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Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – August 16, 2010

August 16, 2010 at 5:06 pm

Monday, August 16, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

Participate in Global Traffic Solutions – GEWI Traffic Technologies Tour

This November, GEWI will be touring the US and Canada for the purpose of exchanging information about advanced traffic technologies being used around the world.  The tour demonstrates solutions for a variety of transportation related problems and ideas, including global vehicle/infrastructure projects similar to the US IntelliDrive initiative.  Other topics include data collection, harmonization, interoperability and dealing with emerging data types.  GEWI also wants to hear your current traffic data or system challenges.  This information exchange is just one of the many ways GEWI ensures that the TIC software product continues to be the global leader for the processing of transportation data.

If you’re interested in attending or hosting this free event in your area, contact jim.oneill@gewi.com.

AVIATION

1) Southwest Airlines Takes Proactive Approach When Things Go Wrong In-Flight

Link to article in The Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/airlines/stories/DN-swapology_15bus.ART0.State.Edition1.26cd7a0.html

BICYCLES

2) The Bike that Expresses Its Feelings

Link to blog on CNET News:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20013670-71.html

GPS / NAVIGATION

3) New York City to Retrofit Buses with GPS Tracking

Link to article in Washington Square News:

http://nyunews.com/news/2010/08/08/09gps/

MARITIME

4) NTSB Ties US Coast Guard Collision to Cell Phone Use

Link to article in The Hill:

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/114137-ntsb-ties-coast-guard-collisions-to-cell-phone-use

OTHER

5) Latest Issues of Thinking Highways Online

–  Europe/RoW edition

http://thinkinghighways.com/Pages/View-issue.aspx?id=5d1ae3bb-0899-4bf8-a786-2e2b31499a62

–  North American edition

http://thinkinghighways.com/Pages/View-issue.aspx?id=21c8d997-8d9c-4854-b34c-8ded4121fa79

RAILROADS

6) Railroads’ Guarded Secret: Not Even Hazmat Teams are Told What’s on Train

Link to article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin:

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20100814/NEWS01/8140340/1112/Railroads–guarded-secret–Not-even-HAZMAT-teams-are-told-what-s-on-train

7) Rail Safety: Making the Railroad Mantra ‘Safety First’ More than Words in a Manual

Link to article in Progressive Railroading:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/pr/article.asp?id=24056&email=bernie@bwcommunications.net

ROADWAYS

8) University of Maryland Researcher Aims for Early Warning System for Bridges

Link to article in The Baltimore Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-bridge-sensors-20100816,0,7287279.story

SAFETY / SECURITY

9) Firms Crack Down on Driving While Distracted

Link to article in the Chicago Sun-Times:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/2601804,CST-NWS-ride16.article

TRANSIT

10) Johnson County (Kansas) Transit Offers New Web Site to Explain Transit Task Force

Link to article in The Kansas City Star:

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/13/2148259/joco-offers-new-website-to-explain.html

11) Defining a Transit Wireless Blueprint

Link to blog in Mass Transit:

http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2010/08/12/defining-a-transit-wireless-blueprint/

12) Reconciling Security, Disclosure, and Record-Retention Requirements in Transit Procurements

Link to report from the Transportation Research Board:

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Reconciling_Security_Disclosure_and_RecordRetentio_163894.aspx

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

13) Rush Hour Alerts a Hit with Auckland Drivers

Link to article in The New Zealand Herald:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10666174

14) Real-Time Traffic Business in Europe: Interview with Mediamobile CEO Vincent Godec

Link to video interview on GPS Business News:

http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/Real-Time-Traffic-Business-in-Europe-Interview-with-Mediamobile-CEO-Vincent-Godec_a2398.html

15) Hopes High for New Winter Haven, Florida Traffic-Monitoring System

Link to article in The News Chief:

http://www.newschief.com/article/20100815/NEWS/8155061/-1/living02?Title=Hopes-high-for-new-W-H-traffic-monitoring-system

16) Q&A: Color-Coded Traffic in Google Maps

Link to column in The New York Times:

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/q-a-color-coded-traffic-in-google-maps/

News Releases

1) Minnesota DOT Commissioner Tom Sorel to Kick Off New ITS America Webinar Series

2) Announcement of the Inaugural ITS Australia Awards

3) Blind Driver Challenge Project Wins Top Awards at NIWeek

4) Walk Score Launches Transit Score and Commute Reports

5) UAE Roads & Transport Authority Launches Accepted Fasting, Safe Road Campaign for Ramadan

Upcoming Events

Webinar: General Overview of the 2009 MUTCD Parts 1 and 6 – August 24

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=664

Today in Transportation History

1960 **50th anniversary** Joseph Kittinger set a world record, which still stands, for the highest altitude skydive at 102,800 feet (31,300 meters).

http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006518

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast atbernie@bwcommunications.net.

