TSAG Case Studies Workshop and Webinar: A Rural Emergency Incident
 Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash – August 26

August 4, 2009 at 10:40 pm

Webinar Overview

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TSAG Case Studies Workshop and Webinar
A Rural Emergency Incident
Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash

Date: August 26, 2009
Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 Noon, Pacific Time (12:00 – 3:00 PM EST)
Cost: All T3s are free of charge
PDH: 3.0. — Webinar participants are responsible for determining eligibility of these PDHs within their profession.
Register On-line
Contact the T3 Administrator

Note: This workshop and webinar is a unique learning opportunity offered by the Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) and the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program’s Talking Technology & Transportation (T3) Program at the ITS Joint Program Office, U.S. DOT. The workshop will be presented to a live audience at the workshop location as well as to remote T3 webinar participants. T3 participants are invited to submit written questions before the Webinar as well as during workshop question and answer periods.

Webinar participants may attend remotely for any portion of the 3-hour workshop. An audio of the event’s proceedings, synchronized with its presentations, will be available in the T3 Webinar archives approximately 4 weeks after the workshop.

Background

The Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) is facilitated and administered by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). Through its Workshop series and related work, TSAG provides input to the US Department of Transportation (US DOT), ITS Joint Program Office’s public safety mission. TSAG advises the ITS Joint Program Office on the development and deployment ITS technologies that optimize travel mobility, safety, economy, and environmental quality. Through its broad based membership comprised of transportation and public safety professionals, TSAG initiates programs that promote inter-disciplinary, inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional coordination and cooperation, and that promote partnerships for advancing surface transportation services technologies. For more information, visit the TSAG website.

TSAG operates through resources provided by the US Department of Transportation and serves its program mission in compliance with US DOT regulations, policies and specified contract provisions.

Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash

On January 6, 2008, at about 3:15 p.m. MST, a fifty-six passenger motor coach with a driver and 52 passengers on board departed Telluride, CO, en route to Phoenix, AZ, as part of a 17-motorcoach charter caravan returning from a 3-day ski trip. The normal route from Telluride to Phoenix along Colorado State Route 145 was closed due to snow and the lead caravan driver planned an alternate route that included US Route 163/191 through Utah.

At about 8:02 PM, the motor coach, traveling southbound was descending a 5.6-percent grade leading to a curve to the left, 1,800 feet north of milepost 29 on U.S. Route 163. The weather was cloudy, and the roadway was dry. After entering the curve, the motor coach departed the right side of the roadway at a shallow angle, striking the guardrail with its right-rear wheel and lower coach body about 61 feet before the end of the guardrail. The coach traveled some 350 feet along the fore slope with the right tires off the roadway. The coach overturned, striking several rocks at the bottom of the embankment and came to rest on its wheels. During the 360-degree rollover, the roof of the motor coach separated from the body, and 50 of the 53 occupants were ejected. As a result of the crash, 9 passengers were fatally injured and 43 passengers and the driver received injuries, ranging from minor to serious.

Case Studies Workshop & Webinar Overview

Case Studies Workshop presenters will walk the audience through the details of the incident, including pre-crash, crash, and post-crash conditions and activities. The Workshop will focus on emergency response and management strategies and technologies, including communications between and among Police, Emergency Medical Services Utah DOT Transportation Operations personnel. Workshop presenters will discuss successes, failures and lessons learned and will highlight emergency response activities of local and regional emergency responders and will review operations strategies and technologies at the time of and in response to the incident.

Target Audience

Workshop participants include TSAG members, NRITS registrants, the T3 Webinar/ITS community, and other guests. Webinar target audience includes state and local public safety interests, including public safety managers and transportation operations, emergency communications, and emergency public safety practitioners. Additionally, private and academic and safety and technology research interests are encouraged to participate.

TSAG Case Study Workshop Concept and Purpose

The TSAG Case Studies Workshop concept targets case-studies of actual incidents or events associated with each of the eight (8) TSAG interest-community teams. TSAG communities of Interest include:

  • Academic & Research
  • Emergency Communications
  • Emergency Management
  • Emergency Medical Services
  • Transportation Operations
  • Fire and Safety
  • Law Enforcement
  • Technology and Telematics

Thus, through reviews of actual recent events, incidents, and first-responder experiences, Case Studies Workshops facilitate after-event discussions by multi-discipline and multi-agency professionals for the purpose of:

  • Clarifying actual circumstances of the event / incident
  • Reviewing established response protocols and procedures
  • Reviewing public safety technology applications
  • Identifying unique management and response circumstances and challenges
  • Reviewing successes, failures, and lessons-leaned

The TSAG Case Studies Workshop & Webinar series is focused on the fundamental TSAG “technologies for public safety” TSAG mission.

