Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Register for IBTTA’s Toll Road Summit of the Americas — November 15-17, 2009 in São Paulo, Brazil

Join the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association at the Toll Road Summit of the Americas and examine an array of methods to design, finance, operate and maintain user financed surface transportation facilities. The second day of this meeting will be held in conjunction with TranspoQuip 2009, Latin America’s biggest event for the transportation infrastructure industries in Latin America. Featured speakers include Cesar Queiroz, Consultant, Roads and Transport Infrastructure, World Bank, and Roberto Lucas, Jr., Author and Urban Planning Consultant. Meeting hosted by ABCR and CCR. For registration, hotel, travel and visa information, or to view the preliminary agenda, visit www.IBTTA.org.

AVIATION

1) Lawmakers Seek Ban on Laptops in Airliner Cockpits

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hA0WkLUZXW8iR6FIjNXOF4XHbuLQD9BNUDM00

2) NextGen Panel Warns of Obstacles

Link to article in Aviation Week:

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=busav&id=news/COMMIT110209.xml

3) New Technology Could Revolutionize the Black Box

Link to article in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/new-technology-could-revolutionize-the-black-box/article1349161/

4) Scared of Flying? Press the Fear iButton

Link to Reuters article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5A21RR20091103

BICYCLING

5) Austin, Texas Installs ‘Sharrows’ as Part of Cycling, Driving Experiment

Link to story and video on KVUE-TV:

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/110209sharrows_10-68802522.html

CAMERAS

6) Red-Light Camera Cash Could Balance Budget, Louisiana Parish Considers

Link to article in The Times-Picayune:

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/jefferson_parish_officials_eye.html

CARTOGRAPHY

7) Mystery of Argleton, the ‘Google’ Town that Only Exists Online

Link to article in The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6474746/Mystery-of-Argleton-the-Google-town-that-only-exists-online.html

MARITIME

8) US Navy to Increase Broadband Speed Tenfold

Link to article in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2009/11/03/navy-installs-broadband-technology.aspx

OTHER

9) Highlights from the Second International Field Operational Testing Workshop at the ITS World Congress

Link to article and presentations from ERTICO-ITS Europe:

http://www.ertico.com/en/news/ertico_newsroom/fotnews200910.htm

SAFETY / SECURITY

10) Indianapolis has First Ambulance-Based Wireless Medical Records System

Link to article in Federal Computer Week:

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/10/21/indianapolis-ambulances-accessing-wireless-ehr-system.aspx

11) When Texting Kills, Britain Offers Path to Prison

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02texting.html?_r=2&th&emc=th

12) How Can We Promote Greater Awareness of Transportation Safety?

Link to comments on the National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog:

http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2009/11/how-can-we-promote-greater-awa.php

13) Safety Maintenance and Surface Weather

Link to report from the Transportation Research Board:

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Safety_Maintenance_and_Surface_Weather_162492.aspx

TRANSIT

14) T-Mobile Joins Cellular Carriers Providing Service in CTA Red, Blue Line Tunnels

Link to column in the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-talk-cta-t-mobile-dealnov03,0,7941765.column

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

15) Get Traffic Updates in Chennai Through FM Radios

Traffic police send SMS updates through thirteen FM stations.

Link to article on SiliconIndia:

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Get_traffic_updates_in_Chennai_through_FM_radios_-nid-62506.html

News Releases

1) Clear Channel Radio’s Total Traffic Network Adds Direct-to-Vehicle Deals with Mazda, Cydle

2) Frost & Sullivan: Telematics for Electric Vehicles – The Key to Reducing Range Anxiety and Enhancing the Overall EV Ownership Experience

3) Constellation Software Inc. Completes Acquisition of Public Transit Solutions Segment from Continental AG

4) PrePass Expansion Continues: Michigan Becomes 29th State

Upcoming Events

TRB Webinar: Maintenance Practices for Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity – November 17

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/TRB_Webinar_Maintenance_Practices_for_Traffic_Sign_162425.aspx

Today in Transportation History

1909 **100^th anniversary** – Henry Farman sent an flight endurance record of four hours, 17 minutes and 53 seconds.

