When:  Wednesday 24 February 2010; 6:00-7:30 PM

Where:  Capitol Visitor Center Room SVC-20 , E Capitol St NE & 1st St NE, Washington, DC

Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) is pleased to announce the February 2010 Leadership Seminar on Transportation Policy featuring leading industry figures in shaping the nation’s surface transportation vision.  This panel discussion will feature representatives from three major recent efforts that examine the current state of the transportation system and offer policy recommendations moving forward based on a series of testimonies and rigorous research.

In addition, panelists will offer their thoughts on professional development and leadership skills necessary to make a difference in the arena of national decision-making.

Featured Panelists:

Jack Schenendorf, Of Counsel, Covington and Burling – Representing the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission

Jack Schenendorf’s practice concentrates on transportation and legislation with a particular focus on legislative strategy, legislative procedure, and the federal budget process. He was recently appointed by Speaker Hastert to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, where he serves as Vice-Chairman. For nearly 25 years, Mr. Schenendorf served on the staff of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Chief of Staff from 1995 to 2001. In BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, Mr. Schenendorf was described “as one of the most powerful staffers on the Hill, [who] has played a large role in crafting every piece of major transportation legislation in the past decade.” Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr. Schenendorf served on the Bush/Cheney Transition where he was Chief of the Transition Policy Team for the U.S. Department of Transportation and was responsible for reviewing all transportation policies and issues for the incoming Administration.

Kathy Ruffalo, President, Ruffalo and Associates LLC – Representing the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission

President of Ruffalo and Associates, LLC – a government affairs consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Ms. Ruffalo has 20 years of experience in the public policy arena at both federal and state levels of government. From 1989 to 1999, she served as a senior advisor to the United States Environment and Public Works Committee – for then Chairman Senator Max Baucus – with the primary responsibility for developing, drafting and negotiating federal transportation policy. From 1999 to 2004, she was a senior policy advisor to Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne. In 2004, she was recruited to return to Capitol Hill where she was a key drafter and negotiator of SAFETEA-LU. She is a 1989 graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences.

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy – Representing the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project

Emil H. Frankel is an independent consultant on transportation policy and public management issues. He serves as Director of Transportation Policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Mr. Frankel was Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy of the United States Department of Transportation from 2002 to 2005. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Mr. Frankel played a key role in the coordination and development of the Administration’s proposal to reauthorize the Federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs. From 1991 to 1995, he was Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Between state and Federal service, Mr. Frankel was Of Counsel to Day, Berry & Howard in the law firm’s Stamford, Connecticut, office. During that time he was also a Management Fellow of Yale University’s School of Management and a Senior Fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, engaged in teaching and research on issues of transportation, energy and environmental policy and public management. Also at the Yale School of Management and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Mr. Frankel will be a visiting lecturer in Spring 2008. From 1999 to 2001 he was a Selectman of the Town or Weston, Connecticut. Mr. Frankel received his Bachelor’s Degree from Wesleyan University and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Manchester University in the United Kingdom. From 1981 to 1997 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University, where he is now a Trustee Emeritus.

RSVP: Due to security restrictions, a list of names for non-Congressional staff must be submitted to the Capitol Visitor Center prior to the event.  Please send your RSVP to ypt@transportation.org with “YPT Seminar” as the subject by COB Monday 22 February 2010.

Social Media – What is it? How can my agency use it? What experience have others had?

The I-95 Corridor Coalition is hosting a webcast titled “The Use of Social Media for Travel Information” on Thursday, January 28, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM (EST).

Many areas of interest regarding Social Media will be discussed during this webcast including: how it works, what information can be shared using it, how to implement it, how to get management buy-in for it, how do you know if it is working, and where is it all headed. In addition, two case studies from New York State DOT and North Carolina DOT will be highlighted.

For more information and to sign up for this no-cost webcast, please see the notice on the I-95 Corridor Coalition website athttp://www.i95coalition.org/

(Source: Mashable; Washington Post; Pew Research Center)

Image Courtesy: Pew Research Center

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has just published the results of a study on distracted driving behavior amongst teenagers which shows that teens are aware of the dangers of texting while driving, but they choose to do it anyway.

After surveying 800 teens in 4 US cities over the summer of 2009, Pew estimates that 26% of all American teens 16-17 have texted while driving, and 43% have talked on a cell phone while driving.

