Transportation Professional Certification Board Update

The Transportation Professional Certification Board Inc. (TPCB) announces that starting with the October 2008 exam the TPCB will be offering computer based test administration for its four certification programs (PTOE, PTP, TOPS and TSOS). This will provide applicants with the opportunity to take the test closer to home at any of the 275 locations throughout the United States, Canada and more than 40 international sites. Exams are scheduled during a thirty day “window” for each of the three annual time frames—October, March and August—the exam is offered. Upon approval applicants will be able to go online to determine the exam location and date. If the day is not available, applicants will be able to choose another date. More detailed information is located at www.tpcb.org/examschedule.asp.

Updated ITE Website...

Be sure to check out the new look of the ITE website. It is cleaner, and now easier to find the information you need. Check it out at http://www.ite.org/

Machine Vision's Eye on Driving's Future

By Ralph Vartabedian

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 7, 2008

Wouldn't it be great if traffic signals were half as smart as traffic cops? Some new technology is promising to improve the intelligence of traffic signals at major intersections. It is just one of several major advances in which cameras and computers are transforming law enforcement, highway safety and eventually driving itself.

Aldis Corp., an Oak Ridge, Tenn., technology company, is developing a camera and software system that promises by next year a significant improvement in automated traffic signals. For decades, traffic engineers have gone out every few years and attempted to time signals to maximize the flow of vehicles on the majority of major streets. It is only somewhat effective.

Unless a street grid is perfectly symmetrical, engineers can time signals for only one direction of traffic. And if traffic signals are spaced more than half a mile apart, the platoon of vehicles from one signal to another breaks up, said Tom Hicks, vice chairman of the traffic engineering subcommittee of the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

To supplement timing, engineers have put detectors in the road to determine when vehicles arrive at an intersection. These detectors -- loops of wire embedded in the road -- are expensive and prone to constant failure. And more recently, engineers have used up to eight cameras to detect vehicles, an even more expensive solution.

Aldis plans to start testing next month a single camera that would be hung below a traffic signal, looking out about 600 feet in every direction with a fisheye lens. A computer with some fairly advanced software would calculate the speed of cars, trucks and buses, timing the signals to maximize the flow of vehicles, said Bill Malkes, who helped develop the system.

"If it sees you coming and there is nothing in the other direction, it changes the signal so you don't have to stop," Malkes said. The custom camera and associated software and hardware will cost an estimated $15,000 per intersection, somewhat more expensive than buried loops but requiring less costly maintenance over time, Malkes said.

The setup not only would increase the capacity of the road, but it would also improve the fuel economy of vehicles and reduce emissions, which are greatest when vehicles accelerate from a stop. The safety potential also seems significant, Malkes said, allowing the system to hold cross traffic if it senses that a car is not going to stop for a red light. More than 800 Americans are killed each year when somebody runs a red light.

Another type of camera, mounted on a police car, promises more changes for American roadways. The camera can scan up to 30 license plates per second, convert the images into data and match license plate numbers against a list of wanted vehicles. The patrol officer is alerted on his car terminal to a hot car.

The system, developed by ELSAG North America Law Enforcement Systems, a unit of Finmeccanica, is in use by police departments around the country, including in Rialto, Upland and Baldwin Park. Recently, it was adapted for use on school buses. The idea in that implementation is to capture license plate images of vehicles that don't obey school bus laws and might endanger students during loading or unloading, a spokeswoman said. The data are transferred to a laptop in the bus and then reviewed for violators at the end of the day.

Sebastian Thrun, director of artificial intelligence for Stanford University, said machine vision will eventually transform our transportation system in myriad ways. "We can make driving more efficient, safer and more fun," Thrun said.

The potential may be greatest with automated vehicles. In November, a Stanford team came in second in a Defense Department "urban challenge" contest, in which fully automated vehicles navigated through mock intersections, traffic circles and streets at a 60-mile course in Victorville. Machine vision still faces many challenges, Thrun said. Cameras and their image processing have trouble understanding something new and are not nearly as good as humans at judging distance.

The automated cars in Victorville had to use laser range-finders, which send out light and measure the amount of time it takes for the light to bounce back. Nonetheless, Thrun predicts that within eight years cars will have a number of automation features, allowing drivers to set vehicles on automatic pilot and take a nap or direct an auto to park itself inside a garage. "In the grand scheme of things, we are making a lot of progress," he said.

