Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations: Recent Episodes
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Our ability to get from Point A to Point B is something lots of us take for granted. But transporting people and products across town or across the country every day is neither simple nor easy. Join us as we explore the challenges on Thinking Transportation, a podcast about how we get ourselves — and the things we need — from one place to another. Every other week, an expert from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute or other special guest will help us dig deep on a wide range of topics. Find out more: https://tti.tamu.edu/thinking-transportation/
The ships that bring the goods that you buy to store shelves don't sail themselves. Trained mariners man those vessels, and in times of war, mariners can also prove vital to supporting the U.S. miliary in moving men and materiel to the theater of war. Today, Allan interviews Captain Allan Post, who since 2019 had been deputy superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University-Galveston. He talks about how mariners are trained, the vibrant jobs industry his students find post-graduation and -licensure, and how the new training vessel TS Lone Star State will expand learning opportunities for mariner students in his program. | Learn More about the Texas A&M Maritime Academy
The successful conclusion to the Artemis II mission on April 10, 2026, ushered in a new era of enthusiasm for manned space flight. For NASA, the next steps in this incredible journey will include mankind's establishing permanent habitation on the moon and Mars. But a lot of work has to be done before those dreams can be fully realized. For example, what supporting infrastructure will be needed to underpin these future colonies, and how do we build it in airless, waterless environments? Our guests today include Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg, former NASA astronaut and current director for the newly minted Texas A&M University Space Institute, and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree. TTI is teaming with the A&M Space Institute to help Texas and the United States position themselves to advantage in the growing space economy. | Learn More about the Texas A&M Space Institute
Research promoting safety at rail grade crossings has saved lives by reducing collisions, the second-leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States. Trespassing by the public on railroad tracks is a particularly dangerous practice that has contributed to a recent upward trend in pedestrian fatalities. Today we talk to TTI's Jeff Warner, manager of the Institute's Multimodal Freight Program, about the various strategies to reduce collisions at grade crossings. Warner recently won the Hoy A. Richards Career Achievement Award at the National Rail Crossing Safety Conference.
When international crises occur, significant disruptions in the global supply chain can impact our daily lives in very real ways. Lately, for example, the conflict in the Middle East has been largely responsible for increasing gas prices at the pump because seaways like the Strait of Hormuz are the corridors through which much of the world's oil travels. In this episode, we visit again with Vince Mantero, TTI's director for the Institute's Center for Ports and Waterways, about how crises (manmade or otherwise) can impact shipping routes, energy flows, and operations at U.S. ports. | Meet Vince Mantero, TTI's Director for the Center for Ports and Waterways
TTI is approaching 25 years in researching and championing young driver safety through initiatives like the groundbreaking Teens in the Driver Seat program. Allan sits down with TTI's Lisa Minjares-Kyle and Stacey Tisdale, who lead the Institute's Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program, to talk about leveraging positive peer influence among teens to engender safer driving behaviors, as well as other proven strategies that have saved lives and prevented injuries. We look at the importance of brain development and decision making to the driving task, how private- and public-sector partners continue to support the YTS Program's efforts, and what new challenges young drivers might face in coming decades. | Discover more about TTI's Youth Transportation Safety Program
The Resilient Navigation and Timing (RNT) Foundation is a public benefit and scientific and educational charity, 501(c)3, organization. Its members advocate for hardening the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States, which is behind some international competitors' systems, including those of Russia and China. The foundation provides unbiased, objective advice to the public and national leaders and champions polices and systems aimed at protecting GPS satellites, signals, and users from interference. Today we talk to Dana A. Goward, president of the RNT Foundation and a retired U.S Coast Guard captain. Mr. Goward brings decades of first-hand experience with navigation issues and served for more than a decade as a member of the U.S. President’s National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board. | Learn More about the RNT Foundation
