The Lone Star State has experienced an increase in the number of pedestrians and bicyclists who have lost their lives in roadway crashes. Within the last decade, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities rose by 69 percent in Texas. These statistics — but, even more so, the real people behind the numbers — present a safety concern […]
safety
Evaluating Road Types Improves Safety, Mobility in Rural Areas
Rural roadways often have a high number of crashes, especially severe crashes. To help decrease that number, researchers have focused safety and mobility studies on rural areas that experience increased truck traffic and road usage during certain economic booms — like oil booms. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Odessa District experienced an oil boom […]
TTI Facilities Research Road Safety Devices, Technologies
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Visibility Research Laboratory and smart intersection explore how improvements in road markings, signals and equipment can keep road users safe. Through the Eyes of the Visibility Research Laboratory Researchers in TTI’s Visibility Research Laboratory evaluate retroreflective materials, lights, coatings and other technologies designed to provide nighttime visibility. The lab […]
Preventing Roadway Crashes before They Occur
Roadway departure crashes make up a significant number of the crashes on Texas roadways each year. In 2016 alone, Texas roads experienced 61,973 roadway departure crashes, most of which occurred on two-way two-lane (TWTL) highways (92 percent). These numbers — especially in a state that just saw its second-deadliest year on record for road fatalities […]
Proper Friction Equals Safer Roads
The correct amount of pavement friction is critical for motorist safety, especially during wet weather. The Wet Surface Crash Reduction Program guidelines from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Traffic Safety Division provide engineers with a framework for identifying existing pavement friction and the tools for specifying new pavement surfaces that will meet project-specific friction […]
TTI Develops Educational Materials for Pedestrians, Bicyclists
Approximately two pedestrians and/or bicyclists are killed every day in crashes involving a large truck or bus. In these crashes, failure to yield right-of-way is a leading contributing factor at intersections and mid-blocks. Simply put, pedestrians and bicyclists may not be aware that large trucks and buses have larger blind spots, wider turning radii and […]
U in the Driver Seat Holds First In-Person Symposium Since 2019
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) U in the Driver Seat (UDS) education and outreach program held its 2022 UDS Symposium in Austin, Texas, April 29–30. With the support of State Farm, the Texas Department of Transportation, and Union Pacific Railroad, the symposium was available at no cost to college-aged students representing different colleges across […]
Before Warning Bells Ring — Hazmat, Train Derailment Emergency Planning for Schools
Hazardous materials (hazmat) travel daily by road, rail, pipeline, waterway and air through the Lone Star State. Most transport vehicles safely arrive with their cargo. It’s when things go wrong — such as a hazmat incident or train derailment near a school — that a well-informed, thorough safety plan can save student, teacher and staff […]
Caution: Navigation Tools Could Steer Drivers to Shortest, But Not Safest Route
Time for a road trip. You punch the destination into your GPS and choose the suggested route. But is this shortest route the safest? Not necessarily, according to Texas A&M University researchers. Dr. Dominique Lord and Dr. Soheil Sohrabi, with the help of funding from the A.P. and Florence Wiley Faculty Fellow at Texas A&M, designed a […]
CIITR’s Jason Wu Applies LiDAR Sensors to Safety, Traffic Monitoring
Managing high traffic at border crossings necessitates secure, efficient technologies. Sensors monitor vehicles entering and exiting the queue and relay that information to a traffic management center. While there are often limitations with video cameras and radar sensors, 3D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors — such as those installed in self-driving cars — can […]
TTI, TxDOT Win National Safety Award: “Safer by Design” Tool Aims to Save Lives on Texas Rural Roadways
The Roadway Safety Foundation honored the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a 2021 National Roadway Safety Award Oct. 6. The foundation lauded the TxDOT-sponsored, TTI-developed “Safer by Design” tool for use by roadway designers to assess the safety characteristics of rural highway design. Nearly 4,000 people died […]
TTI’s Beverly Kuhn Co-Leads a STEM Workshop at the 2021 AISES National Conference
With support from the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ (ITE’s) Arizona Section and Mountain District, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Beverly Kuhn co-led an activity during The Boeing Company’s Sept. 22 STEM Day event as part of the 2021 American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference at the Phoenix Convention Center. […]
Working Together: 2021 Virtual Texas Pedestrian Forum Takes a Multidisciplinary Approach to Address Pedestrian Safety
For the second year in a row, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) hosted the virtual Texas Pedestrian Safety Forum Aug. 12, 2021. Supported by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety (CTS), the forum helped more than 430 people learn more about how we can make roadways safer for […]
TTI, TxDOT Win National Safety Award
“Safer by Design” Tool Aims to Save Lives on Texas Rural Roadways The Roadway Safety Foundation has honored the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a 2021 National Roadway Safety Award. The foundation lauded the TxDOT-sponsored, TTI-developed “Safer by Design” tool, a user-friendly innovation roadway designers can use […]
TTI’s Fitzpatrick Co-Authors NCHRP User Guide on Setting Posted Speed Limits
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Kay Fitzpatrick led the team that wrote the recently published National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 966, Posted Speed Limit Setting Procedure and Tool: User Guide. Fitzpatrick’s co-authors include Subasish Das, associate research scientist, and Michael P. Pratt, assistant research engineer, both in TTI’s Roadway […]
A Tale of Two Problems: 2021 Virtual Traffic Safety Conference Addresses COVID-19’s Impact on Traffic Safety Fatalities
For the second year in a row, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) hosted the virtual Traffic Safety Conference, held July 14–16, 2021. Supported by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the event focused on high-priority safety issues and innovative solutions to end the streak of daily fatal crashes in Texas. This year’s conference also […]
In the Fight: TTI, Team Study How Transportation Professionals Can Help End Human Trafficking
John Habermann, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) research engineer, recently coauthored the article “The Contribution of State and Local DOTs to Disrupting Human Trafficking” in the June 2021 issue of the ITE Journal published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The publication reaches nearly 16,000 subscribers. The article defines human trafficking as the “recruitment, harboring, […]
Learning Something New at the 2021 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference
With 384 attendees this year, the fifth annual 2021 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference helped child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs) stay informed on the latest research and best practices aimed at keeping our most precious cargo safe when traveling. The conference also provided participants with continuing education credits for CPST recertification. Sponsored by the Texas […]
Does Your Teen Text While Driving? Now There’s An App For That.
By Russell Henk What we’re learning about the battle against the coronavirus could go a long way in helping us thwart vehicle crashes. It’s a simple lesson: Prevention – in the form of personal responsibility – can help us contain the public health crisis of COVID-19, and it can do the same with the epidemic […]
Wunderlich Quoted in USA Today on the Need to Improve Rural Road Safety
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Robert Wunderlich is featured in a USA Today story (source: Pew/Stateline), “Deadly crashes on rural roads prompt new safety efforts,” wherein he discusses building safety into road projects from the get-go to help prevent traffic crashes. Simple engineering changes at the design stage — such as rumble […]