Even more alarming is that 48% of teens 12-17 have witnessed someone else texting while driving, which points to an ambivalence and acceptance of the practice. The findings also indicate that even state laws prohibiting these activities may not be discouraging newly licensed drivers from using their mobile devices while behind the wheel.

Here are the major findings from the survey and focus groups (courtesy of Pew Research Center):

• 75% of all American teens ages 12-17 own a cell phone, and 66% use their phones to send or receive text messages.
• Older teens are more likely than younger teens to have cell phones and use text messaging; 82% of teens ages 16-17 have a cell phone and 76% of that cohort are cell phone texters.
• One in three (34%) texting teens ages 16-17 say they have texted while driving. That translates into 26% of all American teens ages 16-17.
• Half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. That translates into 43% of all American teens ages 16-17.
• 48% of all teens ages 12-17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting.
• 40% say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

The NHTSA said that 5,870 people died and an estimated 515,000 were injured last year in accidents that police attributed to distracted driving.

That number of fatalities last year was exactly half the number of people who died as a result of drunken driving. The actual number of distracted-driving deaths and injuries is probably much higher than the numbers show. There is nothing like the blood alcohol test to prove that someone was texting — phone records are not clear-cut proof and drivers who cause accidents are no more prone to admit they were texting than they are to say they are drunk.

At a conference he convened to discuss distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stressed the importance of parents paying attention to the road to provide a positive example for their children.

The Pew research found that too few do.

“The frequency of teens reporting parent cellphone use behind the wheel in our focus groups was striking, and suggested, in many cases, that texting while driving is a family affair,” the report said.

Click here to read the entire research report in HTML.   Or you can alternatively download/read the report in the PDF format shown below.

(Source: Mashable)

Mashable.com reports that the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) in San Francisco has just made history as the first transit agency to partner withFoursquare, the location-based application and game that we think has the potential to be as important as Twitter (they also just launched 15 new cities).

We’ve already seen local businesses take the plunge, offering up special location-based deals that Foursquare automatically serves up to users as they check-in, but now BART is getting in on the action to encourage more public transit use.

BART’s presser has the following interesting info:  Foursquare combines social networking elements with game mechanics, urging users to explore neighborhoods and recommend places to others. You can check in from different venues and earn badges and points for doing different types of things – like a “gym rat” badge if you check in 10 times at a gym during a 30-day period. As part of the partnership with BART, Foursquare will offer a BART-themed badge that can be unlocked by regular riders of BART, which provides train service in the San Francisco Bay Area. BART will award $25 promotional tickets each month for the next three months to riders chosen at random from all the riders who have logged Foursquare check-ins at BART stations, starting in November.

One popular element of Foursquare is a competition to become “mayor” of different places. If you check in more than anyone else, you claim rights as “the mayor” of that place. Regular BART riders already are trading back and forth as “mayors” of the 43 stations. Foursquare updates are shared across other social networking and microblogging sites such as Facebook and Twitter, announcing who has ousted whom as mayor. BART also will look at other ways to coordinate promotions with new and existing venue partners, through www.mybart.org, its free service offering contests and discounts for entertainment, sports and other events. BART is listing tips for things to do near BART stations on its Foursquare profile page (www.foursquare.com/user/SFBART).

Note: As a transportation nerd, Transportgooru thinks this is a bloody brilliant idea.  Hope other transit agencies around the country take note (at least the ones in the 15 cities that Four Square currently has a lock).

We all have seen many community development programs for children that aims to make them better citizens and keep them out of trouble.  Bike Church, run by Ms. Kerri Martin with the support of Holy Spirit Church,  is one such program that makes you go “wow”.  Martin, 37, offers two programs that teach Asbury Park youths job skills such as bicycle mechanics, the value of volunteerism and work ethics. It is a youth earn-a-bike program operating in the community of Asbury Park, New Jersey. The organization website notes that every Monday, between 4pm-7pm,children in middle school and younger come to The Bike Church to learn how to fix bikes, to practice riding, and to learn about safetyissues related to bicycles.

Martin’s idea for the bike church came from a previous job. While living in Brooklyn prior to her move in 2003 to the Shore, Martin worked for Recycle-a-Bicycle in New York City. The program teaches youths bicycle mechanics and offers job and environmental training.

