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Roads Can Be Safer, Top Federal Highway Official Says...
By eTrucker Staff ( www.etrucker.com )

Acting Federal Highway Administrator Jim Ray has issued a “call to arms” on highway safety, urging state Departments of Transportation to adopt more coordinated, systemwide approaches to reduce crashes. "Safety is our top priority, and while the fatality rate on our nation’s roads is the lowest in history, we are always seeking new ways to prevent tragedies where lives are lost," says Ray, the nation’s top highway official. "We owe it to the traveling public to work even more creatively."

Each year, nearly 43,000 people – motorists, passengers and pedestrians – die on America’s roads. Though the fatality rate – 1.41 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled – is the lowest in the nation’s history, the number of fatalities has hovered at about the same point for nearly five years.

FHWA safety officials met with transportation officials and safety experts Friday, July 25, in an online conference – a "webinar" – as part of a new effort to improve roadway safety nationally. In it, the agency strongly recommended better use of nine tools that are key to reducing roadway fatalities each year:

• Roadway safety audits: State DOTs should formalize the use of these audits, which are comprehensive evaluations of existing or planned roads or intersections to identify potential safety improvements.
• Rumble strips and rumble stripes: Used in centerline and shoulders, these cost-effective devices have shown demonstrable improvement in warning drivers of lane departure, reducing by 14 percent head-on collisions and opposite-direction sideswipe crashes. Shoulder rumble strips and stripes have shown a 38 percent reduction in run-off-road crashes on freeways, and between 13-18 percent on rural roads.
• Median barriers: Used to separate opposing traffic on divided highways, these barriers have a long track record of reducing cross-median collisions. States are encouraged to consider using cable median barriers where appropriate to further heighten roadway safety.
• Safety Edge: This paving technique, giving a 30- to 35-degree slope to the road’s edge, reduces the risk to drivers if their tire inadvertently falls over an otherwise near-vertical road edge, leading to loss of vehicle control and rollover crashes. Safety Edge makes such notoriously severe crashes far less likely.
• Roundabouts: Roundabouts have demonstrated a 60- to 87-percent reduction in crashes.
• Turning lanes at stop-controlled intersections: At intersections with significant turning volume, turning lanes for right- and left-turns on major road approaches can reduce crashes dramatically – in some cases, by as much as 55 percent.
• Yellow change intervals: Red-light running crashes at intersections, which too frequently result in fatalities, can be reduced by setting yellow-light signals properly. Studies show a one-second increase in the yellow signal interval can reduce red-light violations by as much as 50 percent.
• Medians and pedestrian refuge areas in urban and suburban areas: Raised medians or pedestrian refuge areas at pedestrian crossings at marked crosswalks have shown a 46 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. FHWA recommends that medians be between 4 and 8 feet wide to improve pedestrian safety.
• Walkways: Ensuring a sidewalk or pathway exists near a roadway can reduce pedestrian crashes by as much 88 percent. FHWA recommends a pathway of at least 4 feet wide of stabilized or paved surface in areas routinely used by pedestrians.

To review the FHWA’s new policy, go to their website.

Olympic Countdown...

Wang Li gives the speech at the press conference.

Transport Services and Traffic Control Running Smoothly for the Olympics

(reprinted from the Official website of the Bejing Olympics, 07/29/08 -- http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/preparation/n214488571.shtml)

(BEIJING, July 29) -- Transport services in Beijing are able to meet the requirements of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wang Li, vice director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, and Yu Chunquan, director of BOCOG's Games, Wang Li, vice director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, and Yu Chunquan, director of BOCOG's Transport Department, assured reporters at a press conference held at 11:00 a.m. on July 29.

Wang outlined the services and measures taken by the municipal government to ensure satisfactory public transportation during the Olympic Games. Beginning July 20, for example, vehicles began operating on alternate days based on even or odd plate numbers, and Olympic-designated traffic lanes became effective on some roads.. In the past week, traffic conditions across Beijing have seen significant improvement, with far fewer reports of traffic jams and accidents than just a week prior.

"The Olympic Games are approaching, and we have established a very good network and highly efficient system to guarantee a high-quality public transportation system. We are confident that we will satisfy the international community, athletes and tourists from various countries. We are confident about implementing all the control measures. We are ready," said Wang.

BOCOG's Transport Department, Yu added, is responsible for providing transportation services for accredited client groups, including members of the Olympic family, athletes, team officials, technical officials, accredited media and journalists. The client group population is expected to reach 50,000."