Learning Objectives

The broad learning objectives of the TSAG Case Studies Workshop series include:

  • Identify transportation-safety technologies and their real-time applications to operations surveillance and management
  • Identify incident identification, emergency response and management
  • Identify inter-agency and inter-discipline coordination and communications
  • Learn of technology successes, failures, and lessons-learned

Federal Host:

Linda Dodge, Chief of Staff, US DOT, ITS Joint Program Office

Workshop Presenters:

John Leonard, Utah Department of Transportation

As Traffic & Safety Operations Engineer, John Leonard evaluates the operational characteristics of projects, and coordinates their safety and efficiency aspects with UDOT project teams to determine that operational safety objectives are addressed. He participates in project reviews and promotes consensus opportunities to enhance safety outcomes and best practices. John manages resource and training activity for UDOT regions, private contractors and headquarters leadership. Through application of Context Sensitive Solutions, he promotes enhancement of UDOT relationships with public interests and identifies enhancements to serve the needs of UDOT partners and external customers. John assisted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their investigation of the Utah, Route 163 Motor Coach crash. He is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition.

Sergeant Jeff Nigbur, Utah Department of Public Safety

Sergeant Jeff Nigbur is the lead Public Information Officer for the Utah Department of Public Safety. He oversees public information activities for all divisions within the department, including the Utah Highway Patrol, State Crime Lab, Bureau of Criminal Identification, Utah Division of Homeland Security and State Fire Marshal, among others. Jeff has been involved with several high profile cases such as the Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster, Milford Flat Fire, the USU Van Roll-Over and other media awareness campaigns. Jeff received his Associates of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2004 from Salt Lake Community College. He later earned a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix. Jeff is currently a motor squad instructor, DPS dive team master diver, and a member of the Utah Department of Public Safety’s SWAT team.

Linda Larson, San Juan County, Emergency Medical Services

Ms Larson has been in the EMS field for nine years and is the Director of San Juan County EMS Bureau, providing EMS services to one of the largest Utah counties plus portions of the Navaho Nation in Utah. She also serves as Assistant Team Leader for the Utah Department of Health, Bureau of EMS southeastern EMS Strike Team. Linda had a key role in the 2008 Motor Coach crash, declaring the crash a Mass Casualty Incident and engaging multiple agencies and multiple evacuation strategies. She managed on scene medical coordination and transportation from surrounding counties and adjacent State agencies. Ultimately the incident involved 4 air transport teams from multiple states, and the activation of the State of Utah, Bureau of EMS Strike Teams and CISM Team.


Reference in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by U.S. Department of Transportation.

USDOT Gets Serious About Distracted Driving; Plans afoot for a summit in September 2009

August 4, 2009 at 12:13 pm

(Source: NY Times)

The Department of Transportation plans to hold a summit meeting on distracted driving in September, according to a safety advocate who was invited to participate reported NY Times on Monday.

David Teater, a spokesman for the National Safety Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, plans to hold a press conference Tuesday to announce plans for the summit meeting.

The agency confirmed that Secretary LaHood is making an announcement Tuesday “about combating distracted driving,” including practices like texting behind the wheel.  As indicated the Secretary went public, outlining his plans for a summit this morning.  In late September, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics will convene in Washington, DC to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving.

“If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting, but unfortunately, laws aren’t always enough,” said Sec. LaHood. “We’ve learned from past safety awareness campaigns that it takes a coordinated strategy combining education and enforcement to get results. That’s why this meeting with experienced officials, experts and law enforcement will be such a crucial first step in our efforts to put an end to distracted driving.”

Secretary LaHood noted today on his Fast Lane Blog:

When I was home in Peoria a few weeks ago, Alyssa Burns, a 17-year-old high school student was killed when she drove off the road.

It turns out she was texting while driving.