When Martin, a.k.a. the Bike Lady for some in  Asbury Park,  met the Rev. William McLaughlin in 2006 at Holy Spirit Church, she told him about her idea to salvage bicycles and educate children.   He liked the idea and told her she could use the church’s basement, she said. Martin spent a summer cleaning out the basement, and The Bike Church was founded shortly afterword.

With the growing popularity of the program in the community, Kerri and her team had opened, Second Life Bikes, which is for high school age youth.  At Second Life they also learn bike mechanic skills but in more of a structured bike shop environment. After 15 hours of work, they earn themselves a bicycle.  If you would like to donate your time, your old bicycles, parts, and/or helmets, check out the organization’s Website or email to staff@thebikechurch.org for more information regarding donations.

Thanks to my favorite biking website Copenhagenize.com, now I know how bringing bikes and kids together can make a huge difference in the community.   Here are two wonderful videos about Bike Church:

“I loved the idea of rescuing old bikes from the landfill and just giving them a new life,” says  Martin.  Hey anything that keeps the planet green and the kids off the bad things, I am all for it.  Transportgooru salutes Kerri and her team for this inspiring work.  Keep up the good work, Kerri!

(via Copenhagenize.com & App.com)

Webinar Overview

Session Description

Many transit agencies have implemented automatic vehicle location (AVL) / computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems to manage real-time bus operations. These systems generate large quantities of data, and dispatchers typically do not have sufficient time to digest the data for decision making in a normal operating environment or are unable to recognize patterns of operational problems. A solution to this problem is decision support tools for dispatchers or “Transit Operations Decision Support Systems (TODSS).” TODSS are expert systems designed to support dispatchers in real-time bus operations management in response to incidents, special events, and other changing conditions in order to restore service when disruptions occur.

To support the development of TODSS, the USDOT worked with the transit industry to develop core requirements and then, via a cooperative agreement, worked with Pace Suburban Bus Service and Continental Corporation to develop and demonstrate a TODSS prototype based on the core requirements. The TODDS prototype became operational in April 2009.

This T3 Webinar will discuss the results of the USDOT sponsored TODSS project and provide a demonstration of the pilot TODSS. Specifically, Yehuda Gross of the RITA ITS Joint Program Office and Steve Mortensen of FTA will discuss the background of the TODSS development effort, followed by David Jackson of Booz Allen Hamilton who will give an overview of TODSS and discuss the types of incidents that the system addresses. John Braband and Tariq Khan from Pace Suburban Bus Service will then provide a live demonstration of TODSS, followed by Bill Hiller of Logged On Transit and Dan Spinks of Continental Corporation who will discuss TODSS benefits and highlight some of the key lessons learned to date. Yehuda Gross will wrap up the webinar by identifying USDOT potential next steps for TODSS.

Audience

Transit agency bus operations managers and practitioners, and transit ITS vendors and consultants interested in learning about the functionality, capabilities, and value of transit bus fleet management expert systems such as TODSS.

Learning Objectives

• Greater awareness of the transit industry developed core TODSS requirements
• Greater awareness of TODSS functionality, applications, capabilities, and value
• Results of the USDOT sponsored TODSS Demonstration project including the key lessons learned
• Potential next steps for TODSS

Federal Hosts:

Yehuda Gross, ITS Joint Program Office

Yehuda brings with him close to 40 years of experience in engineering technologies with 27 of them applied in the transportation field. He joined the US Department of Transportation approximately nine years ago and is responsible for all elements of transit ITS in the Joint Program Office. Currently he is leading a federal effort that introduced a coordinated transportation service approach in nine federal government departments with the intent to eliminate redundancies and enhance service.

Yehuda received his education and engineering degrees from the City College of New York, NYU and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.

Steve Mortensen, Federal Transit Administration Office of Research, Demonstration & Innovation

Steve Mortensen is a Senior ITS Engineer with the Federal Transit Administration Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation. Mr. Mortensen represents FTA in the USDOT management of the multimodal Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) initiative and Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) evaluations. Steve also manages several transit ITS research projects, including the Caltrans and SANDAG Vehicle Assist and Automation (VAA) demonstrations and evaluations, Transit Operations Decision Support Systems (TODSS) demonstration, and Chattanooga SmartBus evaluation.