Between July 20 and September 20, Olympic transportation services will cover all the competition venues and standard training venues in Beijing as well as non-competition venues such as Olympic Family hotels, the Olympic Village, the Media Village, the MPC (Main Press Center) and the IBC (International Broadcast Center). The hotels of International Sports Federations (IFs) VIPs, restaurants and other officially designated places will also be covered by the system.

The vehicles are ready and there are in all 7,000 vehicles -- not counting the vehicles for use at venues in the co-host cities. Of these, 3,200 vehicles are for members of the Olympic Family and NOCs, 1,660 vehicles are for athletes, technical officials and accredited media, and 80 vehicles are for the transportation of luggage and operations as outlined by BOCOG's Transport Department. Another 1,000 large coaches and more than 1,000 rate card small buses will be provided to sponsors.

BOCOG's Transport Department has recruited 13,000 professional drivers from passenger transport companies as well as volunteers in Beijing. They will be allocated to more than 50 service vehicle fleets of eight transport service operating teams. All the drivers have service qualifications and have undergone special Olympic training programs.

In addition to the special transport services for the delegations, it will provide shuttle buses for athletes, and technical officials and accredited media journalists. During peak hours, more than 170 shuttle bus routes will be in operation.

Check out SAFEROADMAPS.ORG...


Road less traveled is the more deadly one
By JEFF SHELMAN, Minneapolis Star Tribune
(Originally published on Star Tribune website, July 28, 2008)


Getting behind the wheel of an automobile has significant consequences, a list that includes death. But how often do people really think about that when they turn the key of their car or truck? The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota would like people to ponder just what might happen if they are distracted, tired, had a couple too many beers or decide that that seat belt is a pain.

That's why the U's center dedicated to rural highway safety plotted more than 42,000 traffic fatalities in the United States in 2006 -- the equivalent of 115 each day -- and placed them on an interactive map on the Internet.

Today, its "Safe Road Maps" website will be officially launched at http://www.saferoadmaps.org/ during an annual conference on rural safety. There, visitors can enter their address or ZIP code and see where automotive fatalities occurred that year. They can see whether anyone died in their area or on oft-traveled routes. The listing for each fatality also indicates whether speeding or alcohol was a factor in the crash or the victim was wearing a seat belt. Federal data for 2007 data will be available this fall and added to the site.

"It gives people another opportunity to see the news and personalize it a little more," said Lee Munnich, the director of the center. Munnich added: "Hopefully it will help people improve their driving behavior." Especially in rural areas. Because while the vast majority of people reside in urban areas, a disproportionate number of U.S. fatal traffic accidents happen on rural roads.
"It's not something that the general public knows about," Munnich said. "There's some sense that maybe it's safer to drive in a rural area. The reality is that because people think that, they tend to drive at higher speeds. The statistics show that there is a higher percentage of people drinking alcohol before driving [in rural areas]. They may feel more comfortable doing that in rural areas because there aren't as many people around. "And people are less likely to wear seat belts in rural areas."

CERS researcher Tom Horan summed it up simply. "More congestion occurs on urban roads, but more fatalities occur on rural roads," he said. But Horan said that this isn't a problem that affects only places such as Waseca, Warroad and Willmar. "One out of every two drivers that dies in a rural area is an urban dweller," Horan said. "It was startling to see just how much rural safety significantly effects residents of the Twin Cities."

Research done by CERS also found that in Minnesota, the most dangerous time isn't necessarily in the winter. "The summer months is when there should be extra caution," Horan said. "You have more travel. You have travel to unfamiliar places. You have holiday weekends. "People are driving too fast, they are driving in unfamiliar areas. There are sharp curves, only two lanes. Then there is the use of alcohol and people not using seat belts. Put it all together and people need to be careful."

That's why Munnich and Horan hope people look at where traffic fatalities have taken place and realize that the open road isn't necessarily a safe road.

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Closing the Gap...

(Photos and story originally posted on Mn/DOT's website, 07/21/08)

Crews to close final gap on main river span of I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge this week
Construction crews this week will close the final gap in the main river span of the Interstate 35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge, according to Minnesota Department of Transportation officials.

Workers poured concrete to close the gap in the northbound span last Wednesday night, leaving only the southbound side of the main span to be completed. Once the concrete in the closure pours cures, construction vehicles will begin driving across the river and crews will focus on the project's remaining work. This work includes completing Span 4, paving approach roadways, painting, installing railings, lights and signage, striping the roadway, landscaping and other work that must be complete before the bridge opens to public traffic.