When a new U.S. presidential administration is inaugurated, federal agencies experience changes in leadership and staff. Nicole Nason served as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation during the first Trump Administration. She understands as well as anyone the challenges of pursuing policy priorities in transportation while navigating the often choppy waters of politics in Washington, D.C. Ms. Nason joins us today to discuss her passion for public safety inspired by her father, who was a motorcycle cop in New York State; reminisce with Allan about their time together as agency leaders in Washington; and urge others to pursue a life in public service. | View the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) mentioned in the episode
Tyler Duvall--currently CEO and co-founder of Cavnue, an infrastructure company dedicated to building safer, more efficient roadways while adapting today's transportation network to the next generation of vehicles--has spent most of his professional lifetime in transportation. Having served in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Duvall brings a unique expertise to solving challenges faced by all kinds of system users. He sits down with Allan to discuss his multifaceted career, as well as his take on the best approach to transforming the U.S. transportation system to meet the needs of the 21st century. | More on Transforming Roads Unleashing Smart Technologies (TRUST)
Established in 1995 by the Texas Legislature, TTI's Center for Ports and Waterways (CPW) provides valuable applied research and expertise to the Texas Marine Transportation System. Over the past 30 years, CPW's experts have helped public- and private-sector stakeholders improve the efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness of waterborne freight at all operational levels. Recently, TTI Senior Research Scientist Jim Kruse, who led the center for 23 years, announced his retirement from TTI. To succeed him as director, the Institute named Vince Mantero, formerly director of the Office of Ports and Waterways Planning in the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. Mantero brings to the job more than 25 years of experience in maritime and freight policy, planning and program management. Allan sits down with the CPW's captains, past and present, to discuss the transition, the importance of waterborne freight in the twenty-first century, and what lies ahead in the area of waterways research. | See the related story on the change in leadership
In 1950, the Texas A&M Board of Directors charged the Texas Transportation Institute (now the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI) to enlist the broad resources of the college across the spectrum of transportation research to benefit Texas, while also providing unique educational opportunities for students to study and work in the field. This agreement solidified the Cooperative Research Program between the then-Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) and TTI. For 75 years, these agencies have partnered to conduct applied research that benefits Texans and travelers worldwide by innovating and improving the safety, mobility, and resilience of our transportation network. Our host, Allan Rutter, talks about this longstanding relationship with TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree.
As he prepares to head out to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the ITS World Congress, we check in with TTI Senior Research Engineer Bob Brydia about the latest advances in transportation technology, including recent projects in Texas and where things are headed with integrating innovative applications like artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles safely, securely and efficiently. Bob heads TTI's Systems Operations and Technologies Division and has more than 35 years of experience in transportation operations. | View Bob Brydia on Advanced Transportation Technology at the 2025 ITS World Congress
Motorcyclists love the freedom of the open road. But freedom isn't free, and sometimes the price incautious riders pay after a crash is severe brain injury or even death; both, the statistics tell us, are avoidable by wearing a helmet certified by testing. Outfitting with appropriate riding gear is key to maximizing the odds of--literally--walking away from a motorcycle crash. Today, we talk to Hong Zhang, director of education for the Snell Foundation--a leading national nonprofit dedicated to setting the most effective helmet safety standards--and TTI's Cathy Brooks, project specialist in the Institute's Road User Safety Program. | For more information on the Snell Foundation
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues its Report Card for America's Infrastructure. Expressed in reader-friendly letter grades, the ratings document the current state of the country's major infrastructure assets, while also identifying needed improvements and contextualizing the relative health of these assets over time. Today, we talk to two experts--TTI's Edith Arámbula Mercado and the Texas Department of Transportation's Jamie Farris--about ASCE's 2025 report card and how Texas ranks nationally in terms of the health and reliability of its roads and bridges.
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 40,000 Americans died on U.S. roadways in 2023. We talk with TTI safety experts Emily Martin and Srinivas Geedipally about how distracted driving can lead to tragedy and what we can do, as drivers and passengers, to make our travels safer for everyone.