Prior to FTA, Steve worked at Noblis providing ITS program technical and management support to the ITS Joint Program Office and FTA in the areas of traveler information, rural transit, human services transportation coordination, electronic payment, and rail transit. Prior to Noblis, Steve worked at PB Farradyne developing ITS deployment and implementation plans for several metropolitan regions.

Mr. Mortensen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Community and Regional Planning degree from Iowa State University. Steve is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Speakers:

John Braband, Pace Suburban Bus

John is the Project Manager for the Transit Operations Decision Support System (TODSS). He was formerly the Project Manager for the implementation of the Pace Intelligent Bus System (IBS) which rolled out in 2005. As manager of Bus Operations, John oversees a fixed route system consisting of over 700 buses. John has over 34 years of transit experience.

William Hiller, LoggedOn Transit

Mr. Hiller provides technical support and planning for public transit Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) through his consulting company LoggedOn Transit. Mr. Hiller most recently spent four years as an associate at Booz Allen providing consulting services in the areas of ITS Data Analysis, ITS Transit Design, ITS Transit Implementation and Field Operational Testing. Mr. Hiller brings a strong background in bus operations and IT from over 33 years of transit experience. Mr. Hiller started his career as a bus operator at the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) and became the IT Manger responsible for agency-wide project management for all technical and ITS projects. After leaving AATA, Mr. Hiller spent five years at Siemens in several capacities including creating and managing the Transit CAD/AVL Owner Services group, product line management, and technical sales support. Mr. Hiller has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Eastern Michigan University.

David Jackson, Booz Allen

Mr. David Jackson has been leading Information Technology (IT) and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) engagements over the last seven years with Booz Allen. Mr. Jackson specializes in operations technologies including CAD/AVL Systems, IT and ITS system infrastructure design, and development of ITS system architecture to support operations and planning activities.

Tariq J. Khan — Pace Suburban Bus

Tariq is responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting IBS program software, hardware and communications (LAN & WAN). He has 25 years of experience in software engineering, including 20 years in transportation.

Dan Spinks, Continental Corporation

Dan has been directing software product development efforts for Continental Corporation over the last 4 years and also directed the project house for over 40 mass transit CAD/AVL integration projects for 3 years. He and his team of software engineers led the innovative development approach to TODSS by working very closely with PACE and the FTA. He has over 20 years of software development experience with a third dedicated to integrating transit solutions.

Additional Resources

Please view the core TODSS requirements document on the Electronic Document Library website

Image Courtesy: Uncrate - Parking Tickets

How many times have you pulled up to a parking spot and see the idiot next to you has “double parked”?  Ever felt like leaving a note on his/her car telling how he/she should never been issued a driving license in the first place.  No worries, mate!  Here is Parking Tickets to your rescue, with a better idea to convey your feelings.  The creative souls behind this product, Shinebox Print, have this much to say about their beautiful “tickets” on their website ” Make no mistake about it; a parking lot is a battlefield. Armed with this bad boy, you can now let your enemies know exactly how you feel about their crappy parking. All without talking to them or keying their cars.This book of 20 unique pull-out cards (cost  US $6.95) is perfect for letting the parking-challenged know just where you stand, with heartwarming messages such as “Did you park like this or was there an earthquake?” “This parking job violates the law. Of physics.” and the classic “The way you pulled in makes me wish your dad had pulled out.”

(Source: Uncrate)

Thanks to Rod McKenzie, the Chief Technology Officer of Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), for sharing his summary of observations from the Distracted Driving Summit (See below for Rod’s bio).  Rod was also among of the distinguished panelists that participated in the Summit, which makes this article even more compelling.  Also, don’t forget to check last week’s article by Adam Hoops, a Transportgooru supporter & ITS industry whiz, who shared with us his views and notes from the Summit (he participated virtually, watching and listening to the proceedings online).

Note: Please register your comments/kudos below for Rod in the comments box below.

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Last week I had the honor of participating in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Distracted Driving Summit. Our panel was focused on technology’s role in both preventing and contributing to distracted driving. I was accompanied by my other panelists in highlighting how technology can help address distracted driving, and must not be demonized in our efforts to end what Secretary LaHood described as an epidemic of driver distraction.