(The bridge is still scheduled to open well ahead of the original Christmas Eve opening date -- possibly as early as mid- to late-September. The earlier opening will result in a windfall in incentive bonuses for the contractors. - sjm)

Blogger to Blogger...

I was searching around the internet for some traffic information, and stumbled upon a very interesting blog that a fellow traffic engineer has posted. The website is http://www.talkingtraffic.org/ and posted by Bill Rusham, P.E., PTOE, from Marietta, GA. He is currently employed by Greenhorne & O'Mara, inc., and previously worked in the Traffic Office of the Texas Department of Transportation in the Lubbock District. Bill says his professional focus areas are traffic operations, traffic impact studies and highway design.

The interesting thing about Bill's blog is that he has posted several "episodes" involving traffic engineering topics. Not only are these episodes in print, but he has posted audio MP3 files that are playable and downloadable from his website. His episodes cover a range of topics from "Functional Classification" and "Project Development Process" to "How to Get a Signal Installed" and "Institute of Transportation Engineers".

I e-mailed Bill and complemented him on his blog. I asked him if he would mind if I promoted his blog on this one. He replied, "... I've no problem with you discussing Talking Traffic on the MWITE blog. I'm always happy to find another transportation engineer's webspace as it makes me feel I'm not alone out in the cold, cruel web 2.0."

You are not alone, Bill, you are not alone... I invite you to go to Bill's blog, read it over, listen to some of his episodes, and then e-mail him. Let Bill know that "web 2.0" is not so cold and cruel afterall!

What’s coming ’round the bend

By AMY RINARD, Milwaukee Jounral Sentinel, 07/13/08

Drivers can expect more roundabouts

Wisconsin motorists will be driving in circles more often over the next 10 years as there is likely to be six times the number of traffic roundabouts on state highways.

And that’s not counting the growing number of the circular intersections being built on local roads. “They’re going to be like dandelions; they’re going to be everywhere,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Dennis Shook.

But even as DOT officials increasingly promote roundabouts as a safer, time-saving and more fuel-efficient alternative to traditional four-cornered intersections, roundabouts continue to be controversial in almost every community where they are proposed.

In Oconomowoc, where a roundabout on state Highway 16 downtown is under construction and set to open later this year, residents continue to debate its merits. Ald. David Nold, who was not on the Common Council when the plan was approved, said he hasn’t heard one person who wasn’t associated with the project say it was a good idea. He questions the roundabout’s price tag, including the city’s cost to buy and remove several downtown buildings to make way for it, and said DOT officials leaned on the city to approve the roundabout. “All over the place they’re putting in these roundabouts, somebody has this idea that it’s a good thing and they’re pushing it,” Nold said.

In 2004, the DOT implemented a policy requiring roundabouts to be considered for construction every time a four-way stop or a major improvement in an intersection on a state highway was planned. “A roundabout has equal weight to a traffic signal and the safety benefits are substantial,” said Patrick Fleming, a DOT standards development engineer who specializes in roundabouts. “You can’t go through a roundabout at high speed and your T-bone crashes are virtually eliminated.”

In a modern traffic roundabout, motorists enter an intersection by yielding the right-of-way on their left to vehicles already moving around a central, often-grassy circle. Drivers continue around the circle until they reach their destination street then turn right to exit the roundabout. If they miss their turn, motorists simply go around the circle again. The speed limit in a roundabout is usually 20 mph or 25 mph and it’s deliberately designed to make it very difficult to go faster than that. “The chances of killing someone at 20 mph are substantially less than the chances of killing someone at 55 mph,” Fleming said.

Improved safety cited

National studies have shown roundabouts reduce fatal crashes by 90%, injury crashes by 76% and crashes involving pedestrians by 30% to 40%. In addition, DOT officials say roundabouts save time because traffic moves through them in a continuous flow and there is no more sitting at red lights when there’s no cross traffic. Roundabouts also are said to conserve gas because there’s no stopping and starting of vehicles as traffic lights change because there aren’t any traffic lights.

Currently, there are 30 roundabouts on state highways plus about another 27 on local roads in Wisconsin, Fleming said. But as many as another 150 roundabouts are in various stages of planning on state highways and an undetermined, but increasing, number on local roads, he said.
Plans for a large new interchange at I-94 and Sawyer Road at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc, for example, includes four roundabouts. A new three-lane roundabout is planned at I-43 and Moorland Road in New Berlin. It will join a two-lane roundabout already at that intersection. A roundabout is in the works for Highways 18 and 83 in Wales in Waukesha County.

Fleming acknowledges the controversy about roundabouts and said many people are just unfamiliar with them. “There’s probably a low sense of comfort when you’re going through them, maybe you’re a bit nervous,” he said. “But that may be a good thing; now you’re going slow, you’re watching everything, you’re more aware of the cars around you.”

An Open Letter to All MWITE Members:

July 11, 2008

To Midwestern ITE District Members:

Thanks to all who attended the ITE Midwestern District Meeting in Chicago earlier this week. What a great venue and insightful technical program! Thanks to the Local Arrangements Committee for being great hosts!

I am writing to remind everyone of the ITE Annual Meeting coming up August 17-20, 2008, in Anaheim, California. ITE is promising another great meeting. Here are some things to consider:

Who Should Attend This Meeting --
Nearly 2,000 transportation professionals are expected to attend the ITE 2008 Annual Meeting and Exhibit. The meeting, which is divided into six tracks, offers 53 technical sessions. The tracks are Traffic Engineering and Design, Safety, Planning, Management and Operations, Discussion Sessions and Professional Development Seminars.

Registration --
All participants are urged to register at special, reduced rates using the Advance Registreation Form here:
http://www.ite.org/AnnualMeeting/default.asp
Please note that these ADVANCE REGISTRATON RATES expire next Friday, July 18, 2008!.

Accommodations --
Anaheim Marriott Hotel
700 West Convention Way
Anaheim CA 92802-3483 USA
Phone: 714-750-8000
Fax: 714-750-9100
http://www.marriott.com/default.mi

SPECIAL ITE GROUP RATE expires at 5:00 p.m. PDT, on Tuesday, July 22, 2008!

Air Transportation --
The Local Arrangements Committee recommends flying into John Wayne Orange County Airport as opposed to LAX for quicker access to the meeting site and less hassles.

MWITE Welcome Reception --
The Midwestern District (MWITE) will hold it's Second Annual Welcome Reception on Monday evening, August 18, 2008, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., in Room 202A of the Anaheim Convention Center. Like last year's reception, this event will be open to past and present members and vendors from the eleven-state MWITE area. It will provide a great opportunity to network, meet old friends, make new ones, and to arrange dinner plans for the night. Make sure to attend and invite any present and past District members and vendors to join us!


If you have questions or comments about any of these items, feel free to contact me (see above) or ITE HQ.

Thanks! See you there!




Steve Manhart
ITE Midwestern District Director

Can bikes and cars co-exist on Twin Cities roads?
KSTP Channel 5 Eyewittness News Report

As gas prices soar, more Twin Citians are biking to get around. But, bikes and cars have not always had the best relationship on local roads.

A new federally-funded initiative aims to keep more people on bikes and less people on the roads in the Twin Cities. Transit for Livable Communities has received $1.8 million from the federal government to make certain areas in the Twin Cities more bike-friendly. The group announced five new projects Thursday morning including, creating a marking system to designated bike lanes on streets in Richfield, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and three northeast suburbs.

The projects will connect to hundreds of miles of bike-marked trails already in Minneapolis. "What we need to do is build our version of the interstate highway system for those who bike," said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

Education is also a part of this project. Some of the money will be used to educate residents on the fact that roads aren’t only for cars.

Watch the report here: http://kstp.com/article/stories/S506792.shtml?cat=210

Group says Roundabouts Pose Perils for the Blind


Janet Barlow of Accessible Design for the Blind offers guidance to Shelley Bruns of Littleton as she crosses a Golden roundabout. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post )



Boosting safety is studied in Golden, CO
By Jeffrey Leib The Denver Post

GOLDEN — With cameras filming discreetly from a distance, Shelley Bruns stops with her white cane at the roundabout crosswalk at Johnson and South Golden roads and listens to the traffic exiting the circle.

Many vehicles drive past her at the double-lane roundabout, but finally a car in the right lane stops, followed by one in the inside lane.

Recognizing the yield, Bruns walks in front of the cars to the island that separates traffic flowing in and out of the circle. There, she listens for vehicles to similarly yield, or for a gap in traffic, before she completes the crossing.

In recent weeks, Bruns and 15 other blind volunteers helped a national team of researchers study ways of improving the safety of blind pedestrians at traffic circles. The team has examined roundabout safety in other cities as well, including Nashville, Tenn.; Tampa, Fla.; and Raleigh, N.C. "I have taught orientation and mobility myself," said Bruns, who works for the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton. "But I never have dealt with a roundabout."