Tracing its origins to the Air Commerce Act of 1926, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established in 1967 as an independent agency inside the U.S. DOT charged with investigating why transportation accidents happen. In 1974, it became an independent federal agency separate from the DOT. Although largely focused on aviation, the agency also investigates roadway, marine, pipeline, and railroad accidents, as well as those involving commercial space. Today, we talk with Robert L. Sumwalt—currently executive director of the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and former chair of the NTSB—about that agency’s ongoing mission to investigate accidents and recommend improvements that make travel safer for everyone who uses our transportation network.
In 1950, the Texas A&M Board of Directors charged the Texas Transportation Institute (now the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI) to enlist the broad resources of the college across the spectrum of transportation research to benefit Texas, while also providing unique educational opportunities for students to study and work in the field. This agreement solidified the Cooperative Research Program between the then-Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) and TTI. For 75 years, these agencies have partnered to conduct applied research that benefits Texans and travelers worldwide by innovating and improving the safety, mobility, and resilience of our transportation network. Our host, Allan Rutter, talks about this longstanding relationship with TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree.
Folks are living longer thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, and that means our overall U.S. population is skewing older. The Texas Demographic Center notes that the U.S. population aged 65 and older spiked between 2010 and 2020, the largest 10-year growth on record. That means more drivers on the road are older too, and statistics show that licensees over 70 jumped from 73 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 2022. A year ago, Bernie Fette talked with TTI's Myunghoon Ko about the challenges and dangers facing older drivers, as well as how research like that performed at the Institute is producing more effective countermeasures to help keep these vulnerable drivers safer on our roadways. Today, we revisit that conversation.
Roundabouts and other innovative intersections offer a number of advantages over more traditional designs, including improved sustainability, reliability, and resilience--and astonishing benefits to traffic safety for drivers. Amanda Austin, the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT's) lead in implementing these alternative designs, and TTI Research Engineer Marcus Brewer join us this episode to discuss them. For more information on TxDOT's work in this area, see the department's Innovative Intersections web page.
In June 2024, TTI's Roadside Safety and Physical Security Team crashed a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) into a heavy-duty guardrail at 62 miles per hour. When the EV blew right through the barrier, researchers were stunned. TTI Senior Research Engineer Roger Bligh, whose 38 years of roadside safety barrier testing experience oversaw the test, joins guest host and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree to discuss the results of the testing and the broader implications for standards governing the development and deployment of roadside safety devices. | View the Crash Test
Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the University Transportation Centers Program provides grants to college and university consortia across America. With an emphasis on innovating transportation technologies, educating the next generation of transportation professionals, and transferring technology to share lessons learned, the program leverages the best academic talent at U.S. institutions of higher learning to solve mobility and safety problems that affect all Americans. Dr. Melissa Tooley, TTI assistant agency director for federal affairs and UTC operations, discusses TTI's history with the program and looks forward to future opportunities.
For more than two decades, TTI has championed young driver safety, preventing injury and saving lives through education, empowerment, and peer-led outreach. Supported by public- and private-sector sponsors, the Institute's Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program recently published Texas Trends, 2024, which captures data regarding young driver attitudes, codifies ongoing crash and injury trends, and helps us better understand the causes behind more than 900 young driver traffic deaths each year. TTI's Christine Yager discusses the report. | View the Texas Trends, 2024 report
International commerce depends on trucks crossing national borders regularly, reliably, and securely. Ports of entry like the bridges connecting the United States and Mexico in El Paso, Texas, are vital to both nations' economic vitality. But what happens when a major conduit like The Bridge of the Americas is closed for updating? Where does that traffic go? How can we keep those goods flowing without negatively impacting the surrounding community? We interview experts from TTI's Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research in El Paso to find out. | Bridges Connecting El Paso to Mexico | Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Management Plan
Texas A&M University's Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering offers an online master of engineering in engineering degree designed for engineering professionals interested in management. Led by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), this program offers valuable real-world experience from qualified instructors in topics like working with city governments to help graduates become better managers or begin management careers. Two of the instructors, TTI's Brianne Glover and Jim Cline, sit down with Allan Rutter to discuss what an applicant can expect from the program, as well as how it can help graduates' professional lives after completion.