We’ve all seen the footage of the bus driver who was talking and texting on two cell phones while driving.

He smashed into the back of a car, injured the driver, and ended up driving into a swimming pool.

The horrific commuter train crash last year in California involved an operator who was too busy texting to pay attention to what he should have been doing. As a result, 25 people were killed and 135 were injured.

If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting.

But we’ve learned from our efforts to get people to wear seat belts and to persuade them not to drive drunk that laws aren’t always enough. Often, you need to combine education with enforcement to get results.

That’s why I announced this morning that I have decided to convene a summit of senior transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives, members of Congress and academics who study these matters.

We will meet next month to discuss how to put an end to the rash of accidents and fatalities that have cropped up because of distracted driving.

When we are done, I expect to have a list of concrete steps to announce.

The bottom line is, we need to put an end to unsafe cell phone use, typing on blackberries and other activities that require drivers to take their eyes off the road and their focus away from driving.

The USDOT press release provides  further information on the summit and also directs readers to a website created for this summit.   For information and updates on next month’s summit on distracted driving, visit:http://www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit/. Taking it one step further, the website offers to provide updates on the Distracted Driving Summit via Twitter at http://twitter.com/distractdriving.

Image Courtesy: Apture

Click here to read the entire article.

FAA Toughens Icing Protection Standards; Mandates Timely Activation of Ice Protection Systems for New Designs

August 3, 2009 at 6:10 pm

(Source: Flight Global & FAA Press  Release)

The FAA today finalised amended certification standards that will require makers of transport category aircraft to either have icing protection systems that automatically activate or provide a method to alert pilots that the system should be turned on.

The final rule follows more than a decade of research by the FAA, NASA and others initiated by the fatal crash of an American Eagle ATR 72 near Roselawn, Indiana, in 1994 due to ice build-up on the wings.

Under the new rule new aircraft and those undergoing “significant changes” that impact icing safety must either have an ice detection system that automatically activates or alerts pilots to turn on the system; a definition of visual signs that indicate ice build-up along with an advisory system; or a method of identifying temperature and moisture conditions conducive to airframe icing, alerting pilots of the need to turn on the protection system.

Regardless of the activation method, ice protection systems must then operate continuously, automatically turn on or turn off, or alert the pilots that the system must be cycled again after the initial activation.

“We’re adding another level of safety to prevent situations where pilots are either completely unaware of ice accumulation or don’t think it’s significant enough to warrant turning on their ice protection equipment,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

The FAA has previously addressed activation of pneumatic deicing boots on many aircraft models by requiring activation of boots at the first sign of ice accumulation. This new certification standard further increases safety by not relying on the pilot alone to observe whether the airplane is accumulating ice. Also this certification standard applies to all types of ice protection systems, not just pneumatic deicing boots.

The full text of the final rule is available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-18483.htm

Click here to read the entire article.

Spate of car crashes across Russia kills more than 100 people in one week; Government blames country’s “systemic” road problems

August 2, 2009 at 8:52 am

(Source: BBC)

A spate of car crashes across Russia has killed more than 100 people in one week – leading the government to blame the country’s “systemic” road problems.

Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev blamed criminal negligence and a road culture lacking basic driving skills.

He admitted Russian roads are bad, infrastructure is weak and drivers often chat on their mobile phones at high speed or drive while drunk.

Over 10,000 people died on Russian roads in 2009 – Europe’s highest toll.

In the last week a drunk driver in Perm hit a pregnant woman and child in a car-park, killing them both.

The Russian government has made earnest attempts to combat bad driving – including employing legions of traffic police with stop and search powers.

But Mr Nurgaliev admitted most drivers in Russia still think they can break the law and get away with it.

Click here to read the entire article.

U.S. House of Representatives approves $7 billion emergency cash infusion for Highway Trust Fund

July 30, 2009 at 5:16 pm

(Source: Washington Post & AASHTO)

Supporters garnered the necessary two-thirds support to push through the stop-gap measure intended to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. The vote was 363 to 68.

The government estimates the account could run dry within several weeks without an emergency infusion of cash. The fund provides states with about $40 billion per year in transportation construction funding.

Trust fund disbursements are separate from the billions in economic stimulus money dedicated to states for transportation projects.

The Senate is expected to act on the temporary trust fund measure before the end of next week, and lawmakers plan to address a longer-term remedy after their August recess.

During the 40 minutes of House floor debate this afternoon, supporters argued the Highway Trust Fund needs additional funding immediately to prevent the payment slowdown to states, which could cause states to then curtail their road construction activity. Opponents contended the transfer is not paid for by any new revenue source and that Congress needs to stop bailing out the Highway Trust Fund. Congress sent the fund an additional $8 billion last September when a similar funding crisis developed due to lower revenue in the trust fund than had been projected as a result of Americans driving less during the economic recession and thus paying less in gasoline and diesel taxes as well as in heavy-truck taxes.

The House bill approved today contains no extension of authority for federal surface transportation programs, which is scheduled to lapse Sept. 30 at the end of this fiscal year. While House leaders have been pushing a full six-year authorization measure, the Obama administration and the Senate have favored a temporary extension of current authority for 18 months. Today’s House vote means Congress will have to face the authorization question in September after returning from the summer recess.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-MN, said during today’s floor debate that he regrets Congress must take action to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. But the drop in vehicle miles traveled experienced over the past year and a half has left the trust fund short of its revenue projections, necessitating an infusion, he said. Oberstar’s six-year, $500 billion authorization measure has been approved by subcommittee but not been brought up before the full T&I Committee yet because there is no agreement with the House Ways and Means Committee on how to raise the extra revenue needed to pay for it.

Click here to read the entire article.

Can’t beat this! Man killed when car plunges into Grand Canyon

July 14, 2009 at 12:02 pm

(Source: CNN)

A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, authorities said Tuesday. The incident occurred near the El Tovar hotel in a village on the canyon’s South Rim, park spokeswoman Shannan Marcak said.

Authorities have not ruled the death a suicide, she said. “It has not been ruled anything at this time.”

The Arizona park’s regional communications center received several reports of a car driving off the edge about 6 a.m. Monday, according to a written statement.

“Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found tire tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge and received reports of a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge,” the statement said.

Rescue personnel descended on ropes and found the vehicle about 600 feet into the canyon. The man’s body was recovered shortly afterward, the statement said.

Marcak said that within the past five years, she knows of only one other time a car was driven off the edge of the canyon.

Click here to read the entire article.

Car-crazy Jakarta fast descends towards total gridlock; Now disabled pedestrians should wear traffic signs

June 29, 2009 at 11:51 pm

(Source: AFP via Google, ITDP & Jakarta Post)

New laws requiring disabled pedestrians to wear traffic signs have met with frustration and derision in Indonesia, where in the eyes of the law cars have taken priority over people.

The laws will do nothing to improve road safety or ease the traffic that is choking the life out of the capital city of some 12 million people, and serve only to highlight official incompetence, analysts said.

Within five years, if nothing changes, experts predict Jakarta will reach total gridlock, with every main road and backstreet clogged with barely moving, pollution-spewing cars.

That’s too late for the long-awaited urban rail link known as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), which has only just entered the design stage and won’t be operational until 2016 at the earliest.

“Just like a big flood, Jakarta could be paralysed. The city’s mobility will die,” University of Indonesia researcher Nyoman Teguh Prasidha said.

Instead of requiring level footpaths and ramps, lawmakers voted unanimously this month to demand disabled people wear signs announcing their condition so motorists won’t run them down as they cross the street.

Experts say the new traffic law is sadly typical of a country which for decades has allowed cars and an obsession with car ownership to run rampant over basic imperatives of urban planning.

“It is strange when handicapped people are asked to carry extra burdens and obligations,” Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran) chairman Darmaningtyas said.

A 2004 study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency found that traffic jams cost Jakarta some 8.3 trillion rupiah (822 million dollars) a year in extra fuel consumption, lost productivity and health impact.

Paralyzing traffic jams and severe air pollution are the most frequent answers when people are asked what they know about Jakarta. Motorized vehicle ownerships increase in line with a rise in income per capita.

An Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) study notes that motorized vehicle ownership is growing at 9 percent every year, with more than 1,500 new registrations being filed a day for motorcycles and 500 a day for cars.  The study discusses various options including BRT, incentives for biking, etc to manage the growing congestion problem that is now threatening to cripple the growth of the country’s economy and adversely affect the quality of life of its citizens.

Now, growth of the vehicle population is not the only problem.  The drivers behind the wheel are adding to the chaos on the roads.  An article that recently appeared in the online edition of Jakarta Post, says the following: Driving in Jakarta is nothing short of chaotic, thanks to the huge quantity of people using the roads, the often terrible condition of the roads and the vast variety of vehicles there are. All of this chaos is only made worse by drivers who are reckless and dismissive of other road users.

There are drivers that seem utterly oblivious to there being anybody else on the roads except themselves. Perhaps they are too comfortable in the enclosed air-conditioned capsule that is their vehicle, as they listen to pumped-up stereophonic music or even watch small video screens, to pay any attention or care about anyone else on the roads.

Click here to read the entire article.

Transportation Reauthorization (STAA) Updates: Media-Roundup – June 26, 2009

June 26, 2009 at 12:35 pm

White House Says Transportation System Overhaul Must Wait (Washington Post)

After rejecting criticism that it is taking on too much, the Obama administration has identified one area where ambitious reforms will have to wait: overhauling the nation’s aging, congested and carbon-emitting transportation system.

It became clear at a contentious Senate hearing yesterday that the half-trillion-dollar question is how to pay for the bill. The 18.4-cent federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993, and revenue from it falls increasingly short every year because of inflation and the shift to more fuel-efficient cars.

The White House and some of its Senate allies are letting it be known, though, that this is not a discussion they want to have now, in the middle of a recession and as Washington is consumed with battles over health care and energy. Also, polls show that Americans are growing anxious about government spending.

“President Obama does have a vision for transportation. It’s not something he’s going to ignore or turn a blind eye to at all,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told skeptical senators yesterday. “The timing is where we part company.”

Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.) is proposing that if the White House and the Senate will not consider a higher gas tax, then the bill could be paid for with a new tax on oil speculators.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) said: “President Obama said to us during the campaign that we must have the fierce urgency of now. And that’s what Mr. Oberstar has done.”

Boxer agreed but said a gas tax increase now is not feasible. “I would tell you if you go out to the people of America and say that’s the solution, I don’t think they will buy it,” she said. “They’re struggling right now.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Boxer and Inhofe Agree: Transportation Policy Reform Can Wait (Streetsblog)

Green transportation advocates are pressing Congress to refuse any new spending that’s not tied to reform of the existing system — a call that influential senators in both parties ruled out today.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK), the panel’s ranking GOPer, in endorsing another 18 months of the 2005 transportation bill.

The extension, Boxer said, should be “clean as it can be, clean as a whistle … not with these policy changes, because it will in fact jeopardize a quick passage of this extension.”

Boxer’s agreement to an extension free of policy reforms appears to be an acknowledgment that Inhofe and most other GOP senators would slow down approval of the short-term transportation measure. But she faced a lone critic today in Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), who challenged Boxer to back down from her opposition to raising the federal gas tax during an economic recession.

Voinovich reminded the Californian that she “is always talking about the environment; [drafting a new transportation bill] is going to have a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions.” He suggested that senators “look at” the House transportation bill offered by Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and pitch the American public on an increase in the gas tax, which has remained static since 1993.

In fact, recent polling supports Voinovich’s argument, not Boxer’s. A survey released earlier this year by the advocacy group Building America’s Future found that 81 percent of Americans would pay more in federal taxes to support infrastructure investments.

But the alignment of Boxer and Inhofe, as well as Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) — whose Finance Committee must agree on a revenue source for the next transportation bill — in favor of a clean 18-month extension is enough to doom the House effort to pass a bill this year.

Click here to read the entire story.

Voinovich: Business Buy-in Can Get a New Transportation Bill Done (Streetsblog)

Getting business interests to work on methods for funding a long-term transportation bill can help shift the political climate, he told Streetsblog Capitol Hill today after Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowed to continue searching for revenue raisers that can pay for massive new legislation.

“Right now, the president is frankly worried about health care, climate change, a lot of other things [and may have said] ‘see, I don’t need another thing on my plate,'” Voinovich said.

But, he added, the White House would likely come around if the private sector — which has “been heretofore reluctant … to step up” — is willing to shoulder some of the extra tax burden needed to pay for increased infrastructure investment.

The senator suggested pushing for a transportation funding extension shorter than 18 months, “to put the pressure on to get this thing done by next year.” In response, Basso would say only that “we’re supportive of the Oberstar [House] bill moving forward.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Congressman Peter DeFazio: Make Wall Street A**holes Foot The Bill For Infrastructure (The Infrastructurist)

Politicians agree that we need to invest in our transportation infrastructure, but ask any of them how we should pay for it and you’re likely to endure an uncomfortable silence. The problem is so bad that it seems to have derailed the new transportation bill until 2011.

There is at least one guy willing to offer a serious proposal though. Instead of taxing drivers more at the pump, says Peter DeFazio, why not make those finance guys that we all hate so much pay for it?

Specifically, the Democratic congressman from Oregon wants to impose a small tax–0.02%–on oil futures contracts.

From his office: “A transaction tax on crude oil securities will close the gap in funding a twenty-first century transportation system while lowering the price of oil. This is a win/win,” DeFazio said. “If we put off this transportation authorization, we will push off needed reform. Every day we wait people will sit in traffic instead of spending time with their families, every day people are not as safe as they could be because of our crumbling infrastructure, every day our economy suffers when our products sit in traffic jams. My proposal will not cost consumers one cent but will substantially increase our investment in our transportation infrastructure.”

The only trick will be selling it. That shouldn’t be hard with the right name. “The Oil Speculator Tax,” perhaps?

*We’re using “Wall Street” generically here, btw — a lot of oil trading occurs on Chicago Mercantile

Click here to read the entire article.

Senator Boxer is Right: There is No Consensus in Congress on Funding (The Transport Politic)

Today at a hearing on the reauthorization of the transportation bill, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) made it quite clear that Congressman James Oberstar’s (D-MN) proposed legislation won’t make it through the Senate over the next few months. Ms. Boxer’s testimony indicated that she’d push for a no-changes “clean” extension of SAFETEA-LU over the next 18 months, as proposed by Secretary of Transportation of Ray LaHood. More serious reforms will have to wait. This means fewer than hoped for funds for transit and high-speed rail, as well as no substantive improvements in the manner in which federal dollars are distributed.

Congress’ problems are two fold: it has too many other projects on the near horizon and it has no consensus, even along partisan lines, on how to fund a major expansion in transportation funding. Today’s fuel tax, which provides the primary source of revenue for the Trust Fund, is out of cash and cannot fund the nation’s transportation needs alone. A relatively simple extension of SAFETEA-LU, bolstered by an infusion of general fund dollars into the Highway Trust Fund, is the easiest answer.

Mr. Oberstar has been adamant in his desire to push forward the next transportation bill now, but this hearing made clear that the Senate is not going to play along. Ms. Boxer is chair of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and her position will effectively block Mr. Oberstar’s bill even if that legislation passes in the House. Without the support of the White House, Mr. Oberstar is loosing ground. His inability to pinpoint a stable funding source is similarly problematic.

What hasn’t been suggested, but that which I will continue to bring up, is a simple abandonment of the idea that transportation must be sponsored by its “users.” We are all beneficiaries of a strong transportation network, and filling the Trust Fund mostly with general fund sources is a viable and long-term solution that would require none of the shenanigans that currently deteriorate efforts to raise the gas tax or impose a VMT. Whether now or in 18 months, we’re going to need something better than today’s non-proposals from Ms. Boxer.

Click here to read the entire article.

Transportation Bill Is Dead As A Doornail For 2009 Because Nobody Can Figure Out How To Pay For It (The Infrastructurist)

Over the past week or so, there has been a pretend drama in Washington about whether we’ll be getting a giant new transportation bill in 2009. The prospect is exiciting, of course, because in addition to $500 billion in loot that would be handed out, the bill would offers tantalizing opportunities for bureaucratic and policy reform.

On Monday, perhaps the most active and powerful Congressional player in these matters, Jim Oberstar, released his long-awaited draft version of the bill and, along with his committee-mates, vowed to push forward and get it passed into law by the end of September.

Oddly, that came on the heels of the Secretary of Transportation–a man who speaks for the president–requesting that it be kicked back to 2011 and that Congress craft an 18 month extension of the present legislation to cover the country’s needs in the meantime. Clash of the titans?

Now, at a hearing today in the Senate, Barbara Boxer pretty much closed the door on the idea the bill might happen this year. As chair of the Environment and Public Works committee, she would play a leading role in sheparding the bill through the upper house. And she’s saying unequivocally that the new bill will have to wait for 2011.

She gave a very clear reason: “It’s not because we [in the Senate] have a full plate”–dealing with healthcare, climate, and financial reforms–”it’s because we have no consensus on how to fund the new bill.”

“Oberstar wants to raise the gas tax,” she said, then noted it would have to go up by a dime just meet the current shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. She took a spin through the math of how much it would have to go up to cover the new investment he proposed in the bill. And while she neither she or her witnesses stated an exact figure, it would probably be 25 cents or so more. (The tax now stands at 18 cents per gallon.)

Click here to read the entire article.

U.S. must boost gas tax, transportation expert says (Baltimore Sun)

The executive director of an influential group representing top transportation officials from around the country told a Greater Baltimore Committee summit Thursday that it is time for the United States to “grow up” and increase the federal tax on gasoline and other motor fuels.

John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, warned that without new revenue, the U.S. transportation infrastructure faces a grim future.

“We’re in the soup,” Horsley warned the gathering of Baltimore business leaders, transportation officials and civic activists.

Horsley, whose organization represents state transportation secretaries and other top officials, noted that the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax has remained level since the early 1990s and that the national highway trust fund is heading for depletion in August.

Horsley noted that two recent bipartisan commissions created by Congress concluded that federal fuel taxes must increase. One backed a rise of 25 to 40 cents; the other urged an increase of 10 cents a gallon on gasoline and 15 cents on diesel.

Those recommendations were opposed by the Bush administration, and President Barack Obama has ruled out any increase in gas taxes during the recession.

But Horsley said Thursday that a 10-cent increase in the gas tax amounts to “less than 60 bucks” a year for the typical driver.

Without new revenue, Horsley said, Congress must transfer $5 billion to $7 billion to replenish the highway trust fund during the current fiscal year or watch as road projects grind to a halt. He said $8 billion to $10 billion would be needed for the fiscal year that begins in October.

Obama and others have called for passage of an 18-month stopgap funding measure, saying that Congress has its plate full with health care, energy and other issues.

Click here to read the entire article.

Rep. John Mica on the transportation bill (PBS Blueprint America)

The proposed transportation bill calls for $450 billion in federal funding, which is a 57 percent increase over the $286.5 billion bill approved in 2005.

The following is an interview with Rep. John Mica (R., FL), ranking minority member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, about the recent developments of the transportation bill:

BLUEPRINT AMERICA: The current highway authorization expires at the end of September. So what exactly is expiring?

REP. JOHN MICA: Every six years Congress adopts a federal authorization for highways, which outlines transportation policy, projects, and funding distributions for the whole country.

BLUEPRINT AMERICA: Right now, however, the Obama Administration wants to delay authorization.

REP. MICA: We’re on the verge of a transportation meltdown. The Administration has proposed an 18-month extension of both the highway authorization bill and the highway trust fund. That will require, depending on how long it is extended, between $8 and $15 billion.

BLUEPRINT AMERICA: But, typically, the transportation bill is not authorized every six years – it’s generally extended.

REP. MICA: Right. I think the last time we tried to authorize it we had 13 extensions.

BLUEPRINT AMERICA: Are you opposed to this 18-month extension by the Obama Administration?

REP. MICA: Well, I think that it would be better to go ahead with the transportation bill Rep. (Jim) Oberstar has introduced. We have been working on the bill for some time.

Still, I think we take that bill as the starter. The problem you’ve got with an 18-month extension is that it puts many of the major infrastructure projects on hold. The 18-month extension is a job killer. It gives you a temporary relief with the highway trust fund, but because you don’t have projects approved and policy and funding mechanisms in place for the future, it ends up killing jobs and delaying decisions on projects across the country. For example, there are 6, 800 project requests in the House bill alone – all of these would go on hold.

Click here to read the entire interview.

Quit playing with your phone: Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving

June 25, 2009 at 2:11 pm

(Source: Jalopnik & Oregon Live, Car and Driver & CNBC)

If you use a cell phone, chances are you’re aware of “text messaging”—brief messages limited to 160 characters that can be sent or received on all modern mobile phones.  Texting, also known as SMS (for short message service), is on the rise, up from 9.8 billion messages a month in December ’05 to 110.4 billion in December ’08. Undoubtedly, more than a few of those messages are being sent by people driving cars. Is texting while driving a dangerous idea?

