(Source: Collegeathome via LifeHacker)
This data-laden infograph shows some scary stat.. Good news is that shortening your commute by 20 minutes might lower your risk of neck and back pain by 14%, obesity by 20%, and heart attack by 300% . Now if you will excuse me, I’ve to go find a job near my home or find a home near my job.
Image Courtesy: Collegeathome via LifeHacker
(Source: Victoria TAC)
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT666XwJR2s’]
This stunning video from Victoria, Australia arrives just in time as the weather around the US starts to warm up and the motorcyclists are polishing up the iron ponies for some good times on the road. The Transport Accident Commission (TAC)’s public education campaign targets two of Victoria’s biggest issues in road safety — motorcycle safety and speed. The description of the video as shown on YouTube: The campaign, titled “Reconstruction”, features a slow motion replay of a crash involving a motorcyclist and a car. The ad graphically depicts the rider suffering a broken neck as a result of his speeding prior to the collision.
The video get’s the message across in an very effective way. If you haven’t yet, you may want to check out the other campaign videos made by the TAC on their awesome YouTube Channel (~19 million views and 4600 subscribers. Whew!!!). Brilliant use of public $$ to educate the public! Hope the US Department of Transportation puts out a similar campaign to educate the American motorcyclists. and prevent thousands of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists (statistics: 3615 people died in 2010 from motorcycle accidents on U.S. roads) .
Image Courtesy: AAA via Grist.com
Found this interesting graphic on Grist in an article titled “How high do gas prices have to get to trigger behavior change? “. So, do Americans really change their driving habits when the gas prices rise? According to the graph, the answer is an emphatic yes. The article quotes AAA saying, ” A AAA survey conducted at the beginning of the month found 84 percent of respondents saying they have changed their driving habits or lifestyle in some way in response to recent gas-price increases, and 87 percent would change driving habits further if prices remain this high for long. The most common change adopted so far is combining trips and errands, which 60 percent of respondents say they’ve done. And 16 percent say they’ve purchased or leased a more fuel-efficient vehicle.” Read the entire article here.
Note: If the gas prices continue to rise with the drum beats of war getting louder and louder by the day, we can expect to see many drivers ditching their cars and opt to taking transit to work and to other places. I hope the transit agencies do everything in their power to demonstrate the conveniences of riding a bus/train and entice these flocking masses to continue using transit as a primary option for getting around. Oh, the big question I have in mind – Are the American transit agencies equipped to handle this sudden spike in ridership? Many transit agencies are hobbled by poor funding patterns over the years and it will be hard to meet this new segment of ridership arrives to what is an already exploding demand. Let’s see what happens. (Oh, no matter what the scenario is, one can expect to see a decline in VMT numbers again).
(Source: WJLA.com)
A local news agency’s investigation shows countless red light violations by Metrobuses plying the streets of Washington, DC. Some of the incidents caught on camera show how crazy these bus drivers are to do what they do on the roads. This video below should become an integral part of WMATA’s training for bus drivers, esp. for repeat offenders.
Too bad WMATA’s communications team now looks like a deer caught in the headlights. They really do not have a strategy in place to handle this PR nightmare and could not come up with even a single example of how it reprimands such careless drivers when asked what disciplinary measures they undertook to stem this problem.
(Source: via Reddit)
Image Courtesy: Imgur.com via Reddit
And here is the funny road safety campaign video featuring the sign above. How much I wish America adopted this blunt, yet funny style of conveying the message. Our American campaign signs are boring compared to the Aussies’. PERIOD!
(Source: Cameron Booth via FastCoDesign)
Click the images to enlarge and also to learn more about them.
Interstate network
U.S. Routes
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.
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.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration seeks several Community Planners to join the Transportation Policy and Planning Technical Center (RVT-20) of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center). Located in Kendall Square area in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Volpe Center plays a unique role in looking across the transportation enterprise by applying its multi-disciplinary capabilities to anticipate future transportation issues and challenges across all modes of transportation. These positions are based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
We seek several talented Community Planners interested in joining our consulting teams to develop, plan, and implement guidance, tools, strategies, and programs related to transportation planning, environmental stewardship, realty, and transportation research. As part of our teams, you will help increase the level of expertise of transportation professionals within our clients’ organizations; support better-prepared transportation plans that serve state and local government needs; and advance professional capacity building initiatives across Federal and state agencies. You will work with several teams contributing to major projects, and lead other smaller projects.
These are great opportunities for professionals with varying levels of experience in transportation planning, professional capacity building, and strategic and community and stakeholder involvement. You must have superb analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, and be able to excel in an entrepreneurial, fast -paced environment.Transcripts are required (see details in “How to Apply” tab in the official announcement). You will be required to submit writing samples if you are invited to interview.
Given our ongoing needs, we will review applications and refer top candidates for interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement. The first application review will be January 23, 2012. Thereafter, we will do monthly reviews with the final one occurring after the application deadline, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
The Community Planner GS-0020-11-12 (Term Appointments) announcement is posted to the Public on www.usajobs.opm.gov: http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/306978700.
(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.
