Picture a system in which transporters powered by electric motors carry trailers from trucks and containers from ships on an elevated track above existing highway right-of-way, safely separated from passenger traffic.
safety
Energy Developments and Our Roadways: Impacts and Strategies
In recent years, there has been a boom of energy-related activities in Texas, but many short- and long-term impacts on the state’s right-of-way and infrastructure are not properly documented.
Looking Out for Pedestrians
Two recent research studies on pedestrian crossings have aimed at making crosswalks safer and more efficient. Both studies are influencing national standards and making conditions better for pedestrians.
Alcohol Studies Center Transfers to TTI
Alcohol related statistics are staggering and have led Maury Dennis, with the Center for Alcohol and Drug Education Studies, to dedicate his career to educating the public about problems caused by alcohol and drug abuse.
TTI Focuses on Improving Motorcycle Safety
Motorcycle fatalities in Texas declined in 2009, halting an 11-year trend of steady increases, but there is no complacency among state officials. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Traffic Safety Program funded several projects to keep the momentum going and continue statewide efforts to improve motorcycle safety. Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) Research Scientist Patricia […]
Center for Transportation Safety Celebrates 10 Years of Helping to Save Lives
Since opening in 2001, Center for Transportation Safety staff have impacted traffic safety in Texas with research, public outreach and data analysis.
Developing Crew Resource Management Training
To lessen the number and severity of train incidents, the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Rail Research Program is developing course materials for the Long Island Rail Road.
Getting It Write — New Crash-Reporting Form for Texas Law Enforcement
If you want safer roads, you have to have accurate and effective crash reporting.
TTI Study Underscores Safety Benefits of Red-Light Cameras
Public policy and public opinion don’t necessarily go hand in hand, but when it comes to red-light cameras, two new studies suggest they do. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), most drivers like the cameras. And according to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), they work. The TTI study, although limited to Texas, […]
Texas’ Click It or Ticket Campaign Turns 10
Texas’ Click It or Ticket (CIOT) campaign achieved a significant milestone this year — 10 years of success. Since the campaign began, safety-belt use in Texas has reached record levels.
Enlightening Sign Time: TTI Helps Spread the Word about New National Retroreflectivity Standards
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) publishes the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) establishing national standards for all traffic signs. All agencies that maintain public roadways use the MUTCD to ensure signs and markings are uniform in their design and placement. Until recently, the MUTCD did not address when a traffic sign should be […]
Virtual survey crew ahead: Radiusmeter takes guesswork out of signs, markings for horizontal curves
Consistency is an important principle in roadway safety. It ensures that roadways conform to recommended guidelines and promote safety to drivers. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has developed the Radiusmeter to help improve consistency on horizontal curves. “A large percentage of crashes occur on horizontal curves on two-lane highways,” says Paul Carlson, head of TTI‘s […]
The Forgiving Roadside: TTI research, facilities are vital to protecting your loved ones
It’s five times safer to travel on our nation’s roadways today than it was five decades ago. For every 100 million miles Americans traveled in 1960, five people died. Today, the rate has dropped to just over one death per 100 million miles. “As a nation 50 years ago, we decided that killing tens of […]
If you build it…TTI lab is testing facility of choice for many
In Field of Dreams people from all over the country came to a baseball field to relive their childhood fantasies of playing alongside their favorite players. The playing field in the movie was magical…but how about polluted? Pollution is certainly a problem in the real world, and especially in our nation’s waterways. Everything from household […]
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night:TTI research improves nighttime driving safety
Drivers have numerous tools they can use in their quest to drive safely. Properly maintained traffic signs and pavement markings are two of them. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) originally aimed its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) at ensuring that signs and markings were uniform in their design and placement. This promoted consistent […]
Gate keeping in the 21st century: New Anti-Ram Standard Enhances Safety, Security
In the Middle Ages, gate keepers had it relatively easy. Castles were considered the pinnacle of defensive warfare technology. Then gunpowder was invented, and holes blasted in stone walls caused medieval strategists to reevaluate their old way of thinking. A similar change has occurred following terrorist attacks of the last 15 years, where the preferred […]