On September 17, 2024, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report following a study of freight trains longer than 7,500 feet and their impacts on local communities. Requested by the U.S. Congress, the report recommends empowering regulatory agencies to address challenges such as safety concerns and traffic delays due to blocked crossings. Our host, TTI's Allan Rutter, served as one of twelve members on the consensus study panel that produced the report. He talks with David Willhauer, senior program officer with the Transportation Research Board, who was the project manager for the study. Listeners can find the report here.
The Washington Post recently reported that electric vehicles (EVs) now outnumber gas-powered cars in Norway, the first country to claim that distinction. The U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation--a shared agency of the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation--was created in 2021 under the bipartisan infrastructure law to help facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles across the United States. Gabriel Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, and Joe Zietsman, deputy director of TTI, join us today to talk about the advantages, challenges, and long-term goals of implementing EVs nationwide.
With National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 15-21) just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit our interview with Mark Willis from almost exactly one year ago. This is the week in which the trucking industry celebrates the contributions of roughly 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwide, who deliver the essential goods our families rely on, from food to fuel to medicine to clothing. Mark is host of the afternoon show on Road Dog Trucking, channel 146 on SiriusXM, a lifeline to truckers nationwide to other truckers and the topics that interest them like roadway safety and adequate parking. Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness, and they find insight and community through the vast reach of satellite radio.
This 89th episode of Thinking Transportation is a landmark event. Host Bernie Fette, who is retiring from service to the state of Texas after more than 30 years, is passing the podcast hosting baton to Allan Rutter, TTI's Freight Practice Leader. Included in his decades of transportation-related employment, Allan served as Federal Railroad Administrator under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004. Allan interviews Bernie about his many years of experience as a journalist, media expert, podcaster, and innovative storyteller for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute regarding all things transportation.
Factors that determine speed limits on a given roadway have a lot to do with physical conditions along the route, but how fast drivers want to go figures into the equation, too.
When special events set new records for attendance, they tend to do the same for roadway gridlock. To ensure success, experts rely on the right mix of traffic planning and outreach.
Building a new highway involves a complex and painstaking process, one that begins years before the folks in hard hats and orange vests arrive on the scene.
We rely upon waterborne shipping for most of the products we buy and use every day. We hardly give that reliance any thought at all – until something goes wrong.
It’s not enough to know that traffic is bad and getting worse. We also need to know where, when, and why. TTI Senior Research Scientist and urban mobility expert David Schrank joins us to discuss the "how" of answering those questions.
As the 2024 hurricane season approaches again, climate experts across the United States are predicting an especially active season, driven largely by higher-than-average sea surface temperatures. This makes ever more important the research and planning that begins long before extreme weather strikes, and continues long after the storm has passed.
As car makers focus on protecting drivers and passengers, do their computer-based innovations really make us safer, or might they in some cases compromise our safety?
FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree reflect upon a wide range of mobility challenges and opportunities, with references to Star Wars, Dick Tracy and hair styles.
Artificial intelligence seeks to replicate the analytical and creative capabilities of the human brain. Perhaps that lofty ambition helps to explain why so many humans are leery of the idea.
Cities working to become leaders in clean transportation are electrifying their bus fleets, and learning that the road to success can be a bumpy one.
The former leader of TRB may have stepped away from full-time employment, but he hasn’t stepped away entirely from the industry he has helped to guide for half a century.
Every road construction project involves the hidden element of utilities in the right of way. That work isn’t necessarily as visible, but it’s every bit as consequential.
The transit industry is better equipped to work through a public health crisis than it was before COVID-19. And even as it faces persistent challenges, public transportation continues to play a central role in everyday mobility.
Drivers over age 80 are more prone to serious and deadly crashes. As this population segment grows, researchers are working toward fresh countermeasures.
Attitudes and behaviors related to driving reveal our traffic safety culture. Like other forms of culture, it has a way of changing over time— and not always for the better.
With near-magical precision, GPS applications reliably guide multiple functions for us every moment of every day. But as they hold great promise, those applications also face vulnerabilities.
America’s infrastructure was built to last, but it wasn’t built to last forever. The Center for Infrastructure Renewal is focusing on how to ensure the resilience of the collective physical systems that America runs upon.
The well-being of creatures protected under the Endangered Species Act is a high priority for transportation agencies. That’s good for the critters, and for agency operations as well.
In using roadsides for the collection of solar power, can we succeed in achieving both environmental and economic goals? It all depends on how you define “success.”
Traffic congestion is relative, because what constitutes gridlock depends a lot on where you live. Clearly, though, it’s no longer just a big city problem.
As we gather for the 97th Annual Transportation Short Course, we're revisiting our interview with Texas Department of Transportation CEO Marc Williams from approximately one year ago. Despite some Texas-sized mobility challenges and worldwide supply-chain obstacles, the guy in charge of the Texas Department of Transportation wants you to know he’s never been more optimistic about our transportation future.
Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness. They find insight and community through the vast reach of satellite radio.
It’s been said that all politics is local. Given the unique nature of major population centers everywhere, the same could be said for transportation.
Obvious pressures when we’re driving on the roadways—like aggressive drivers, stormy weather, and unruly passengers—are widely recognized. But less conspicuous triggers can compromise safety, too.
Decarbonizing the transportation sector—the single-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions—won’t happen overnight. But the U.S. Department of Energy has a plan.
The dangers for those who travel on foot have constituted a public health challenge for as long as we’ve had motor vehicles. Why are pedestrian deaths increasing so fast? And what can be done to stem the tide?
Disasters – whether natural or man-made – can cripple transportation systems. Sophisticated modeling can go a long way in minimizing disruptions and restoring routine conditions.
Two years have passed since America’s last road and bridge report card, and we’ll wait another two years for the next one. An unofficial mid-term grade suggests that conditions are improving.
Texas owes its transportation primacy in large part to an elite group of visionary leaders whose contributions merit permanent and meaningful places in the Lone Star State’s history.
In recent years, roughly half of the motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in Texas were unlicensed. Safety advocates are working to enlist more instructors who can help riders develop the safety skills they need.
Nearly 300 million vehicles are on American roads today. Nearly all of them run on gasoline or diesel, so a large-scale shift to electric power would be transformative. A new Texas A&M University System venture is working to figure out how that might work.
As a transportation journalist, Bernie Wagenblast has been weaving narratives of a professional sort for more than 40 years. As it turns out, one of her most recent stories is more personal.
The value that small general aviation airports deliver far exceeds what their modest size might suggest. To many local government officials, those facilities represent “the most valuable mile of pavement in the county.”
As we’re about to observe National Work Zone Awareness Week and in light of a work zone crash last month in Maryland, in which 6 workers were killed, we're revisiting a discussion with TTI's Jerry Ullman, research engineer and highway work zone safety expert. The number of fatal crashes in America is up by about 7 percent over the past decade. But in roadway work zones, it’s up by more than 40 percent. Jerry discusses why those work zones are dangerous not only for those who work in them, but for those who navigate them as well.
Major railroad disasters tend to produce major news headlines, but there are hundreds of derailments each year in America that we never hear about. Why is that?
It’s been said that journalists are responsible for writing the first draft of history. As the transportation writer for the Houston Chronicle, Dug Begley has been crafting that city’s mobility story for more than a decade.
Even after wrapping up a 46-year stretch at TTI, Tim Lomax still enjoys the adrenaline rush that comes from finding new traffic challenges, and fixing them.
America’s roads were built to last, but they weren’t built to last forever. New research is taking a forensic approach to maintaining and repairing our surface transportation infrastructure.
Most of what we buy and use every day comes to us on cargo ships, which represent essential links in worldwide distribution systems. A global public health crisis reminded us of how important they really are.
Big-time athletic events can create big-time roadway gridlock. Experts game out the possibilities to navigate chaos – from the first car in, to the last one out.
Wrong-way crashes on high-speed roadways are uncommon, but they’re almost always fatal. Ongoing research is supporting countermeasures to help drivers avoid – or escape -- a rare but perilous roadway hazard.
Rail industry employees and management were at odds for months and on the verge of a nationwide shutdown, until Congress and the White House invoked an arcane 1926 law to settle the dispute in only a few days.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers is wrapping up a pivotal year in its history. Jeff Paniati, the organization’s CEO, and TTI's Beverly Kuhn, its outgoing president, talk about lessons learned from the past 12 months and how the transportation profession is evolving -- along with society.
Along America’s 2,000-mile border with Mexico, there’s plenty of room for things to go awry when it comes to the secure, efficient movement of people and goods. Myriad public and private partnerships and the latest research are helping ensure that they don’t.
Big trucks cause more damage to transportation infrastructure, but they pay less to use roads and bridges than passenger vehicles do. New research findings – with input from the freight industry – can inform how policy makers might change that.
Despite some Texas-sized mobility challenges and worldwide supply-chain obstacles, the guy in charge of the Texas Department of Transportation wants you to know he’s never been more optimistic about our transportation future.
Large vehicle collisions in and around the giant West Texas oil patch in recent years have been alarmingly frequent and serious. Through a partnership approach, local transportation agencies and industry leaders are turning the tide.
Young drivers face greater risks on the road than any other group. Some of the reasons for that are unlikely to change, but one thing that’s clearly open to revision is the manner in which we approach the problem.
The COVID-19 pandemic helped to expose a chronic shortage of truck drivers in America – and a scarcity of places for those truckers to park, too. That has big implications for how we get the products we need, and how much we pay for them.
From self-driving tech to safety culture and power grids. When a transportation research leader and an auto industry journalist cross paths, the conversation can go in many directions.
Along with the growing popularity of bicycling comes an increased need for safety. But while the number of bicycle crash injuries dropped during 2020, that was not the case for bicycle crash fatalities. TTI researchers Bahar Dadashova and Joan Hudson take a close look at that pattern, and what can be done about it.
Numbering nearly 300, Texas has more community airports than counties. Largely out of view and out of mind for most of us, they are nonetheless central to the state’s prosperity and security.
Predictions for an especially active hurricane season place added importance on the research and planning that begins long before extreme weather strikes, and continues long after the storm has passed.
Some statistics like population growth and the price of crude oil are directly linked to transportation planning in Texas. But others—like commercial airline boardings and home sales—play a role, too. Collectively, the numbers paint a picture that informs how we fund our transportation system.
Close to half of all workplace deaths result from transportation incidents, including crashes that involve large trucks. Drivers of those trucks are at higher risk than workers in other jobs. And to the degree that we share road space with truckers, the risk extends to the rest of us, too. Evolving policies resulting from new research could help to change that.
The newest cars on the road today generate huge amounts of data, telling us much about our driving habits and helping us build and operate our roadways. How safely and efficiently we travel in the future will depend in part on how wisely stakeholders use that data.
Today’s pavements bear little resemblance to the driving surfaces of the early 1900s. Research Engineer Darlene Goehl explains how decades of experimentation have led to development of the modern streets and highways that are central to our daily lives.
Sometimes vehicle crashes can’t be avoided, but it is possible to make them less life threatening. Senior Research Engineer Lance Bullard joins us to discuss how research has been making roadsides safer for travelers for as long as we’ve had roadsides.
One of the first lessons we learned about autonomous travel remains true today: Building a self-driving car is a lot more difficult than many people expected. Senior Research Scientist Bob Brydia sits down with us again to discuss progress made in the past year related to self-driving vehicles becoming commonplace on our roadways, and how far they have yet to go.
