Seat belts save lives. That’s why Texas is drawing the line for drivers and passengers: Buckle up or face a fine! Not only is wearing a seat belt the single most important step you can take to protect yourself in a crash, drivers and adult passengers who aren’t wearing a seat belt can each receive […]
safety
TxDOT Kicks off Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles Campaign
On average, a motorcyclist dies in a crash on Texas roads every day. To mark Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May – and to remember the 455 motorcyclists lost in crashes last year – the Texas Department of Transportation is launching its “Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles” campaign. “Motorcycles can be difficult to […]
National Contest Challenges Transportation Students to Improve Roadway Safety
The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) today announced a “Traffic Control Device Challenge” in partnership with the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board (TRB), a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The challenge will focus on how America’s roadway system must change to accommodate both human and “machine” […]
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2016 — Don’t Be That Driver!
April 11-15 is National Work Zone Awareness week. Each year in April, National Work Zone Awareness Week is held to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones. This year’s theme is “Don’t be that driver!” According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), “In 2015, there were 21,886 work zone crashes […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® to Encourage Safe Interactions for Texas Teens and Large Trucks
In the past three years, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes have increased in Texas by 29 percent in the Permian Basin and 55 percent in the Eagle Ford Shale regions. Between 2011 and 2012, such crashes involved an estimated 2,006 drivers under the age of 26. In response to the increase in crashes concurrent with […]
Registration Open For 2016 Traffic Safety Conference
Planning is underway for the 2016 Statewide Traffic Safety Conference in College Station. No matter what your area of expertise may be or what specific approaches to solving traffic safety problems you take, we’re all working toward a common goal: significant and permanent reductions in the deaths and injuries on our streets and highways. Don’t […]
TTI Researchers Investigate Reasons Impaired Drivers Choose Transportation Network Companies to Provide Safe Rides
For years transportation safety officials have encouraged impaired drivers to find a sober ride home — be it designating a driver, catching a cab or riding the bus. Another option became available in 2009, when transportation network companies (TNCs) first appeared. TNCs provide on-demand taxi-like transportation via self-dispatched independent drivers. Riders summon drivers through a […]
New Rapid-Flashing Beacon Shows Great Promise in Improving Pedestrian Safety
For many pedestrians, crossing a busy multilane roadway without the protection of a traffic signal is a nerve-wracking, sometimes dangerous proposition, even when using a marked crosswalk. As a means of improving safety at uncontrolled pedestrian crosswalks, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has sponsored research on a variety of traffic control devices intended to increase […]
Visualizing a Safer Transportation Community
From automated cruise control to Google self-driving cars to trucks platooning, the world of connected, automated and autonomous vehicles is rapidly evolving. A research project sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is examining connected and automated vehicle applications to improve transit, bicyclist and pedestrian […]
Encouraging Safe Interactions Between Teens and Large Trucks
In the past three years, commercial motor vehicle crashes have increased 29 percent in the Permian Basin and 55 percent in the Eagle Ford Shale regions of Texas. Between 2011 and 2012, such crashes involved an estimated 2,006 drivers under the age of 26. In response to the increase in crashes concurrent with the oil […]
TTI Awarded Major FHWA Safety Contract
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has been selected as a team leader for a major multiyear, multimillion dollar contract awarded recently by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety (HSA). The wide-ranging safety support contract, which could provide as much as $19 million in funding over a five-year period, will involve numerous efforts […]
TTI Organizes Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Conference
Held every other year, about 120 highway-rail grade crossing safety professionals attended the 2015 National Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Training Conference in Arlington, Texas, Nov. 1-4. Organized by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the conference is attended by state agencies, railroad employees and vendors concerned with improving safety at railroad crossings. About 250 fatalities […]
Carlson One of Five Experts Asked to Contribute at FHWA Workshop on Visibility
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently published a summary report, Breakthroughs in Vision and Visibility for Highway Safety. The report documents the workshop, held August 13-14, 2014, at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. Sponsored by FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and Development and the Office of Safety—with support from the Exploratory Advanced Research […]
National Safety Council Provides Safe Driving Tips This Busy Holiday Season
A hallmark of Thanksgiving is traveling to be with family and friends, but whether it involves a short drive or a long road trip, the same risks apply. According to Deborah A.P. Hersman, NSC president and CEO, sensible precautions can make the difference between a safe visit home or an unwelcome trip to the emergency room. […]
TTI Takes a Second Look at Rapid-Flash Beacons for Pedestrian Crossings
Researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) are studying the effectiveness of rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFB) in improving pedestrian crossing safety. Previous research has showed that the RRFBs increase the number of drivers yielding to crossing pedestrians, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has asked TTI to investigate modifications to the RRFB before adding […]
Hudson Awarded NHTSA grant for The Unintended Highway Pedestrian
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has been selected by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to conduct a one-year project on reducing the number of motor vehicle–related pedestrian fatalities in Texas. Project manager and TTI Associate Researcher, Joan Hudson has been awarded $47,500 for the one-year project titled, The Unintended Highway Pedestrian – What […]
New Findings: More New Oil and Gas Wells, More Crashes and Injury Costs
A new study from TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center shows a correlation between increased oil and gas drilling activity and crashes in energy-rich areas of the state. The findings are based on a comparison of two timeframes: 2006-2009 and 2010-2013 in the Permian Basin, Barnett Shale, and Eagle Ford Shale regions. In both the Permian […]
TTI Researcher Assists with Innovative Safety Program
MyCarDoesWhat, a national public education campaign launched by the University of Iowa (UI) and National Safety Council (NSC), kicks off this week. The one-of-a-kind campaign is dedicated to educating and demonstrating to drivers vehicle safety technologies designed to help prevent crashes. The foundation for the campaign was set by the National Consumer Survey of Driving […]
Interagency Cooperation: Working Together for Texans
Relieving Traffic Congestion, Facilitating Evacuations for Houston Thanks in part to a decades-long relationship developed and strengthened through an interagency agreement (IAC) between the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) Houston District and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers, 1,000 miles of Houston roadways are monitored by a low-cost traffic data collection system. The system collects […]
“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”: Texas DPS Is Cracking Down on Drunk Driving This July Fourth
The Fourth of July holiday is a favorite time of year for many Americans. Backyard parties, good food, and fireworks. But the celebrating unfortunately turns deadly when people drive after drinking alcohol. Drunk driving is a preventable problem on Independence Day each year in the United States. In 2013, Forbes magazine named the Independence Day […]