Image Courtesy: Jalopnik

The boys fromCarandDriver spent time determining just how bad it really is versus, say, drunk driving. Turns out drunk driving‘s safer. Here’s why.  Drivers distracted by texting are four times slower to brake to avoid a collision than those driving under the influence.  (The results in a nutshell:  Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake; Legally drunk: add 4 feet; Reading e-mail: add 36 feet; Sending a text: add 70 feet.  If are somene who has a lot of time to spare, continue reading the test details and the explanation of the test results conducted in different scenarios.)

The testers wired a Racelogic VBOX III data logger to the test vehicle (in this case a Honda Pilot) to record vehicle speed via the VBOX’s GPS antenna and brake-pedal position and steering angle via the Pilot’s OBD II port. The testers then wired a red light to the windshield to play the role of brake lights from an imaginary car ahead of the Pilot. When the red light lit up, the driver’s supposed to hit the brakes.    Each trial, one with a younger test candidate (Jordan Brown) and using an iPhone, the other with old man (Eddie Alterman) and a Samsung Alias, would have the driver respond five times to the light, and the slowest reaction time — the time between activation of the light and driver hitting the brakes — was dropped.

Image Courtesy: Car & Driver

The results from the first test scenario involving the younger driver are as follows:

  • The younger driver’s  baseline reaction time at 35 mph of 0.45 second worsened to 0.57 while reading a text, improved to 0.52 while writing a text, and returned almost to the baseline while impaired by alcohol, at 0.46. At 70 mph, his baseline reaction was 0.39 second, while the reading (0.50), texting (0.48), and drinking (0.50) numbers were similar. But the averages don’t tell the whole story.
  • Looking at the younger driver’s slowest reaction time at 35 mph, he traveled an extra 21 feet (more than a car length) before hitting the brakes while reading and went 16 feet longer while texting. At 70 mph, a vehicle travels 103 feet every second, and older driver’s worst reaction time while reading at that speed put him about 30 feet (31 while typing) farther down the road versus 15 feet while drunk.

The results from the 2nd test scenario involving the older driver are as follows:

  • While reading a text and driving at 35 mph, the older driver’s average baseline reaction time of 0.57 second nearly tripled, to 1.44 seconds. While texting, his response time was 1.36 seconds. These figures correspond to an extra 45 and 41 feet, respectively, before hitting the brakes. His reaction time after drinking averaged 0.64 second and, by comparison, added only seven feet.
  • The results at 70 mph were similar:  The older response time while reading a text was 0.35 second longer than his base performance of 0.56 second, and writing a text added 0.68 second to his reaction time. But his intoxicated number increased only 0.04 second over the base score, to a total of 0.60 second.

Well, do you know what’s happening in the real world?  According to one industry study, still, 20 percent of drivers regularly send texts or e-mails on the road.  Governments at all levels (State, Local and Federal) are combating the texting meance with a legal and PR campaigns.  As of now, 14 states have banned driving while using handheld cell phones and a bunch of them are expected to join the bandwagon. in teh near future (Oregon is reportedly on the verge of enacting a ban).  Click here to watch a video of this story that appeared in this morning’s Today’s show.

Smart Black Box – Coming Soon to a car next to you!

June 25, 2009 at 11:45 am

(Source: Wired)

Image Courtesy: Wired

A company that provides communications systems to law enforcement agencies around the world has developed a black box similar to those used in aircraft to record crash data in cars.

The Smart Black Box by KCI Communications sticks to your windshield and uses a built-in camera, GPS unit and G-force shock sensor to document accidents. The info could come in handy when trying to determine fault or explain to your insurance company just what happened when you crunched your car.  KCI says the GPS unit will record the time and location of an accident and document your speed and direction of travel. The company says that could be useful when trying to prove that red light you ran was actually yellow or in cases where you dispute the reading on a cop’s radar.

The Smart Black Box costs about $300 and constantly records video footage on a loop as you drive. Should the shock sensor detect an accident, the device saves the 15 seconds prior to impact and the 5 seconds afterward. The footage is saved to a SD Card, like that found in your digital camera, making it accessible on a home computer.

Click here to read the entire article.