities since 2011 and the characteristics associated with them. […]
TTI, The Nature Conservancy Complete Comprehensive Assessment of Low-Cost Air Quality Monitors
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and its Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health (CARTEEH), in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in Texas (TNC), recently completed a study entitled Analysis of the Performance and Calibration of Low-Cost Air Quality Monitors. The study assesses the performance and calibration of low-cost air quality […]
TTI-Led Research Team Assessing Impacts of COVID-19-Induced Active Transportation Demand
COVID-19 safety measures forced people to reconsider how they travel and seek out safer alternatives, like bicycling and walking, to reduce viral exposure by social distancing. The question is, as the world opens back up and vaccines become more readily available, will we continue to see active transportation becoming more popular compared to traditional modes […]
Episode 6. May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor. Celebrating 20 years of improved young driver safety.
Car crashes have long been the leading cause of serious injury for people under age 25 in America, and in most years the top cause of death for teenagers. Russell Henk, an expert in young driver safety, outlines how a reward-based incentive program can provide a strong complement to traditional law enforcement efforts in helping […]
TTI’s Dadashova Leads Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Designs
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Assistant Research Scientist Bahar Dadashova is the team lead on a recently contracted project evaluating the safety of on-street bicycle facility design features. Funded primarily by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, the effort also includes support from Portland State University, Toole Design Group and Safe Streets Research and Consulting. […]
Texas Transportation Hall of Honor 2021 Call for Nominations
The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor board is accepting nominations for 2021 inductees until July 31, 2021. Texas is recognized as having one of the finest multimodal transportation systems in the world. The existence of this system has been a key aspect of the economic development of the state and in providing Texans with a […]
Das Publishes Transportation Research Record Analysis in TR News
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Assistant Research Scientist Subasish Das published the article, “Data Dive Into Transportation Research Record Articles: Authors, Coauthorships and Research Trends,” in the Jan.–Feb. 2021 issue of TR News, the Transportation Research Board’s bimonthly magazine. In the article, Das examines the Transportation Research Board’s Transportation Research Record (TRR), a peer-reviewed journal. […]
Video Summary Report — Traffic Control Device Analysis, Testing, and Evaluation Program
Making sure the numerous existing or planned traffic control devices — like signs, pavement markings and pedestrian crossing treatments — are performing as planned or are sufficiently appraised before implementation, researchers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute conducted a high-priority, wide-ranging and multi-year evaluation project. The TTI video production group worked with the research team […]