Over the course of the Summit one of the prominent topics was legislation, with discussion on how we as a nation can legislate and enforce against dangerous practices such as texting while driving. While these bans are clearly an essential part of the campaign to reduce the fatalities that distracted driving causes, the American Automobile Association (AAA) amongst others presented data that demonstrated we must do more than just legislate. A survey of AAA membership demonstrated that even though a large majority of people acknowledged the extreme danger of texting or dialing on a cell phone while driving, many of these same people surveyed admitted they themselves had recently done these very actions while driving.

New technologies such as cell phones, PDA’s, after-market GPS systems, and MP3 players have become such a strong part of our lives that we are apparently not willing to stop using them even behind the wheel. Legislation, enforcement and education are extremely important in changing dangerous behaviors and making our roads safer, but we can also integrate many of these technologies into our cars to minimize distraction. Technologies such as hands-free phone and GPS navigation systems must be integrated carefully and seamlessly into the vehicle driving environment. Displays must be easily visible without having to take your eyes off the road and controls must be simple and intuitive, avoiding the need for hands off the wheel. Conversational voice technology is developing rapidly creating new systems that allow text messages to be read to the driver, who can then dictate and send a response using voice command.

Additionally, preventative technologies are already keeping drivers focused on the driving task, helping to prevent accidents caused by distracted driving. Lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, fatigue detection and other technologies ensure driver mistakes don’t turn into accidents. Of course, these technologies must be carefully developed and integrated into the vehicle so that the communication of the additional information they can provide does not itself become a distraction.

Distracted Driving is one of the oldest new problems we have, and while the misuse of new technologies has contributed to the problem, technology and innovation are also a key part of the solution. The multi-pronged approach of legislating behavior, public education and making our technology smarter and safer is the key to ending distracted driving. Just as anti-lock brakes and stability control have been proven to help drivers avoid accidents, technology will continue to adapt to the modern driver’s needs to provide a safe driving experience.

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Author’s Bio:  Rod MacKenzie provides oversight for ITS America’s technical and business development programs. As vice president for programs, he is responsible for leading the program staff and providing day-to-day guidance on program management, project execution, and resource allocation. In his role as chief technical officer, Rod monitors new technologies and assesses their potential to become new products or services within the ITS marketplace, overseeing the selection of technical projects to ensure that they have the potential to add value to the organization and its members.

Rod has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive, telematics, navigation, and mobile infotainment industries. Prior to joining ITS America’s staff in April 2009, Rod was the vice president of advanced applications and services at XM Satellite Radio where he led the development of new telematics capabilities and infotainment services, including real-time traffic and weather, with particular focus on the company’s core automotive business and OEM partners.

Rod holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Brunel University in Uxbridge, England.

About ITS America: ITS America is a non-profit organization engaged in promoting & fostering the  use of advanced technologies in surface transportation systems.  ITSA is the leading advocate for technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation’s surface transportation system.

(Source: AP via Yahoo & DC-ist)

Image Courtesy: www.EdwardBurtynsky.com - Click the image to see more pictures

“Edward Burtynsky: Oil,” opens at the privately funded museum as Congress is struggling with a climate bill that could include a “cap and trade” system to reduce greenhouse gases. Critics say it could drive up energy costs.

“We hoped that there would be something going on around oil,” curator Paul Roth said of the museum’s plans for the exhibit beginning two years ago. “At a certain point, we realized, no, it’s Washington and it’s oil. There will be something going on.”

Burtynsky spent 12 years exploring the subject, following past projects on mines, quarries and farming. The images are divided thematically to show how oil is extracted from the earth and how it drives transportation and development. It ends with a frightening thought — the end of oil.  Some of the most striking images depict the abandoned, rusting oil fields of Azerbaijan in 2006, where the earth has been tapped dry.

Burtynsky’s large-scale, sweeping landscape photographs deftly allow us to “see” oil, both in each powerful individual scene, and together in a longer narrative, which is how the Corcoran has set up his exhibit. In the first gallery, oil fields in California and Houston and refineries in New Brunswick set the scene. In mostly aerial shots, oil rigs dot an otherwise barren landscape fading all the way into remarkable horizons, marking the beginning of the “lifecycle.”  The refineries are highly organized labyrinths of green and silver pipes that look like fine jewelry.