Many U.S. communities are installing roundabouts as a way to slow traffic and reduce auto accidents, yet they present special challenges for the blind, said Richard Long, a Western Michigan University professor of blindness and low-vision studies who is leading the $11.8 million research effort. The study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute and National Academy of Engineering, a unit of the National Academies of Science.

At traditional intersections regulated by traffic signals or stop signs, blind pedestrians rely on audible cues offered by the predictable starting and stopping of traffic, Long said. Because modern roundabouts, by design, have a free flow of vehicles, blind pedestrians trying to cross them at designated crosswalks must listen carefully and judge when there is a safe gap in traffic or when vehicles have stopped and are yielding, Long said, as he watched Bruns at the Johnson Road roundabout, a research-team associate at her elbow.

The new generation of ultra-quiet hybrid vehicles adds even more challenges because they reduce the audible cues available to blind pedestrians. For the study, the associate, Janet Barlow of Accessible Design for the Blind, offers minimal guidance to the blind participants. "This is an exit-lane crossing; traffic is approaching from your left; cross when you are ready," she told Bruns during one film sequence. Barlow will stop Bruns if she makes a mistake. Researchers count the number of these "interventions" to assess an intersection's risk.
Posted signs at roundabout crosswalks tell drivers to yield to pedestrians.
"Some cars yield; some blow right by," Long said, noting that "double-lane roundabouts present a multiple threat" because the blind pedestrian must ensure that vehicles in both lanes have stopped and are yielding.

Film studies of those crossing at two roundabouts here are linked to testing new methods for improving safety. http://videocenter.denverpost.com/services/link/bcpid934052406/bctid1655754279

One test calls for Golden to install a crossing signal that pedestrians can activate to briefly stop traffic entering or exiting a roundabout. The signal clicks each second to alert blind pedestrians of its presence. By pushing a button, the pedestrian actuates a red stoplight to halt traffic and an audible message tells pedestrians the walk signal is on.

In the other, engineers will install a raised crosswalk to test the tendency of motorists to slow down and yield to blind pedestrians. "A driver's propensity to yield is directly related to speed," Long said.

The study team, which includes engineers from North Carolina State University's Institute for Transportation Research and Education, plans to reassemble in Golden in September to film the same volunteers crossing the roundabouts with the new technologies in place. "If these things work, they may be applied nationwide with the support of the U.S. Access Board," Long said, referring to the agency that develops regulations for the Americans With Disabilities Act.
After several hours of filming, Bruns assessed some of the challenges of crossing at roundabouts.
"I'd rather have a yield," she said. "But if I hear a gap, I'll go for it."

He Really Was There To Attend the MWITE Conference...

Ringo Starr celebrates 68th in Chicago
(Photos and story from Associated Press, 07/08/08)

CHICAGO (AP) — Ringo Starr celebrated his 68th birthday in Chicago giving out messages of peace and love, along with dessert.

Fans surrounded the former Beatles drummer Monday as he waited for the clock to strike noon the Hard Rock Hotel. Then he flashed peace signs with both hands in the air and yelled, "Twelve o'clock — peace and love!"

The crowd of about 300 sang "Happy Birthday" to Starr, who passed out white-iced cupcakes with his wife Barbara Bach. He says his dream for the day was to spread peace and love.
Starr and his band play a concert in Chicago on Sunday.

Sweet Home Chicago...

Thanks to the Illinois Section Local Arrangements Committee, and especially to Mark Rinnan and Peter Lemmon for hosting a wonderful conference at an exciting venue. The Hard Rock Hotel provided us with convenience to great food, shopping and nightlife -- as well as unexpected opportunities to say we were in the building at the same time as Ringo Starr, Snoop Dogg and the group Good Charlotte!

The technical sessions were excellent, and provided a lot of useful information to all who attended. Each of the keynote speakers provided us with glimpses of all that is happening in Chicago -- the bid for the 2016 Olympics; the improvements to O'Hare; and the continuing struggles for increased transportation funding that is common not only in Illinois but throughout the nation.

Those of us who attended the MWITE Board Meeting got a lot accomplished. We also benefited from being able to share the accomplishments from other sections, which will encourage further opportunities for involvement at all levels within our district.

Those of us who stayed for the Cubs game enjoyed the camaraderie that ensues from beer, brats and baseball! Wriglley Field is all about fun!

Thank you, Chicago, for being gracious hosts, and allowing us to invade for four days! We look forward to our return!