On May 30, in a bold move to end traffic deaths, the Texas Transportation Commission directed the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to cut traffic fatalities in half by 2035 and end them entirely by 2050. These goals are a natural outcome of the current TxDOT #EndtheStreak campaign, which “encourages Texans to drive safely to […]
safety
Death-By-Walking is Becoming a Chronic Public Health Issue
By Michael Manser Pedestrian dangers are nothing new. To traverse city streets a century ago, pedestrians had to navigate a gauntlet of cars, bicycles, horse-drawn buggies, trucks and streetcars, typically unencumbered by expectations that they do so at designated crosswalks. But city streets have changed dramatically since then, as have all of the vehicular dynamics […]
Statewide Symposium Empowers College-Aged Youth to End Preventable Car Crashes
Car crashes remain the leading cause of injury and death for young persons under the age of 25. Two of the leading causes of these crashes that involve young drivers in Texas are distracted driving and impaired driving (under the influence of alcohol or drugs). The U in the Driver Seat (UDS) peer-to-peer program continues […]
As Cars Get Better, Driving Gets Worse
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 […]
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 […]
At a Glance — Dollars and Sense: The Texas Rural Transportation Network
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What We’re Thinking: Why Maintaining a Lone Desert Highway Matters to Us All
By Katie Turnbull This article was originally published in Dallas News, Dec. 26, 2018. For all the contrasts that distinguish urban and rural Texans, one thing that unites us all is the need for reliable transportation. Exactly what that reliable transportation looks like depends on where we choose to live. Regardless of that choice, certain […]
Making Shared Space Safer: TTI Studies Automated, Connected Vehicle Technology to Improve Transit, Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety
Public transit vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists share roads in urban, suburban and rural environments. Signalized intersections in urban areas represent complex shared spaces. “Intersections are busy places, with passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, pedestrians and bicyclists all sharing space,” notes Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Executive Associate Director Katie Turnbull. “Transit stops are typically located near […]
Changing Our Mindset — TTI Research Reveals a Disconnect Between Belief and Behavior in Teen Drivers
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 United States were on the decline before the trend reversed in 2013. Over those 10 years, researchers in the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) […]
What We’re Thinking: Rural Texas Highways Give Us a Reliable Path to the Pump
By Bill Stockton This article was originally published in The Texas Tribune, November 14, 2018. Your car’s next tank of gas is on its way to you. You can be assured of that, even though the journey it takes to get there is a sometimes arduous one. That journey could begin at one of hundreds […]
TTI Develops Traffic Safety Science Curriculum for Secondary-School Teachers
Science teachers across the country can now easily obtain a no-cost curriculum and the materials needed to teach their students about the science of retroreflectivity, a unique characteristic of traffic signs and pavement markings. The materials used to make the signs and markings make it possible to direct light from vehicles back to drivers, which […]
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 […]