Good Question: How Do You Drive In A Roundabout?
Jason DeRusha, Reporter
WCCO-TV- Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN
Broadcast 4/30/08

http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=41040@wcco.dayport.com

They are appearing more and more often in Minnesota: roundabouts. Instead of a traffic signal or a four-way stop, there's a traffic circle, where drivers yield and then turn right.

But because it's a fairly new innovation to this state, some drivers are getting confused. "It feels unorganized doesn't it?" asked one woman, outside an Edina roundabout. "I've seen a couple people going the wrong direction," added another woman, outside the new Richfield roundabout.

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, there are at least 30 roundabouts on Minnesota roads today with 40 more expected to be completed by the end of 2008. "It's going to be a learning curve for Minnesotans to get used to traveling through a roundabouts," said Wayne Houle, City Engineer and Director of Public Works for the city of Edina. Edina just installed three roundabouts near the Galleria shopping mall, near West 70th Street and France Avenue. "It's going quite well," said Houle. "We haven't had an accident since they were installed. No fender-benders."

Houle said the most important rule to remember about roundabouts involves yielding. "The vehicle that's inside the roundabout has the right-of-way," he said. Basically, whenever there's a gap in traffic in the circle, that's the time to pull into the circle. When you're inside, you shouldn't stop until you exit.

The Edina roundabouts have a colored, raised section of asphalt on the interior of the one-lane traffic circle. That is not for drivers. "The colored pavement is a truck apron," said Houle. It's intended for trucks who have a hard time making the tight turn of the circle.

A study of roundabouts funded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found crashes down 38 percent, after nearly two dozen intersections were converted to roundabouts. Crashes with injuries dropped 76 percent. Other benefits: roundabouts are cheaper to install than putting in a signal, and traffic tends to flow more smoothly and at lower speeds.

"The other thing about roundabouts is that they're better for air quality," said Houle. That's because there's no sitting at a red light, idling. In Virginia, a study found the installation of 10 roundabouts saved more than 200,000 gallons of fuel each year, based on the hours of idling that were eliminated.

2008 MWITE Awards Announced

Last Friday, District Vice President John Davis announced the winners of the Section Activities, Student Chapter and Student Paper Awards for 2008. Congratulations to all the winners!

Illinois DOT fails to see humor in Oak Lawn's quirky stop-sign campaign
State agency cites federal regulations in ordering halt to anti-speeding messages

Oak Lawn officials were hoping extra messages on stop signs would get more drivers to heed the signs. (Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante / September 28, 2007)

Story repringted from Chicago Tribune
by Lolly Bowean, Tribune reporter
12:22 AM EDT, May 1, 2008

The snide and comical remarks in octagonal shapes under stop signs in Oak Lawn were supposed to be a funny way to get motorists to halt and pay attention instead of flying through intersections, Mayor Dave Heilmann said.But some seven months after the signs went up, the laughter has stopped.

Heilmann had to remove the signs after the Illinois Department of Transportation determined they violate the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, he said. If he didn't, the village risked losing federally funded projects, IDOT officials said in a letter." I thought that was a very harsh response to an effort to promote safety," Heilmann said. "I truly believe the signs were making an impact. They were around schools and heavily trafficked areas. The community loved them, and we heard from all over the country about how thinking outside the box was a good way to reinforce the message that people need to stop."

Heilmann launched his public safety campaign to cut down on speeding through stop signs in September. He added slogans such as "and smell the roses" and "means that you aren't moving" to 50 stop signs. At the time, Heilmann said he thought the remarks would get motorists to pause, if for nothing else, to read the phrases. He was sure the quirky signs would help, but residents who had complained for years about drivers not obeying signs had mixed opinions.

There are no statistics on how many drivers fail to stop in Oak Lawn. And though police officers sometimes monitor troublesome intersections, they can't watch them at all times to enforce safety laws, Heilmann said.

When he got the letter from IDOT on April 17, he ordered the signs removed." I don't want to fight with anybody," he said. "I wanted to send a good message and have a good public safety campaign." Still, Heilmann said he was disappointed that he had to junk $1,700 worth of signs." I think government needs to take itself less seriously," he said. "We have to take the work seriously, but it's OK to smile and to be creative in enforcing a serious message."

Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune