Walking is the oldest form of transportation on the planet, but it’s ever in need of new ideas to make it safer. That urgency was recently on display at the annual Texas Statewide Pedestrian Safety Forum, hosted Aug. 22 by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) and sponsored by the […]
safety
TTI Awarded Prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant to Study Health, Safety Impacts of CAVs
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) a grant to evaluate safety and health concerns related to implementing connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies. CAVs hold the promise to revolutionize our transportation system through improved mobility and safety while also reducing congestion and crash-related deaths and injuries. However […]
2019 Conference Focuses on Heroes of Child Passenger Safety Community
A small army of advocates was celebrated for the work they do in child passenger safety at the 3rd annual Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference, held in Austin July 29–31. Most of the 270 attendees were child passenger safety seat technicians (CPSTs) from across Texas. As part of the conference, they learned how tragedies can […]
Zero Deaths Directive Applauded by Experts at 2019 Traffic Safety Conference
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 […]
At a Glance — The Intersection of Health and Transportation
Photo (bottom, right) credit: Amani A/Shutterstock.com
What We’re Thinking: As Cars Get Better, Driving Gets Worse
By Russell Henk This article was originally published in Dallas News, April 11, 2019. 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. […]
Zero Deaths Directive Applauded by Experts at 2019 Traffic Safety Conference
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 […]
Identifying Transportation Solutions That Promote Healthy Aging
The quality of life and transportation access are inescapably tied, no matter who you are. But that link is especially critical if you’re among those Americans classified as older. And older is a fast-growing group. The Baby Boomer generation will be over the age of 65 by 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning […]
Driven to Improve Safety: TTI, Texas A&M Partners Collaborate to Reduce Agricultural Crashes
Driving for work can be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States. Beyond the tragic loss of life or permanent injury resulting from such incidents, societal costs are mounting via rising health care costs and increasing business […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: What Goes Around Comes Around
Convenience Culture? How About Compassion Culture? I’m a big fan of science fiction (SF) — old standards like The Twilight Zone and Star Wars, and newer classics-to-be like the Marvel movies. One reason I enjoy SF so much is that the genre often uses its fantastic landscapes and far-out circumstances to present, in stark relief, […]
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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Two Decades of Super 2 Research and Implementation for TxDOT Continues to Produce Benefits
With more than 57,000 miles of two-lane rural highways in Texas — where it’s estimated that 68 percent of rural travel occurs — Texas drivers are known to pull onto the shoulder to let a vehicle pass, sometimes creating an unsafe situation. Developing and increasing use of low-cost roadway safety and capacity improvements are key […]
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 […]