Tuesday, October 27, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Register for IBTTA’s Toll Road Summit of the Americas — November 15-17, 2009 in São Paulo, Brazil

Join the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association at the Toll Road Summit of the Americas and examine an array of methods to design, finance, operate and maintain user financed surface transportation facilities. The second day of this meeting will be held in conjunction with TranspoQuip 2009, Latin America’s biggest event for the transportation infrastructure industries in Latin America. Featured speakers include Cesar Queiroz, Consultant, Roads and Transport Infrastructure, World Bank, and Roberto Lucas, Jr., Author and Urban Planning Consultant. Meeting hosted by ABCR and CCR. For registration, hotel, travel and visa information, or to view the preliminary agenda, visit www.IBTTA.org.

AVIATION

1) New Safety Worry: Laptops, Devices in the Cockpit

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hSofDoT5LyX3TkJEaFHEJPNHSALAD9BJKE980

2) Aircraft Electronics Association Says Safety Management Systems Unwieldy

Link to article on AVweb:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/AEA_Safety_Management_Systems_Unwieldy_201404-1.html

Link to FAA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-17553.pdf

Link to AEA response:

http://www.aea.net/governmentaffairs/regulatoryupdates.asp?ID=28

CAMERAS

3) Half of San Francisco Muni Surveillance Cameras Fail in Audit

Link to article in the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/27/MN7M1AAV6E.DTL

GPS / NAVIGATION

4) Telling the User Where to Go

Link to article on Telecoms:

http://www.telecoms.com/15405/lbs-telling-the-user-where-to-go

MARITIME

5) Report Finds September 11 US Coast Guard Potomac River Exercise was a Bad Idea

Link to AP article:

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43886

OTHER

6) Flu Pandemic Could Overwhelm Internet Capacity, GAO Warns

Link to article in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2009/10/27/internet-capacity-threat-flu-pandemic.aspx

Link to report from the Government Accountability Office:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d108.pdf

ROADWAYS

7) Washington State Viaduct Disaster Flick Released; Political Motive?

Link to article in The Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2010141929_viaductvideo27m.html

TELEMATICS

8) Will High-Tech Trucks Save Big Rig Industry?

Link to column in Network World:

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/46784

TRANSIT

9) Confessions of a Spatial Navigator

Link to Human Transit blog:

http://www.humantransit.org/2009/10/global-impositioning-systems.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

10) Oklahoma DOT Pays Thousands for Twitter Account

Link to story and video on KFOR-TV:

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-odot-twitter-thousands-story,0,7753383.story

11) Radio Station Introduces Real-Time Traffic Report for Cayman Islands

Link to Cayman News Service article:

http://www.caymannewsservice.com/local-news/2009/10/27/radio-station-introduces-real-time-traffic-report

12) Microsoft Will Shut Down MSN Direct

Datacasting service provides location-based traffic reports and weather information.

Link to article in Radio World:

http://www.rwonline.com/article/89374

VEHICLES

13) Texas Drops Phone Numbers from Accident Reports

Link to AP article:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6688454.html

News Releases

1) PrePass Weigh Station Technology Blazes Solar Trail

2) AASHTO Report Highlights Smart Solutions: 50 Transportation Projects that Have Made America Better

Upcoming Events

ITS Texas Annual Meeting – November 11-13 – Galveston, Texas

http://www.itstexas.org/Meetings/2009meetingoverview.stm

Today in Transportation History

1994 **15^th anniversary** – L École des métiers de l’aérospatiale de Montréal opened.

http://www2.csdm.qc.ca/emam/anglais/home.htm

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Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast