What's New in Safety and Human Factors

TRB will conduct a webinar on June 19, 2012, from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET that will explore the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 432: Recent Roadway Geometric Design Research for Improved Safety and Operations . Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 1.5 Professional Development Hour...

The U.S. Forest Service has released a report that summarizes the high-visibility safety apparel requirements for U.S. Forest Service employees who work on public roadways.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a facts sheet that explores data that provide estimates of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes for the United States and individually for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2010.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a facts sheet that explores the use of motorcycle helmets using 2011 data.

TRB standing committees have issued  calls for papers for the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting, January 13-17, 2013, in Washington, D.C, and the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRR). While papers addressing any relevant aspect of transportation research will be considered, some committees are soliciting papers in specific subject areas to help potential...

The New Zealand Transport Agency has released a report that explores the safety of multi-lane roundabouts versus signalized intersections, pedestrian facilities, and vertical deflection devices.

The European Transport Safety Council has released the latest issue of its bi-monthly safety newsletter that provides updates on European Union transport safety issues.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has released a report that highlights the development of safety models designed to help enable practitioners to better understand crash risk at urban intersections.

The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has released its strategic plan for the next five years. The plan is designed to establish a framework that places safety as the highest priority and employs three core principles--raising the bar to entry, maintaining high safety standards, and removing high-risk carriers and drivers.

The Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has released a report that explores the profile of the person, crash, and licensing characteristics of a group of road users involved in a casualty crash as a result of alcohol impairment.

The Federal Highway Administration has released the latest version of its Focus magazine, which highlights efforts designed to accelerate infrastructure innovations in order to build better, safer roads.

The Transportation Lighting Alliance has released a report that discusses the influence of vehicle headlamps and roadway lighting on the ability of drivers to see pedestrians along crosswalks in roundabout intersections.

The Australian Department of Infrastructure and Transport has released three reports that evaluate the effectiveness of 1,599 black spot projects approved and completed between 1996 and 2003. The Black Spot program provide funding to target road locations with either a history of crashes or which have a heightened risk of crashes occurring.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released findings from the first phase of a three-part research effort aimed at helping to mitigate large truck rollovers. ATRI’s first phase produced a database of locations with the highest frequency of large truck rollovers using more than 50,000 crash records from a nine-year period.  The full report, state-specific su...

The latest edition of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Pedestrian Forum Newsletter is now available. The newsletter highlights recent pedestrian safety activities related to engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency services that will help save lives.

TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) will hold its annual Safety Research Symposium on July 12, 2012, in Washington, D.C. The symposium is designed to provide updates on progress on SHRP 2 safety projects. Topics that will be addressed include SHRP 2’s naturalistic driving study and roadway database, analysis projects, and data access and institutional review board issu...

TRB’s Technical Activities Division has an opening for a Safety Senior Program Officer to work in the areas of engineering, transportation, safety, human factors, and research. The Senior Program Officer, Transportation Safety Specialist independently manages multiple/complex programs/projects. Manages TRB’s transportation safety, human performance, and vulnerable road user standing commit...

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has released a report that reviews the status of truck safety in four countries: Australia, Brazil, China, and the United States. The report explores the role of road freight transportation in each country, characterizes the current level of safety, and identifies truck safety challenges within each country.

The U.K.’s Rail Safety and Standards Board has released a report that explores calculations and aerodynamic tests of roll-over wind speed for freight rail containers.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a fact sheet that explores 2010 data on alcohol-impaired driving crashes and related fatalities.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a report that explores tire problems experienced by light vehicles in the pre-crash phase. The report focuses on tire problems such as blowouts or flat tires, tire or wheel deficiency, tire or wheel failure, and tire degradation.

The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a report that explores the development and evaluation of real-time crash risk-assessment models for four freeway corridors.

The Institute of Transport Economics in Norway has released a report that explores the travel patterns of car commuters, busy drivers, locally mobile seniors, public transport users and cyclists, and active youth. The report also assesses the challenges and opportunities to enable sustainable mobility among these segments.

The European Transport Safety Council has released a report that explores drunk driving in the European Union (EU) and actions taken at the EU level to curb drunk driving deaths.

TRB conducted a webinar on May 10, 2012 that highlighted current ramp and runway safety practice research completed by TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP). View the recorded webinar . Audience members will gain an understanding of the current state of ground handling practices, including inspection for foreign object debris and damage; ramp safety measures and training; and use of...

TRB is sponsoring the TRB/AASHTO Joint Roadside Safety Meeting on July 29-August 2, 2012, in Irvine, California. The meeting will focus on future goals and research needs that will help set the stage for the next versions of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Roadside Design Guide and the Manual for the Assessment of Safety Hardware. Both publication...

TRB’s Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) has released its annual program announcement that solicits funding proposals for the upcoming review cycles.  The announcement explains the IDEA programs, describes the types of eligible projects and their funding structures, suggests general areas for which IDEA proposals can be submitted, and provides guidelines and forms for submit...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 716: Travel Demand Forecasting: Parameters and Techniques provides guidelines on travel demand forecasting procedures and their application for helping to solve common transportation problems. The report presents a range of approaches that are designed to allow users to determine the level of detail and sophistication in selecti...

Delivering a safe transportation system is a universal goal among state DOTs. NCHRP was the driving force behind AASHTO’s Highway Safety Manual, which provides states with a modern, science-based approach to safety management, analysis, planning, and delivery.

The Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, a partnership of the Virginia Department of Transportation and the University of Virginia, has released a report that develops a model for forecasting peak spreading.  Peak spreading is a behavioral response by some motorists to shift their travel departure times to slightly before or after the peak period in response to incre...