The second gallery, “Transportation and Motor Culture,” is perhaps the highlight of the exhibit. Here, the work alternates between earnest, plain-spoken statements – the obscene, gigantic landfill of black rubber tires – and his “culture” shots that tap into a bit of dark humor. Images of Talladega Speedway, a Volkswagon parking lot, the motorcycle section at a KISS concert, and a Trucker’s Jamboree are all incredible and amusing scenes, dedicated to cultures where the engine sits on the altar. In a way, the images are a tribute to the innovations that began with oil: the extraordinary vehicles in the Bonneville Land Speed-Trials, the intricate architecture of the Nanpu Bridge Interchange in Shanghai. In another way, they’re shameful and embarrassing even to look at: airplane and helicopter graveyards; a Pennsylvania interchange packed with gas station on top of gas station, where no actual people live for miles and miles. It’s a culture not just of extraordinary innovation but of gross excess, and where that line is drawn is not for Burtynsky to say, it’s for each of us to decide and embrace.

The third gallery is a forecast of our future, if we can’t ever find that line. While the first two galleries contain images taken almost solely in the U.S. and Canada (Burtynsky is Canadian), this gallery is mostly Bangladesh, where massive oil tankers go to die. Men and even very young boys earn wages by breaking down the ships in incredibly dangerous and ugly work. In an image called Recycling #2, three young men stand in black sludge up to their ankles, an almost sickly laughable twist on what most Americans consider the clean and pure act of “recycling.”

Image Courtesy: www.EdwardBurtynsky.com - Click the image to see more pictures

Click here to explore more about  Mr. Burtynsky and his impeccable work.

The following report about the Distracted Driving Summit is prepared Adam Hopps, a transportation whiz, who participated virtually over the past 2 days (September 30 & Oct 1, 2009), tirelessly taking notes while observing the Summit proceedings online.  Shortly after the event finish, Adam e-mailed his observations for sharing it with the rest of the community.  Please note that these are Adam’s thoughts and by no means should be considered as a summary of the event.  Thanks, Adam for helping us stay informed.

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Thanks to the US D.O.T.’s efforts at opening up participation in their Distracted Driving Summit, I spent the last two days as one of 5,000 online viewers who watched industry reps, academics, legislators, and policy experts discuss what Secretary LaHood describes as, “the epidemic of distracted driving.”

For those of us not in the building the department also provided an online “chat and tweet room” so that every expert, novice, and personal advocate could give their two cents in response to what was being said live. It’s a perfect symbol of democracy in the Web 2.0 ear, where on one computer screen you can see live a public servant of 20 years desperately trying to convince people to adopt legislation to allow police to enforce drivers who text, while reading “Mark K” write: “We have too many cops. They like things orderly. Freedom is chaotic, so too many cops affects society.”

It’s also a reminder of how transportation is truly a democratic issue – perhaps one of the few issues that affect every individual daily. We all go places every day. We have loved ones who go places. We are doing this constantly, and as the summit pointed out of course, we move dangerously and with reckless behaviors.

The summit drew on a wide variety of people to make this point:

1. Victims of distracted driving reminding us of the end results
2. Transportation researchers informing us our risk of accident increases 2300% when we text
3. Law enforcement officials telling us the type of distraction doesn’t matter – all distractions are deadly
4. Legislators preaching to us that we need laws to prevent these behaviors
5. AAA reporting that people do it even though they know it’s dangerous
6. Wireless companies ensuring us they want to help as much as anyone
7. Teens sharing with us the life changing effects of their distracted driving.

. . . . And many more people from all areas of the transportation field reminding us that distracted driving kills.

The value of the summit was in the substance of the presenters and the nature of the experience. Even though Secretary LaHood ended the summit by announcing policy changes and an executive order from the President banning all federal officials from texting while driving, these two days were more about the U.S. DOT engaging academia, industry and public officials on an extremely important topic. Sure, there were plenty of Mark K’s commenting wildly in the chat room, but there were also thousands of people discussing the best way to enforce a texting law, or how to really educated teens on driving or even debating the nature of federal transportation laws.

So the people are engaged, we know we need to end distracted driving, but how do we do it? Two major solutions were presented: Do we create a society where law enforcement is responsible for punishing us when we fall to the temptation to text while driving? Or do we make our technology safer and more intuitive and design systems to prevent distractions?

In his closing, Secretary LaHood laid out the end goal: “Driving while distracted should just feel wrong – just as driving without a seat belt or driving while intoxicated.”

Click here to read the Secretary’s blog about the summit and to replay the proceedings.

Note: Please register your comments/kudos below for Adam in the comments box below.