USDOT’s National Distracted Driving Telephone Survey: Most Drivers Answer the Call, Hold the Phone, & Continue to Drive
The USDOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published these two documents (Dec 2011) and I thought some of you might find it useful.
USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics Releases Pocket Guide to Transportation 2012
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), has published the Pocket Guide to Transportation 2012 – a quick reference guide to significant transportation data. The 15th annual Pocket Guide covers data on transportation safety, state of good repair, system use and performance, economic competitiveness, and environmental sustainability. To order a copy of the Pocket Guide to Transportation 2012, go to the BTS website publications page. This free guide can also be obtained by contacting BTS by phone at 800-853-1351, by e-mail at ritainfo@dot.gov or by mail sent to Product Orders, RITA/Bureau of Transportation Statistics, USDOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Room E36-109, Washington, D.C. 20590. Non-orders contact Dave Smallen: 202-366-5568.
Toll or No Toll? Battle of the Bridges Just Got Hot in Seattle – Decision-Making Tools Aim For the Hearts, Minds and $$ of Commuters
(Source: Transportation Issues Daily, Komonews.com, Seattle Times)
The toll company operating the tolled bridge on Highway 520 in Seattle, WA has published the below infograph, which makes a compelling case to the customers in the region against using the congested bridge on I-90, just a few miles away. Both bridges across Lake Washington connect downtown Seattle with a very large population and employment region. The overall cost savings and reduction in travel times offer a great incentive to the drivers who favor the toll road.
Image Courtesy: TransportationIssuesDaily.com
In addition to the above , the commuters also have another handy decision-making tool – a smartphone app titled “520 or 90” whose tag line sells it easily: “Find out which bridge is faster or cheaper in less than 10 seconds.”
Image Courtesy: 520or90.com
The app creators expect drivers to save 8hrs of travel time per month if they took 520, which may only cost $90/month in tolls, the rough equivalent of a monthly phone bill. Those who opt to take I-90 may save the $90/month but the trade-off is eight extra hours stuck in traffic.
Local news portal Komonews.com indicates the faster travel times on the toll road 520 were due to a reduction in traffic volume as more driver quit the 520 to save the $$. It also quoted the researchers at INRIX, a well known traffic data company, saying that before the toll was implemented, I-90 drivers were going twice as fast as their 520 counterparts.
According to Seattle Times, the traffic volume on 520 has dropped of nearly 40% after the implementation of the tolls. It observed that much of the traffic, as expected, shifted to I-90, where volumes were up 20 to 25 percent for the morning but only 3 to 7 percent in the evening. In addition, the local transit operator (King County Metro) expects ridership on its cross-lake routes to pick up by 15 percent as a result of the tolls, spokeswoman Linda Thielke said. Riders on several routes confirmed buses were more crowded Monday.
TAKEN – This is how you should advertise when your vehicle goes missing
(Source: via Reddit)
The owner of a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport decided to get creative when his vehicle got stolen from his work parking lot and put together this awesome poster and placed it around the town. Thanks to fellow redditor hottest_man_alive, we now got to see this on the web.. Hope the owner gets his truck back soon! I like the message at the bottom right hand corner “Really? At Christmas Time? Not Cool Man, Not Cool.” Whoever that Grinch is, please return this man’s Cherokee. Oh, the sweet irony is the license plate – OHHSNAP!
Image Courtesy: via Reddit
Respecting the Rules & Sharing the Road – Awesomely Polite Japanese Hooligans(!) Show How to Celebrate While Being Responsible Citizens of the Society
Gotta love the Japanese Hooligans fans for their incredible politeness. Amazing how well behaved and orderly they are even celebrating their national’ team’s success on a global stage. Hmmm.. if only the Canadians, Americans and British behaved like this!!!
