By Russell Henk Our cars keep getting better, but our driving seems to be getting worse. Auto design has evolved from safety belts and airbags that help us survive crashes to features like lane-departure warnings and automatic emergency braking that help us avoid them. Still, the rate of distracted driving deaths rose twice as fast […]
safety
2019 National Work Zone Awareness Week–Drive Like You Work Here
This week, April 8–12, is National Work Zone Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Drive Like You Work Here.” Across the country, various agencies will work together to promote safe driving habits in work zones with an emphasis on reminding drivers that work zone safety awareness starts with those behind the wheel. The Texas A&M […]
Fresh Approach Needed to Reduce Teen Car Fatalities
By Lisa Minjares-Kyle Car crashes remain the No. 1 cause of death and injury for young people. For most of the past decade, teen crash deaths in the U.S. were on a decline before the trend reversed in 2013. Over those 10 years, we surveyed 109,266 teens at 281 schools in 11 states, to draw […]
Houston Chronicle Series Looks At Dangers Posed by Walking and Cycling in the Houston Region
Texas Together on the Road to Zero: TTI’s Traffic Safety Conference Looks at Ending Fatalities
“This is Texas together on the road to zero,” said Robert Wunderlich as he opened the 2018 Traffic Safety Conference in Sugar Land, Texas, August 8–10. Wunderlich, the director of the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), made the announcement after he asked attendees to stand if they work to […]
Slower Doesn’t Always Mean Safer — NCHRP Guide Helps Planners Mitigate Work Zone Crashes
Roadways don’t build themselves. They require careful planning, construction and regular maintenance, all of which require work zones designed to keep both workers and travelers safe. Sometimes those measures fail. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), in 2017, there were 27,148 work zone crashes in Texas. Of those, 199 were fatalities, and 813 […]
TTI’s Traffic Safety Conference Targets Ending Roadway Fatalities
“This is Texas together on the road to zero,” said Robert Wunderlich, director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for Transportation Safety as he opened the 2018 Traffic Safety Conference in Sugar Land, Texas. The conference, supported by the Texas Department of Transportation, was held August 8–10. TTI hosts the Traffic Safety Conference […]
Child Passenger Safety Conference Highlights Life-Saving Efforts of Technicians
The 2018 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference was held June 24–26 in San Marcos, Texas. About 300 child passenger safety seat technicians (CPSTs) and safety advocates heard firsthand from Michele and Brooke Ice, mother-daughter keynote luncheon speakers, who spoke on the importance of the work they do. Michele credits CPSTs with saving her daughter’s life […]
As New School Year Begins, TTI Study Shows Risky Behaviors Continue by Teen Drivers, Despite Knowing the Dangers
Teen drivers understand that texting and talking on their cell phones are among their most dangerous behaviors behind the wheel, but they admit to doing them anyway. That’s one of the findings from the Teen Driver Risk Awareness Survey conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The survey — one of the largest of […]
TTI Research Looks at What Makes Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes More Severe
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) looked at nearly 2,800 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes from 2011 through 2014 in 20 counties across the state of Texas. Half of the counties had high levels of oilfield activity. The researchers used statistical tools to identify the top factors associated with more severe crashes. The Federal Motor […]
Hawkins’s Dedication to Roadway Safety Recognized with ARTBA Award
Gene Hawkins, research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), has been honored with the John “Jake” Landen Memorial Highway Safety Award in recognition of his “significant and lasting contributions to the safety of our nation’s highways.” The award is presented annually by the Traffic Safety Industry Division of the American Road & Transportation […]
Safety Research Essential in Light of National Increase in Traffic Crashes: TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety
With fatal and serious-injury crashes on the rise, the work of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) is more critical than ever. “We’ve seen a steady increase in crashes over the last five years in Texas. A large part of this is due to the economy being better: we’re driving […]
TTI’s Center for Alcohol and Drug Education Studies Works to Eliminate Impaired Driving
When traffic safety experts think about the problem of impaired driving in Texas, words like troublesome and frustrating come to mind. Despite dedicated efforts to make Texas roadways safer, the Lone Star State typically leads the country in the number of alcohol-related deaths, and always ranks in the top 10 states for the highest rate […]
TTI Pedestrian Safety Research Influences National Policy
Senior Research Engineer Kay Fitzpatrick, nationally known pedestrian safety researcher at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), is accustomed to phone calls from traffic engineers who want to discuss her lifesaving research results. She is expecting a lot more of those calls now that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued Interim Approval 21 for […]
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2018 — Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility
This week, Apr. 9–13, 2018, is National Work Zone Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility.” Across the country, various agencies will work together to promote safe driving habits in work zones with an emphasis on reminding drivers that work zone safety awareness starts with those behind the wheel. The Texas […]
Building on a Foundation of Shared Trust, Vision: TTI and Texas A&M’s Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Look Toward the Future
In 1950, Texas A&M College already enjoyed a 40-year reputation for innovative road materials research. That, combined with the college’s land-grant mission of public service, made it a natural home for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The shared connection between academic learning and applied research was embodied in TTI’s first director, Fred Benson, who […]
The Campus As a Classroom: TTI Creates Opportunities for Texas A&M Engineering Students
In March 2016, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) embarked on the Campus Transportation Technology Initiative (CTTI). Supported by Texas A&M University and funded by President Michael K. Young, the project’s vision is to bring transportation innovation to campus to improve safety, mobility and quality of life. TTI Senior Research Scientist Bob Brydia leads the […]
We Need Automatic Braking on Trains, but It’s Going to Take a Lot of Hard Work
Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Gregory Winfree, J.D., and Allan Rutter weigh in on rail safety A number of high-profile passenger rail crashes have captured public attention recently. Although their circumstances may differ, the tragedies are a grim reminder that train safety belongs high on our list of transportation policy priorities. A long-distance train from New […]
At a Glance: 20 Years of Partnering with ARTBA on the Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse
Celebrating 20 Years of the Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse See related story. *Source: American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Transportation Builder®, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 5, 16–22. On this page: For More Information For more information:
A Partnership in Progress: TTI, USDOT Celebrate a Half Century of Research Innovations
For the past 50 years, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has provided assistance to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to make the nation’s transportation system safer, more efficient and more resilient. Across the DOT’s spectrum of modal agencies—air, highways, motor carriers, rail, transit, maritime, traffic safety, and pipeline and hazardous materials—TTI expertise has […]