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/Farman/DI82.htm

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe send an e-mail to:  i95berniew@aol.com

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Gizmodo; Botjunkie)

Folks from the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) are at it again.  In the race to develop autonomous vehicles, VAIL-ers at Stanford Engineering flexed some serious technology muscle to notch impressive wins in the DARPA Grand Challenge and the Urban Challenge Race.  This time around they built the fastest & fully automated Audi TTS—equipped with GPS, sensors, and guidance systems—and the team is all set to race on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, a crazy 19.99-kilometer rally race circuit with 156 turns. The team that created it wants to see if they can really push performance in such a challenging environment. The modded Audi TTS—which is already the fastest autonomous car in the world, running at 130mph—will have to face gravel and paved dirty roads, with 7% grades that will take it from 4,721 ft to 9,390 ft high.

Botjunkie reports that the car’s name is Shelley, after Michèle Mouton, the most successful female rally driver ever and the first woman to win the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. She did it in an Audi, of course. In an artfully done, eye candy type of video, the team demonstrates where it wants to be in the days ahead – in the clouds atop the Pike’s Peek. Looking around, I see no serious competition for Volkswagen in this arena..

You may recall that Volkswagen was the first team to complete the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005 by having a fully autonomous Volkswagen Touareg SUV (his name was Stanley, btw) drive 132 miles through the Mojave Desert. Then for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, a VW Passat Wagon took second place behind Tartan Racing team from Carnegie Mellon University in a 60 mile urban course. But those two challenges are nothing compared to what’s on tap for next year: Pikes Peak in an autonomous Audi TT-S.

Click here to read more.

(Source: Mashable)

This astonishing video of a Russian forklift driver who smashes until shelves of Cognac and Vodka, and subsequently destroys a huge portion of the Moscow warehouse.

The driver of the forklift lost control, slammed into stock shelves, and seconds later was covered in bottles of alcohol. The driver is said to be okay with a minor leg injury, but the warehouse is looking at over $100,000 in damages.

Monday, November 2, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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AVIATION

1) Wi-Fi Creates Challenges as Well as Opportunities for Airlines

Link to article in Travel Weekly:

http://www.travelweekly.com/article3_ektid205642.aspx

GPS / NAVIGATION

2) GPS Satellite Beset by Permanent Signal Problem

Link to article on Spaceflight Now:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0911/02gps/

3) NASA Space Map Uses Quasars to Guide GPS Satnavs

Link to article in The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6485790/Nasa-space-map-uses-quasars-to-guide-GPS-satnavs.html

OTHER

4) States Scramble to Track Federal Stimulus Bucks

Link to article in Computerworld:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/344627/Follow_the_money_States_scramble_to_track_federal_stimulus_bucks

5) Maryland is Tops at Tracking Stimulus Spending

Link to article in Computerworld:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/344670/Maryland_Leader_of_the_Pack

6) Track Those Stimulus Tax Dollars in an ‘Augmented Reality’

Link to story and audio report on NPR’s Morning Edition:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114359604

SAFETY / SECURITY

7) Many in the US Want Texting at the Wheel to be Illegal

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02textingside.html

8) US Army Show More than One Way to Look Under a Car

Link to article on CNET News:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10388439-42.html

9) US Department of Homeland Security Expands IdeaFactory

Link to article in Government Executive:

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?filepath=/dailyfed/1109/110209ww.htm

TRANSIT

10) San Antonio Hopes Wi-Fi Lures Riders to Buses

Link to article in the San Antonio Express-News:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/VIA_testing_free_Internet_on_some_buses.html

11) Boston MBTA Unveils Ads Warning About Pervs

Link to article in the Boston Herald:

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20091102mbta_unveils_ads_warning_about_pervs

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Kansas DOT Warning Systems Put to Use

Link to article in The Hays Daily News:

http://www.hdnews.net/printstory/wintry110209

13) Massachusetts Transportation Agency Merger Faces a Few Snarls

Link to article in The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/02/new_transit_merger_faces_a_few_snarls/

