Side roads, main roads, and highways have seemingly transformed into race tracks or obstacle courses during the last couple of years. Drivers slowing down, wearing seatbelts and not being under the influence can help reduce the number of deaths on roads; however, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers are also working on other ways to […]
crash testing
The TxDOT/TTI Team: Making Roadside Safety History
As the temperature hovered around 100 degrees on August 9, 2016, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) roadside safety device experts and a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) transportation engineer gathered on a runway at the Texas A&M University RELLIS Campus. They were hoping to witness a historic crash test under TxDOT’s Roadside Safety Device Crash-Testing […]
TTI Becoming Known for Expertise in Retrofitting Bridges
Transportation research often focuses on finding safer and more efficient ways of doing things. A case in point is older bridges. Some features may need to be modernized to make older bridges safer and more reliable. “The nation’s infrastructure is wearing out,” says William Williams, an associate research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute […]
National Crash-Testing Standards: TTI Makes a Big Impact with 18-Wheelers
At TTI’s crash facility, a fully loaded 18-wheeler traveling at 50 mph slammed into a concrete barrier placed on top of a retaining wall. The data from the unique crash test will prove vital.
Another TTI First: Broadcasting Crash Tests
On Sept. 26, for the first time in Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) history, a crash test at TTI’s Proving Grounds was broadcast live via the Internet to clients and stakeholders across the country. Providing live streaming crash tests was the brainchild of Dean Alberson, assistant agency director and manager of the TTI Crashworthy Structures […]
Historic Architectural Feature Could Help Thwart Terrorist Attacks
A potential new physical security barrier—historically known as a “ha-ha wall”—was first tested this week at the Texas Transportation Institute Proving Grounds in Bryan, Texas. On hand to witness the test were Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and Texas A&M System Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering M. Katherine Banks. The test, sponsored […]
Crash Survivor Credits TTI’s Technology for Saving His Life
If you drive much around Texas or around the country, there is no doubt you have seen the ET-2000 in use on guardrails. Watch this testimonial of a roadside crash survivor, Donny Ohana, and one of the inventors of this TTI-developed technology, Hayes Ross, that Ohana says saved his life. For more information about TTI’s […]
Security Is More Than a State of Mind
“9/11 changed everything.” Nearly a decade after the deadliest foreign attack on American soil in our nation’s history, that phrase is almost a cliche. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any less true. In medieval times, the main gate, or portcullis, was the most important part of a castle’s security. If the gate was breeched, enemy […]