Seen below is an old video clip from June 201o that surfaced again on Reddit. Shot in Tokyo during the early morning hours (video owner says 6AM) on June 24, the Japanese soccer fans went crazy after their national team won a soccer game against Denmark during the 2010 World Cup. They poured into the streets, jumping around with unbridled excitement in the middle of a street. But wait! Why are they retreat to the sidewalk from the middle of the street every few minutes? Every time the traffic light turned green for cars, they politely went back to the sidewalk, but once the traffic light turned red, they made a run for the middle of the road crossing. I’m yet to see such a euphoric celebration by the Japanese folk in person. Would be a sight to behold!
Note: I spotted a fan holding a beer bottle in this video. Drinking at 6AM? Damn, son! What the heck.. It is after all a Friday and your national team has earned a glorious win in a World Cup soccer game. Celebrate the heck out! Oh, anyone notice how friendly the traffic policemen were interacting with the fans. That would be unimaginable sight in the continental United States.
Event Alert: U.S. Department of Transportation’s Connected Vehicle Demonstrations @ Alameda, CA – January 17, 2012
Don’t Miss Your Chance to be Part of the Connected Vehicle Demonstrations Taking Place in Alameda, CA
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 – 9:00am to 5:00pm
Where: Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda, California
Registration Details:
Pre-registration is required. Register online at: www.v2vtechreview-california.com
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) and its research partners will be offering a live demonstration of connected vehicle safety technology at the Alameda Naval Air Station. During the demonstration participants will be able to experience the cars in action, witness how wireless-based safety communications help prevent crashes, speak one-on-one with the government and industry researchers, and learn how connected vehicles will change the future of automobile safety.
Connected vehicle research is a multimodal initiative that enables safe, interoperable, networked wireless communication among vehicles, infrastructure, and other communications devices. The U.S. DOT is working with car companies, trucking firms, local communities, academia, and high technology firms on this significant life saving research initiative. Don’t miss your chance to ride in these state-of-the-art, safety-equipped vehicles and become part of the future of surface transportation
The Connected Vehicle Demonstration is a partnership between the U.S. DOT and the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP), which includes Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai/ KIA, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, and the Volkswagen Group of America.
Questions? Contact Mike Pina at mike.pina@dot.gov
To learn more about connected vehicles, visit: www.its.dot.gov
Are you a couch potato? If yes, this one is for you – Nice video animation makes a compelling argument to walk and bike
(Source: YouTube via @Ben_Caves)
You can either write volumes to say how important it is to include physical activities such as walking, biking, etc as part of your life style for a healthy life. Or, you can instead opt to doing something as simple as this video animation and make a compelling argument for an active lifestyle. Great video by DocMikeEvans with a great message!
Infograph: HopStop Data Reveals Top Urban Travel Trends; Washington, DC beats New York City and San Francisco Among Top Three Biking Cities
(Source: Hop Stop)
An interesting infograph on Urban travel patterns.
HopStop, the leading provider of pedestrian navigation and mobile transit routing, has developed its first Urban Travel Patterns infographic to shed light on these activities. Based on more than 400 million HopStop routes and 2.25 billion miles traveled, the new data showcases major travel trends in several large cities, as well as how consumers are using HopStop’s online and mobileservices to get around town.
Image Courtesy: HopStop - HopStop Data Reveals Top Urban Travel Trends
“Honk If you Are Wearing a Thong” – Hacked Highway Sign Prompts Washington, DC Suburban Drivers To Disclose Choice of Underwear
(Source: Jalopnik)
Aahh.. The highway hackers have struck again. This time in a suburban Washington, DC neighborhood and they hit (a private sign and not one owned by the local government) with a funnier & slightly smutty message. The hackers tweaked the portable VMS (for the uninitiated VMS = Variable Message Sign) signage and made it read: “Honk if you are wearing a thong”. The local FOX news reporter covering the scene reported hearing a lot of honking. Hmmm.. The not so enthused county officials have reportedly shut down the sign. LOL. You can check out the signage for yourself in the video below (H/T to Jalopnik for the awesome scoop).
Hacked Road Sign Prompts Underwear Disclosure About Thongs: MyFoxDC.com