14) Massachusetts Offers One-Stop Shopping for Traffic Webcams

Link to article in The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/10/state_offers_on.html

Link to webcams: http://www.mass.gov/511/cameras

15) Spanish and Basque Departments of Transportation Agree to Share Traffic Information

Link to EITB article:

http://www.eitb.com/news/politic/detail/281353/bc-agrees-to-share-information-with-central-dept-of-traffic/

16) New Traveler Information Services Association Specifications

Link to article from ERTICO-ITS Europe:

http://www.ertico.com/en/news/ertico_newsroom/project_news_new_tisa_specifications.htm

News Releases

1) Garmin’s Touchscreen aera Series Takes Pilots from Runway to Roadway

2) TrafficLand Launches Live Traffic Video in Chicago and Boston; Announces New Jersey and Colorado Coming Soon

3) FCC to Hold Broadband Field Hearing on Improving Public Safety Communications and Emergency Response

4) Inrix Traffic Powers ALK’s CoPilot Live Smartphone Navigation in North America

Upcoming Events

Webinar: TIMTC (Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition) – November 16

http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference/web_conf_learner_reg.aspx?webConfID=18682

Today in Transportation History

1959 **50^th anniversary** – The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the UK, opened.

http://www.iht.org/motorway/m1m10m45.htm

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe send an e-mail to:  i95berniew@aol.com

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

Friday, October 30, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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AVIATION

1) Cockpit Distractions Go Beyond Laptops

Link to article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-30-pilot-distractions_N.htm

CAMERAS

2) Camera Upgrade on Washington State’s Snoqualmie Pass a Boon for Nighttime Weather Monitoring

Link to article in The Ritzville Adams County Journal:

http://tinyurl.com/yj8wosk

Link to cameras: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/snoqualmie/default.aspx

OTHER

3) IT Should be Included in Copenhagen Agreement, Says UN Agency

Technology, including ITS, should be seen as key to reducing emissions in any successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Link to article in Computing:

http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2252305/should-included-copenhagen

Link to news release from the International Telecommunication Union:

http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2009/NP09.html

4) Illinois Tollway Board Meetings to be Available via Webcasts

Link to article on Chicago Breaking News:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/tollway-board-meetings-to-be-available-via-webcasts.html

5) IEEE ITS Society Newsletter – October Issue

Link to newsletter:

http://www.ieeeitss.org/v11n4.pdf

RAILROADS

6) Amtrak Plans Wi-Fi Internet Access on Acela Trains

Link to Bloomberg article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abyvg7fhE66k

ROADWAYS

7) Live Twitter Feed of Bay Bridge Discussion

Link to article and feed in The Record:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091030/A_NEWS/910309998#STS=g1fgoe42.1up7

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

8) Wyoming DOT Command Center Works Around the Clock

Link to story and video on KGWN-TV:

http://www.kgwn.tv/story.aspx?ID=3124&Cat=2

9) Live Traffic Updates Benefit Cayman Motorists

Link to article on Cayman Net News:

http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-19078–1-1—.html

VEHICLES

10) Chrysler Offers Live TV Service

Link to AP article:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-10-29-chrysler-live-tv-in-cars_N.htm

Upcoming Events

Network of Excellence for Advanced Road Traffic Management in the Information Society (NEARCTIS) Workshop – November 13 – London

http://www.nearctis.org/index.php?id=151&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=27&tx_ttnews[backPid]=3&cHash=76a99aeab4

Friday Bonus

It’s almost Halloween…here are a few streets you might not want to trick-or-treat on.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-10-29-streets-of-fear_N.htm

Today in Transportation History

1929 **80^th anniversary** – The Standseilbahn, a funicular railway in Stuttgart, Germany, opened.

http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/DEU/freizeit/standseilbahn.htm

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe send an e-mail to:  i95berniew@aol.com

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Mashable & Guardian, UK)

Could the satnav (Satellite Navigation, for those not in know) – the saviour of many a long car journey – about to be consigned to the dustbin of history, alongside Betamax tapes and HD-DVDs?