Government agencies, utilities, vehicle manufacturers, and related industries all have a stake in a clean transportation future. Though they share a common interest and purpose, these groups haven’t collaborated extensively in the past. They have the chance — and the urgency — to do so now.
Unintended encounters with cars and trucks are bad news for animals. Not only do creatures face dangers on existing roads, they’re often imperiled from the moment road construction begins. Assistant Research Scientist Jett McFalls talks about why protecting endangered snakes and toads is good for the creatures, and good for keeping road projects on schedule and on budget, too.
How we develop our transportation systems has direct and lasting impacts on personal well-being. Associate Research Scientist Ben Ettelman explains how newly identified pathways can help agencies ensure that the goals for efficient mobility and robust public health are inextricably linked.
The concept of urban air mobility (UAM) envisions the safe and efficient movement of people and cargo at low altitudes within populated areas. Many complex issues present challenges, but as TTI Senior Research Scientist Jeff Borowiec explains, electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (EVTOLs) can help us realize the benefits and promise of UAM.
TTI researchers have measured traffic gridlock through an urban area lens for decades. Senior Research Scientist David Schrank explains why they’ve also been narrowing the focus in Texas, looking at specific sections of freeways and major streets, and ranking them—all 1,854 of them.
Transportation improvements require tireless effort and inspired innovation. TTI Executive Associate Director Katie Turnbull and Neil Pedersen, executive director at the Transportation Research Board (TRB), discuss how universities help TRB to advance the evidence-based, scientific solutions necessary to sustaining a safe, efficient and reliable transportation system.
The number of fatal crashes in America is up by about 7 percent over the past decade. But in roadway work zones, it’s up by more than 40 percent. Senior Research Engineer Jerry Ullman explores why those work zones are dangerous not only for those who work in them, but for those who navigate them as well.
Supply chains everywhere were strained to their limits long before the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic simply exposed weaknesses that were already there. TTI’s Senior Research Scientist Jolanda Prozzi and Research Scientist Juan Villa share new understanding about the complexity and fragility of the systems we depend on to get our goods where they need to go.
Greg Winfree and Zac Doerzaph, leaders of America’s two most prominent transportation research agencies, share their insights on the nation’s mobility priorities, and what university-based research can do to support those priorities. (They talk a little about motorcycles and teleportation, too.)
The latest statistics tell us that while driving drunk has become a bit less common, driving high is more prevalent than ever. As Senior Research Scientist Troy Walden explains, what exactly constitutes driving under the influence is not as simple as it once was, especially given the constantly changing landscape of state laws.
The idea of engaging the public on decisions about how to spend public transportation dollars seems perfectly reasonable, but it’s not how things were always done. Senior Research Scientist Tina Geiselbrecht tells us how federal legislation 30 years ago made transportation planning a lot more user-focused.
The electrification of the medium- and large-truck fleet is driven by both business interests and climate concerns, and it’s boosted by leaps in battery and charging technology. Senior Research Scientist Allan Rutter explains how the transformation of what powers freight delivery may come sooner than many of us ever thought possible.
The number of electric cars and trucks on our roadways is growing, and the pace of that growth is accelerating. Are we ready for that? TTI Assistant Director Joe Zietsman and Research Scientist Ann Xu talk about the pros and cons of battery-driven travel, which can be more complex than they might seem.
Travel for many of us has become more convenient, affordable, productive and, in some cases, more enjoyable than ever. But not everyone enjoys the benefits of options like bike sharing, ride hailing, and e-scooters. TTI Research Scientist Ipek Sener helps us understand how underserved populations are missing out on the promise of life-enhancing transportation technologies.
Just as roads and bridges need regular reinforcement, so too do the professionals who help us travel safely and smoothly on our transportation network. Senior Research Engineer Beverly Kuhn explains how inspiring and guiding new ranks of practitioners can ensure our transportation system continues to support and improve upon our way of life.
Whatever occupies our thoughts can influence our performance on the road. In this episode, Senior Research Scientist Katie Womack takes a close look at our awareness of traffic laws and safety messages over the past decade, and how that knowledge can shape our driving behavior.
An efficient transportation network is central to the success of any commercial enterprise, including those that aren’t legal. Our roads and bridges enable the scourge of human trafficking, but as Research Engineer John Haberman tells us, those who manage the network can play a part in disrupting that heinous activity.
Cars and pedestrians have been sharing space on city streets for more than a century, and traveling on foot remains as dangerous as it’s ever been. Associate Transportation Researcher Neal Johnson helps us explore worrisome trends for the most vulnerable users of our roadway network.
America’s worst public health crisis in a century gave us a short-lived gridlock hiatus, as TTI Research Fellow Tim Lomax explains. The pandemic also amplified an important and timeless lesson in roadway traffic management at a time when U.S. infrastructure needs are once again top of mind.
Roadway safety today is about much more than traffic laws, warning signs, and guardrails. TTI Senior Research Scientist Sue Chrysler illustrates how technologies – even disruptive technologies – are re-imagining how we can prevent crashes and mitigate their enormous personal and financial costs.
Passenger vehicle fatalities in the United States have declined recently, but not motorcyclist deaths, which total about 5,000 each year. Some reasons for that are obvious, as Senior Research Scientist Mike Manser notes, but the bigger picture is more complex. Advocates continue to prioritize robust safety programs targeting not only motorcyclists, but also those who share the road with them.
The pandemic and a record-setting holiday shopping season made 2020 a year like no other for the freight and delivery industry. TTI Senior Research Engineer Bill Eisele helps us understand how clicking Next Day Delivery or Same Day Delivery directly impacts (and imposes lasting consequences on) our transportation network.
Not all classes of vehicles are created equal, because they aren’t charged uniformly for how they use our transportation network. Associate Research Scientist Brianne Glover looks at how the changing mix of cars and trucks — and questions of equity and balance — might alter how we fund our roads and bridges in the future.
Car crashes have long been the leading cause of serious injury for people under age 25 in America, and in most years the top cause of death for teenagers. Russell Henk, an expert in young driver safety, outlines how a reward-based incentive program can provide a strong complement to traditional law enforcement efforts in helping novice drivers embrace positive driving behaviors changes for the rest of their lives.
American roads and bridges get us to where we live, learn, work, shop, and play. And that network has needed repair for a while, now. TTI experts Edith Arámbula Mercado and Charles Gurganus explain how maintaining the nation’s infrastructure is a lot like taking care of our own homes. The longer we postpone necessary upkeep, the higher the cost will be.
Presidential administrations and their appointees come and go, but USDOT’s mobility mission remains constant. Challenges span a wide spectrum from yesterday’s aging infrastructure to tomorrow’s emerging technologies. Transportation is the circulatory system of the American way of life, Greg Winfree reminds us, and potholes don’t come with “R” or “D” labels.
Autonomous vehicles were supposed to be more widely available by now, but they’re not. So, what happened? Those cars have to learn how to do more than just drive, TTI Senior Research Scientist Bob Brydia tells us. They have to learn how to think, too.
Our 2020 experience taught us we can reduce roadway gridlock drastically in the face of a public health crisis, by reducing the demand for road space. According to TTI Senior Research Scientist David Schrank, the bigger test will come in whether we can do so once the crisis is over.
Nearly all new vehicles have some degree of self-driving capability and internet connectivity. Every time one of those cars corrects a lane-departing drift, brakes hard, or senses a sharp speed boost, it sends a message. And if we listen to those signals, we could save a lot of lives. Host Bernie Fette talks with TTI’s Research Scientist Eva Shipp and Senior Research Engineer Shawn Turner about a revolutionary approach to preventing crashes.