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net

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The #Onion News – Millions Of Barrels Of #Oil Safely Reach Port In Major Environmental Catastrophe

August 13, 2010 at 4:41 pm

God bless The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

Amplify’d from www.theonion.com

PORT FOURCHON, LA—In what may be the greatest environmental disaster in the nation’s history, the supertanker TI Oceania docked without incident at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port Monday and successfully unloaded 3.1 million barrels of dangerous crude oil into the United States.

According to witnesses, the catastrophe began shortly after the tanker, which sailed unimpeded across the Gulf of Mexico, stopped safely at the harbor and made contact with oil company workers on the shore. Soon after, vast amounts of the black, toxic petroleum in the ship’s hold were unloaded at an alarming rate into special storage containers on the mainland.

From there, experts confirmed, the oil will likely spread across the entire country’s infrastructure and commit unforetold damage to its lakes, streams, and air.

“We’re looking at a crisis of cataclysmic proportions,” said Charles Hartsell, an environmental scientist at Tufts University. “In a matter of days, this oil may be refined into a lighter substance that, when burned as fuel in vehicles, homes, and businesses, will poison the earth’s atmosphere on a terrifying scale.”

Read more at www.theonion.com
 
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GM prepares its getaway (i.e., IPO) – The @Economist reads the future

August 13, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Alright..That’s two straight quarters of stellar performance in a crazy economic climate with consumers holding onto their wallets tightly. Does this mean GM got out of the dark? Probably! But the million dollar, unanswered & unclear question: – what’s next for the behemoth as it gets ready to jettison the old image and launch into the future? The economist dives into educating us with what’s ahead for GM…

Amplify’d from www.economist.com

ED WHITACRE, a former head of AT&T who took over the reins at General Motors last December and who yesterday announced his own imminent departure, deserves a small round of applause for what he has achieved. Just over a year ago, GM was taking its first faltering steps on the road to recovery, as it emerged from its government-orchestrated “quick-rinse” bankruptcy. But despite shedding debt, dropping several brands, shrinking its bloated dealer network, cutting jobs and securing concessions from those workers who remained, there were still plenty of sceptics.

Could a company that had lost $88 billion in the four years to 2009, had only been kept afloat with $60 billion from American and Canadian taxpayers and which had become known as “Government Motors” really shuffle off its culture of failure so easily? However, after reporting net earnings of $1.3 billion for the three months to the end of June yesterday—the carmaker’s second profitable quarter in a row and its best since 2004—the evidence that “New GM”, as it likes to call itself, is a different business is mounting. So much so that later today or early next week, the company is expected to file an S-1 registration document with the Securities and Exchange Commission, paving the way for an initial public offering before the end of the year.

Read more at www.economist.com
 
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The Copenhagen Goodness – Awesome Hybrid Bike Wheel Wins U.S. Dyson Award

August 13, 2010 at 3:30 pm

The Copenhagen Wheel, developed by a MIT-team led by Christine Outram, joins nine other regional-designs winners to compete for the grand-prize winner ($15,000 for themselves or their team, and another $15,000 for their school department). Results will be announced on Oct. 15th.

Amplify’d from www.fastcodesign.com

An ingenious wheel that could turn any bike into an electric hybrid has won the U.S. round of the James Dyson Award, an event that’s become the world’s premier student-design competition. Tonight, the winner will be formally announced, at a Designer Pages event discussing the bright, bold future of design.

What they came up with is a hybrid wheel, which generates electricity during braking (similar to the regenerative braking you find in many car hybrids). It then offers that electricity as a power boost up hills or over long distances. That power is controlled by an iPhone interface. (Shades of Apple’s Smart Bike!) Why’s all this groundbreaking? The hope is that hybrid power, by making previously difficult bike commutes easy, could make bikes a viable option for countless more commuters.

Read more at www.fastcodesign.com
 
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Dude, let’s go for a ride – 3 Florida kids fly to Nashville; bought tickets with baby-sitting money

August 13, 2010 at 11:37 am

Daring? Yes! Scary? Without a Doubt. Is it Cool? Way cool – if you are a kid and not so cool if you are a parent. The good news is the kids called home when they arrived in TN immediately flew back. I’m positive either or a combination of this happened in those two households after the incident – someone had a curfew imposed or lost access to TV/mobile phone/video games for a month.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com
Kids On Planes

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Brown had $700 saved and asked a 13-year-old friend where he wanted to go.

The friend, Bobby Nolan III, suggested Nashville.

Together with Brown’s 11-year-old brother, the three took a taxicab to Jacksonville International Airport and bought three tickets at the counter. The children say no one asked them for identification.

Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com
 
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NPR: ‘Superclogger’: Free Theater On L.A.’s Freeways

August 11, 2010 at 11:01 pm

Just adore NPR for finding and sharing such quirky stories..

Amplify’d from www.npr.org

In a parking lot near the Golden State Freeway, Los Angeles artist Joel Kyack is stripping right down to his underwear. He squeezes into a black bodysuit that makes the skinny 37-year-old look even skinnier, and pops open the back hatch of a dusty white truck. He’s setting the stage — quite literally — for another installment of his first large-scale public art project: a rush-hour puppet show.

The show, called Superclogger after L.A.’s endlessly clogged freeways, was conceived with Kyack’s friend Peter Fuller. Fueled by a determinedly low-tech aesthetic, it stars a cast that suggests a group of funky, grimy, homemade Muppets, acting out short vignettes on themes that might speak to people stuck in traffic. Coping with uncertain conditions, for instance, or the state of being controlled.

When informed that a major sports event is hopelessly tying up traffic, Kyack can barely contain his delight. “We’re gonna be able to do like three performances between here and the 101!” he crows.

Unfortunately, that turns out not to be the case. Shortly after NPR producer Amy Walters and I follow Kyack onto the freeway in my rental car, the artist gets pulled over by the California Highway Patrol. He doesn’t get in trouble. But then again, the cops don’t quite buy his academic theories about offering a space of engagement for drivers to reflect on the chaotic structures of their daily routine.

Read more at www.npr.org
 
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NYC, get ready for iPhone powered social bike sharing program

August 11, 2010 at 9:35 pm

Now, that’s what I call innovative… Good stuff.

Amplify’d from www.engadget.com
Social Bicycles is a bike sharing system with a twist. Using an iPhone app, the system allows users to drop off, locate, and borrow a bike nearly anywhere. The bikes are equipped with a GPS device which is locked to one of the wheels, and when the bike is locked, it’s locatable using the app, so that someone can borrow it; when it’s in use and unlocked, it doesn’t appear in the app. Read more at www.engadget.com
 
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Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – August 11, 2010

August 11, 2010 at 5:21 pm

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

Participate in Global Traffic Solutions – GEWI Traffic Technologies Tour

This November, GEWI will be touring the US and Canada for the purpose of exchanging information about advanced traffic technologies being used around the world.  The tour demonstrates solutions for a variety of transportation related problems and ideas, including global vehicle/infrastructure projects similar to the US IntelliDrive initiative.  Other topics include data collection, harmonization, interoperability and dealing with emerging data types.  GEWI also wants to hear your current traffic data or system challenges.  This information exchange is just one of the many ways GEWI ensures that the TIC software product continues to be the global leader for the processing of transportation data.

If you’re interested in attending or hosting this free event in your area, contact jim.oneill@gewi.com.

AVIATION

1) Continental CEO Urges Air Traffic System Overhaul

Link to article in the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7148230.html

2) New Guidelines Tell Indian Co-pilots to Speak Up

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/08/11/new-guidelines-say-co-pilots-need-to-speak-up/

3) How Steve Slater is Stifling JetBlue’s Social Media Strategy

Link to article in Advertising Age:

http://adage.com/article?article_id=145335

GPS / NAVIGATION

4) US Air Force Announces Civil Navigation Test Vectors for GPS IIF Satellite

Link to article in GPS World:

http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/gps-modernization/news/air-force-announces-civil-navigation-test-vectors-gps-iif-satelli

MARITIME

5) Did Silenced Radio on Tug Lead to Duck Boat Crash?

Link to article in the Philadelphia Daily News:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20100811_Did_silenced_radio_on_tug_lead_to_duck-boat_crash_.html

OTHER

6) Oklahoma Puts Brakes on Plan to Use Highway Traffic Cameras to ID Motorists Without Vehicle Insurance

Link to article in The Oklahoman:

http://newsok.com/highway-camera-plan-hits-roadblock/article/3484208

7) To Use Less Paper, Chicago Transportation Officials Spend Green on GreenPrint

Link to article in the Chicago Tribune:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-08-10/news/ct-met-green-print-cdot-20100810_1_print-job-greenprint-technologies-cdot

8) Government 2.0: In Twitter World, Orange County Transportation Authority Personality Followed by Nearly 27,000

Link to article on PublicCEO.com:

http://www.publicceo.com/index.php/local-governments/151-local-governments-publicceo-exclusive/1831-government-20-in-twitter-world-octa-personality-followed-by-nearly-27000

9) Chennai Traffic Police to be on Facebook

Link to article in the Indian Express:

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/chennai-traffic-police-to-be-on-facebook/197194.html

PARKING

10) An Overview of San Francisco’s New High-Tech Parking System, SFPark

Link to article and video:

http://vimeo.com/13867453

PUBLIC INFORMATION / EDUCATION

11) Fire Prompts Cleveland RTA to Demonstrate Emergency Evacuation Procedures

Link to article in The Plain Dealer:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/fire_prompts_rta_to_demonstrat.html

SAFETY / SECURITY

12) Quietly, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Texting Ban for Truckers Goes to US DOT

Link to article in The Trucker:

http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2010/8/11/QuietlyNPRMontextingbanfortruckersgoestoDOT.aspx

TELEMATICS

13) Audible.com: ‘The Vehicle Will be a First Class Connected Internet Device’

Link to article in Telematics Update:

http://social.telematicsupdate.com/executive-viewpoint/audiblecom-“-vehicle-will-be-first-class-connected-internet-device

TRANSIT

14) DC Metro Issues Challenge to App Developers

Link to article on The Transit Wire:

http://www.thetransitwire.com/2010/08/11/metro-issues-challenge-to-app-developers/

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

15) Hawaii DOT Launches Web Site to Give Latest Info on Traffic

Link to article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20100811_New_website_gives_commuters_latest_info_on_traffic.html

Link to GoAkamai: http://goakamai.org

16) Google Starts Traffic Service for Moscow, St. Petersburg

Link to article in The Moscow Times:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/google-starts-traffic-service-for-moscow-st-pete/412178.html

VEHICLES

17) Wireless Car Sensors Vulnerable to Hackers

Link to article in Technology Review:

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25962/

18) Early US Tests Find No Toyota Flaw in Electronics

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/business/11auto.html?_r=1

News Releases

1) US DOT’s ITS-JPO Announces Three Free IntelliDrive Meetings for Inventors

2) NTSB Issues Recommendations to Coast Guard on the Use of Cell Phones and Wireless Devices While Operating Vessels

3) Urban Mapping Introduces Geo Fact Finder: Infoviz, Web Mapping, On Demand

4) New York MTA Unveils Online Dashboard to Track Capital Projects

5) How Siemens and Motorola Wireless Networks Helped Chandler, Arizona Traffic Continue to Run Smoothly Through Planned Construction

6) New Visual Brand Identity for the New United Airlines

7) July Marks Record OnStar Navigation Requests

Upcoming Events

Airport Customer Service/Volunteer Ambassador Conference – October 17-19 – Denver

http://events.aaae.org/sites/101005/index.cfm

Today in Transportation History

1910 **100th anniversary** Robert Fox was granted a patent in the UK for a system to display moving ads in railway tunnels.

http://fisherscircle.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/32/

1990 **20th anniversary** I-10 was completed nationally with the opening of the Deck Park Tunnel in Phoenix.

http://www.azfamily.com/traffic/ADOT-celebrates-20th-anniversary-of-Deck-Park-tunnel-100438154.html

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at bernie@bwcommunications.net. 

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast www.bwcommunications.net

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A Nightmare For #IntelliDrive ? Hackers Wirelessly Crash Car’s Computer At Highway Speeds

August 11, 2010 at 3:31 pm

This is inevitable in the world of electronic data and what bothers me is the fact that it can be done with relatively cheap labor (total cost of $1500) and some good amount of graduate engineering research work. If such a thing were to happen in the world of talking cars (IntelliDrive), would it open up the possibility of creating “zombie” cars whose networks can be manipulated and controlled externally to create horrific crashes? Not sure but that is terrible to even think about. Whatever be the case, the designers of the modern cars (especially the ones designed for the IntelliDrive era) should take this possibility into account and come up with fool proof data security.

Amplify’d from jalopnik.com
Hackers Wirelessly Crash Car's Computer At Highway Speeds

We’ve told you before about experiments to hack into the increasingly complicated programming in modern vehicles. How complicated? A typical luxury sedan will carry three miles of wiring, scores of processors and close to 100 million lines of software code, or roughly 20 times more than used in a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Those previous experiments showed what could be done with a physical connection to a vehicle’s computer. The new work by teams from the University of South Carolina and Rutgers tried a different tack: spoofing the wireless sensors in wheels used by tire pressure monitoring systems, required in all new U.S. vehicles since 2008.

The researchers didn’t find a wide-open door so much as the security employed by a 1920s speakeasy: once they learned the secret knock, the unidentified test car’s controls let them in no questions asked. The team sent fake warning messages from 40 meters away, and in another experiment, got the test car to flash a warning that a tire had lost all pressure while beaming the signal from another car as both drove 68 mph.

Because each sensor uses a unique ID tag, it was also possible to track specific vehicles, in a way that would be far less noticeable than roadside cameras.

Read more at jalopnik.com
 
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Shcool or School? Y’all need some spelling lessons before you start painting stuff

August 11, 2010 at 3:00 pm

This is what happens when folks don’t take education seriously. At least now we know that the folks who painted this sign in Greensboro, North Carolina didn’t stay in school long enough..

Amplify’d from jalopnik.com

NC Road Painters Need More Shcool
NC Road Painters Need More Shcool

See more at jalopnik.com
 
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