After enjoying years of seemingly unassailable popularity with gadget fans and travelling salesmen, those little gadgets hanging on your vehicle’s Dashboards could become redundant excesses because of the threat from a new breed of mobile phones that feature the sort of mapping technology that wouldn’t look out of place on the most expensive TomTom. Google just released a beta version of Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0. operating system, a new tool, based on Google’s existing road maps platform, that will provide turn-by-turn directions, automatic re-routing and 3D street-level views. In short, pretty much everything your satnav can do, but without the need to worry about an extra bit of kit when you load up the car.

The share prices of leading satnav manufacturers, such as TomTom and Garmin, nosedived on the news. Garmin’s share price dipped by 18 per cent, TomTom’s by 13 per cent – a huge hit, and a clear sign that the market is taking the threat posed by Google very seriously indeed.

Here’s a quick overview of the features:

• Search in plain English – quickly search and navigate to places, businesses, landmarks
• Search by voice
• View of live traffic data over the Internet.
• Search along route – find locations near your current path
• Satellite view – you can view the same satellite imagery you’ve seen Google Maps, on your phone
• Street View – check out what the exact surroundings of a location look like
• Car dock mode – when you place certain devices in a car dock, a special mode activates that enables easier operation

GPS turn-by-turn navigation has historically always been something you had to pay for. Creating and maintaining a map of the entire world, together with points of interests and traffic info, plus developing the algorithms that make sure you don’t take a wrong turn, costs millions of dollars. But Google is now offering it for free. The result was devastating for shares of GPS navigation companies: Garmin’s shares fell by 16.4%; TomTom’s by 20.8%. We’re talking billions of dollars of market capitalization, gone in one day, just because Google presented another free product (they release new products on a monthly, if not weekly basis).

Thursday, October 29, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Register for IBTTA’s Toll Road Summit of the Americas — November 15-17, 2009 in São Paulo, Brazil

Join the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association at the Toll Road Summit of the Americas and examine an array of methods to design, finance, operate and maintain user financed surface transportation facilities. The second day of this meeting will be held in conjunction with TranspoQuip 2009, Latin America’s biggest event for the transportation infrastructure industries in Latin America. Featured speakers include Cesar Queiroz, Consultant, Roads and Transport Infrastructure, World Bank, and Roberto Lucas, Jr., Author and Urban Planning Consultant. Meeting hosted by ABCR and CCR. For registration, hotel, travel and visa information, or to view the preliminary agenda, visit www.IBTTA.org.

AVIATION

1) US Transportation Secretary Promises Scrutiny of ‘Distracted Flying’

Link to article in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102803824.html

2) FAA Reacted Slowly to Errant Jet

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125677288976914581.html

3) Aviation Expert: Flight Automation Leads to Boredom

Link to story and audio report on NPR’s Morning Edition:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114262744

4) Panel: $11 Million Air Safety Study Not Worth Much

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCiRedzPiEzMIsP7x3Ma0zfTEdKAD9BK75B80

Link to news release from the National Research Council:

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12795

5) European Area Control Centers Get Communication Network

Link to article in Flight International:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/10/29/334132/european-area-control-centres-get-communication-network.html

6) Canadian Reporters Grounded by US DOT Travel Restrictions

Link to article in the Ottawa Citizen:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Reporters+grounded+travel+restrictions/2153255/story.html

CAMERAS

7) ‘Intelligent’ Speed Cameras in UK

Link to article on Autocar:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/244374/

8) Virginia DOT Completes Installation of Traffic Cameras in Central Virginia

Link to story on WVIR-TV:

http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=11408788

GPS / NAVIGATION

9) Winking Robot Nav Head Knows Where You’re Going

Link to CNET News blog and video:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10386183-48.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

PUBLIC INFORMATION / EDUCATION

10) Education Key for Bus-Stop Safety

Link to article in the News Herald:

http://www.newsherald.com/news/parent-78639-bus-safety.html

Link to School Bus Stop Safety: http://www.schoolbusstopsafety.net/

ROADWAYS

11) Pennsylvania DOT: ‘Go Yankees’ Sign Inappropriate for Interstate

Link to story and video on WNEP-TV:

http://www.wnep.com/wnep-luz-yankees-sign-interstate-81-penndot,0,6977134.story

SAFETY / SECURITY

12) Penalties, Perks in Texting-While-Driving Bills

Link to article in PC Magazine:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354921,00.asp

TELEMATICS

13) GM’s OnStar Live in China in December

Link to article on just-auto:

http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=101833

14) Students Help Ford Bring the Cloud to Cars

Link to article in Wired:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/ford-michigan/

15) In-Car Wi-Fi Puts ‘Infobahn’ on the Autobahn

Link to article in Wired:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/in-car-internet/

TRANSIT

16) SEPTA Guide Prepares Commuters for Possible Strike

Link to article in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20091028_SEPTA_guide_prepares_commuters_for_possible_strike.html

Link to news release from SEPTA:

http://www.septa.com/news/press_releases/20091028_plan.html

17) Re-Stalinization of Moscow Subway Sparks Debate

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTpm5znGibnm2u7dOkN1DrK-rhBQD9BJKR3O1

18) More on DART: Sometimes an Explanation Isn’t Enough

Transit agency needs to better acknowledge service problems.

Link to blog in The Dallas Morning News:

http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/10/more-on-dart-and-the-texas-ou.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

19) Traffic Management: New Internet Coming to Your Local Roads

Link to article on ZDNet:

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=5920

20) Electronic Signboards in Kuala Lumpur Not Serving Their Purpose

Link to article in The Star:

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/10/29/central/4994573&sec=central

21) Smart Signs Being Wasted in Queensland

Link to commentary in The Gympie Times:

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2009/10/30/still-waiting-safety-message-hold/

22) ASEAN Meeting Focuses on ‘Harmonious’ Transport Links

Need to use technology to improve mobility.

Link to article in The Brunei Times:

http://www.bt.com.bn/en/news-national/2009/10/29/asean-meet-focus-harmonious-transport-links

VEHICLES

23) Institute Researchers Develop New Way to Test Tires

Link to article in the Boston Herald:

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/automotive/view/20091029institute_researchers_develop_new_way_to_test_tires/srvc=home&position=recent

News Releases

1) Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Receives Inaugural CAPA Air Navigation Services Provider of the Year Award

2) NASA App Now Available from App Store

3) Berg Insight Says Over 3.5 Million Cars in Europe Have a Telematics Device

4) American Airlines and Lexus Team Up to Offer Free Wi-Fi in the Sky

5) IBM Global Trucking Study: Fuel Efficiency, High-Tech Features More Important than Brand Name

6) Navigation Market Leader Telmap Brings Navigation to iPhone with Navteq

Upcoming Events

Webinar: Talking Operations Performance Journalism: Improving Your Ability to Build Operations Program – November 10

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=586

Today in Transportation History

1969 **40^th anniversary** – The first computer-to-computer message was sent over ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:First-arpanet-imp-log.jpg

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe send an e-mail to:  i95berniew@aol.com

To unsubscribe send an e-mail to:  TCNL-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Wired)

The senate, the Department of Transportation and the FCC want you to stop texting while driving, and on Wednesday, they all but declared a war on texting, promising education campaigns and laws to convince you to put your phone down — at least while you are piloting a two-ton SUV going 70 mph.

In a Senate hearing Wednesday, using a mobile phone while driving was said to be more dangerous than drunk driving, the cause of 16 percent of fatal accidents in the United States and a “perfect storm” of distraction.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood concluded his testimony by calling texting while driving a “menace to society,” saying the department’s research showed that 6,000 people a year died because it distracted drivers of all kinds. Here are some excerpts from the Secretary’s blog on this topic:

Here’s a start: Experts agree that there are three types of distraction–

Visual – taking your eyes off the road;

Manual – taking your hands off the wheel; and

Cognitive – taking your mind off the road.

While all distractions can adversely impact safety, texting is particularly troubling because it involves all three types of distraction. In the words of Dr. John Lee of the University of Wisconsin, this produces a “perfect storm.”

Not convinced? Our latest research shows that nearly 6,000 people died last year in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million people were injured.

At issue is the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009 (.pdf) that Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) and Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) introduced Wednesday that seeks to ban texting while driving, a category that includes using a PDA, checking e-mail on a BlackBerry or manipulating a GPS unit with your hand. The bill (S. 1938) also targets drivers who make calls without using a headset. Texting or calling while pulled over on the side of the road is fine, but not while at a red light.  

Rockefeller noted  “Nowadays, you have to text or you are not with it — you are not educated. But it’s lethal behavior when you get in a car.”   He wants some sort of phone-blocking device installed in cars, presumably one that knows the difference between a driver’s phone and passengers’ phones.

Rockefeller seemed to recognize that perhaps the only thing more dangerous than texting while driving is trying to take the media spotlight from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), and so let him testify at the hearing on the Rockefeller-Lautenberg bill because Schumer had introduced the Alert Drivers Act earlier this year.

By contrast Schumer’s bill would withhold 25 percent of federal transportation funding from states that don’t implement strong anti-texting while driving rules, a tactic Congress has used in the past to force states to lower their speed limits and raise the drinking age to 21.

(Sources contributing to this hybrid report:  The Hill, Guardian, UK & NY Times)

Refiners Warn of ‘Staggering’ Costs, Job Losses From Senate Climate Bill

A Senate climate change proposal could add 77 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline, according to Domestic oil refiners.  A group of refiners used the possible price hike on Wednesday to launch the latest in a series of attacks against the proposal. The CEO of refining giant Valero Energy Corp. also warned today that the Senate climate legislation would give a competitive advantage to foreign refiners and cost U.S. jobs.

But Democrats on a key Senate panel shot back, saying the industry’s estimate is based on an inflated projection of the price of permits companies will have to hold to cover their carbon emissions. A cost containment mechanism will keep the price from approaching the industry’s estimate, supporters said.

The lawmakers said the bill will spur industry innovation and that will create millions of new “green” jobs. The chief complaint from refiners is that they wouldn’t get enough free pollution allowances to cover emissions they are on the hook for under the legislation. The Senate bill would give refiners 2.25 percent of the allowances available to cover emissions at their plants. But the industry is also responsible for the emissions from vehicle tailpipes.

To make up the difference, refiners would have to buy emission permits on the market created under the legislation.

Addressing the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Valero’s Bill Klesse alleged that the Senate bill and its House counterpart would create large new costs that would drive domestic gasoline and diesel production offshore, cause job loss, and reduce U.S. energy security. He spoke on behalf of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, the industry’s main trade group.

“You must remember we are a global business,” Klesse said. “You will simply be driving the carbon dioxide emissions overseas.”

Klesse said Texas-based Valero — a large independent refiner with 16 refineries in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean — would face “staggering” costs even at a carbon price of $20 per ton, he said.

For instance, he said the company’s Corpus Christi, Texas, plant would face costs of up to $92 million per year. The industry as a whole, if held responsible for its process emissions and consumer emissions of its products, would face more than $67 billion in annual costs, he said.

But EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a co-sponsor of the bill (S. 1733 (pdf)), attacked Klesse’s conclusion that the bill would harm U.S. security. “The opposite is true,” Boxer said. She cited multiple analyses that conclude global climate change creates national security risks.

The bill would set up a cap-and-trade system under which facilities that produce carbon dioxide emissions must obtain permits for their emissions. Boxer said the bill includes provisions to cushion the effects on refiners. The bill provides 2.25 percent of the free emissions allowances to the refining sector.

Overall, Reicher and other backers of the congressional energy and climate efforts say the effort will increase jobs. “The job creation potential in energy efficiency is extraordinary,” Reicher said.

A major provision is the authorization of so-called border adjustments, or carbon tariffs, on imports from countries that do not adhere to emissions-cutting measures.

The provisions, a priority for lawmakers from manufacturing states, are aimed at preventing “carbon leakage,” in which energy-intensive manufacturing and jobs migrate to countries that do not impose emissions-cutting mandates.

The Senate bill also joins the House bill in providing free allowances to these trade-exposed, energy-intensive industries, although the formulas differ slightly.

The Senate plan provides these sectors with 4 percent of the cap-and-trade program’s freely distributed allowances in 2012 and 2013, rising to 15 percent in 2014 and 2015 and then phasing down after that.

The epic confrontation about how America will power the economy of the future formally got underway on October 27 amid stark warnings from the Obama administration of the costs of inaction on energy reform.

The first of three blockbuster sessions in the Senate held on Oct 27th can be held as a last heave by administration officials and Democratic leaders to advance a bill to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions before an international climate change meeting at Copenhagen, now just six weeks away.

American legislation on climate change is seen as essential to reaching a meaningful deal at Copenhagen. But the White House held up action in the Senate on a climate change bill to focus on healthcare reform. The proposed law, which now stretches for more than 900 pages, would cut America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20% over 2005 levels by 2020 and encourage the development of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Democratic leaders in the Senate are now struggling to advance a bill – which does not have solid support even among their own party – before the meeting in Copenhagen.

Click here to read more on this topic.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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AVIATION

1) Incident Highlights Outdated Air-Traffic Control System

Link to article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-10-27-outdated-air-traffic-system_N.htm

2) Extensive Failures Found in Maryland Medevac Crash

NTSB faults air-traffic controllers and Maryland State Police efforts to track and search for chopper.

Link to article in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102702111.html

Link to news release from the National Transportation Safety Board:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2009/091027.html

3) Next Generation Air Transportation System: FAA Faces Challenges in Responding to Task Force Recommendations

Link to testimony from the Government Accountability Office:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10188t.pdf

CARTOGRAPHY

4) Bill to Expand Geospatial Imagery Passes US House

Link to article in Federal Computer Week:

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/10/28/web-geospatial-mapping-bill.aspx

GPS / NAVIGATION

5) Google Maps Navigation Takes a Mobile Turn

Link to CNET News article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10384544-265.html

MARITIME

6) Traffic Control Faulted in Ship Crash

Link to article in The Japan Times:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091029a1.html

7) Malacca, Singapore Straits Can Handle Rise in Vessel Traffic

Link to article in The Business Times:

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/shippingtimes/story/0,4574,356796,00.html

OTHER

8) Australian Communications and Media Authority Prepares for Intelligent Transport Systems

Link to article on iTWire:

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/28885/127/

SAFETY / SECURITY

9) Maryland Company Develops ‘Whisper’ Technology for TSA

Radios can send pre-programmed text messages to discreetly share information.

Link to article in The Capital:

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/bus/2009/10/27-37/Small-county-contractor-helps-TSA-whisper.html

10) Stop Texting-Drivers – Or Lose Highway Funds

Link to debate in BusinessWeek:

http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2009/09/stop_texting-dr.html

TRANSIT

11) Take Notes, MTA: NY Waterways to Give Real-Time Bus Arrival Info on Web Site

Link to article in the Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/10/27/2009-10-27_take_notes_mta_ny_waterways_buses_to_give_realtime_bus_arrival_info_on_web_site.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Traffic Reports to be Boosted on Ho Chi Minh City Radio Station

Link to Viet Nam News Agency article:

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=05SOC281009

News Releases

1) Navteq Traffic Patterns Saves Drivers Up to 22 Hours per Year in North America

2) Navteq Traffic Patterns Saves Drivers Up to 42 Hours per Year in Europe

3) Follow the US DOT’s ITS Joint Program Office on Twitter

4) New Technology Enables Traffic Management Improvements in Boston Neighborhood

5) The Internet of the Future to Make Europe’s Systems Smart and Efficient

6) New Travel Conditions Map Available on Wyoming DOT 511 Web Site

Upcoming Events

ITS-CT Annual Meeting – November 2 – Cromwell, Connecticut

http://www.its-ct.org/annual.htm

Today in Transportation History

1949 **60^th anniversary** – Dr. Wernher von Braun, and other German rocket scientists, were transferred to the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/orghist/welcome.html

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Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast