Pointing a laser beam on an aircraft can land you in the jail if you were in the US. But that is not the case if you happen to be in the middle of in Egypt’s Tahrir Square this past weekend..  And you might even get a lot of support for doing so if that said aircraft is hovering and monitoring the swell of protesters gathered at the public square.. Here is a shot of the awesome laser-on-helicopter show via The Atlantic’s In Focus

Laser Painted Helicopter in Cairo’s Tahrir Square (image courtesy: Reuters via The Atlantic)

Another view of the laser shots from the ground (Image Courtesy: AP Photo via The Atlantic)

Ground to air perspective of the laser shots at the helicopter (image courtesy: AFP via The Atlantic)

Here is a video of the June 30, 2013 incident showing the military helicopter illuminated by green laser lights from below, as it flies above Tahrir Square while a huge crowd of protesters opposing Egyptian President Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members, in Cairo.

Here is some pretty cool hand drawn and animated stuff (from fellow Redditor NathanwPyle) to gently remind fellow bicyclists in NYC about a few things to do and watch out for while on the street riding a bike.  Oh, and some of these etiquettes are universal, not just applicable to NYC.  When you finish scrolling through the pics. remember to check out Nathan Pyle’s website too for more goodness.

Source: NathanwPyle via Imgur

The image below was posted on the Colorado Dept. of Transportation’s Facebook Page with the following note: “Did you know that Colorado experienced a 66% increase in pedestrian fatalities and a 63% increase in bicyclist fatalities from 2011 to 2012? Share the Road folks!”  After seeing the Facebook post, I got curious and paid a visit to the CDOT website and found out they have an awesome campaign “Share the Road, Friend”  underway to create  an awareness about the  shared responsibility for road safety among all road users. They got all kinds of promotional materials made available on the CDOT website and while you are there don’t forget to check out the campaign videos as well. Nicely done, CDOT.

Share the Road, Friend – via Colorado Dept. of Transportation

Not sure what happened to this motorcyclist to create such a ruckus on the street.  But one thing is damn clear – he/she is not fit to operate a motor vehicle, EVER. Ridiculous!

 via Reddit

Source: Imgur

A bit of background: This image is part of a safety campaign by Canadian provincial agency Societe de l’assurance automobile (SAAQ) urging people to wear seat belts in the car. SAAQ (whose translation in English roughly equates to Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation) developed a set of  posters,including the one below, for displaying in bars and restaurants from August 27 to September 23, 2012..

Very clever driving safety ad.. Source: Imgur via Reddit

Click here to see the other posters in this campaign.

Image courtesy: CarScoops.com

This neat infograph landed in my inbox today.. It offers an interesting roundup of headlight regulations/requirements for states across the U.S.  If you are planning a road trip across the country at some point in time, you might as well add this to your list of driving tools.

Image Courtesy: Nissan via CarScoops

Image courtesy: saferoutespartnership.org

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership (National Partnership) is seeking a professional and detail-oriented candidate with experience in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy or policy to join the National Partnership as the Greater Washington DC Active Transportation Fellow. This is a temporary, contract position.

The Active Transportation Fellow will work with the Regional Network Manager and Greater Washington DC Regional Policy Manager to advocate for improved transportation funding allocations and policies for Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets and walking and bicycling. Please review the scope of work for the position for detailed information and application instructions.

Required qualifications for the Greater Washington DC Active Transportation Policy Fellow include: demonstrated experience in social media; student work or personal work in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy or policy; knowledge of Safe Routes to School and/or Complete Streets; ability to write case studies, participate in work groups and present to a variety of audiences; self-starter; detail-oriented; proficient with social media such as Twitter, Facebook and WordPress, PCs and with MS Office software. The successful candidate will work from their home office with their own personal computer, internet access and telephone. Candidate must be able to attend meetings throughout the region, some of which are not Metro accessible.

The final deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by 12:00 p.m. ET.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply early.  Telephone inquiries are not accepted.

We look forward to hearing from qualified candidates interested in joining our dynamic, visionary and growing non-profit.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership was founded in 2005 and is a network of more than 600 organizations. The National Partnership mission is to advocate for safe walking and bicycling to and from schools, and in daily life, to improve the health and well-being of America’s children and to foster the creation of livable, sustainable communities.  The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is hosted by the nonprofit Bikes Belong Foundation which is an equal opportunity employer.

This one is for the gearheads and motorcycle (apparel) historians..

Infographic by Bennetts

The USDOT ITS Joint Program Office recently published “An Open Dialogue On The Draft Focus And Themes For The Next ITS Strategic Research Plan,” available at http://www.its.dot.gov/strategicplan/.  The purpose of this document is to establish a starting point for creating the next ITS Strategic Plan. The goal of presenting themes is to enable continuity of the current research programs while establishing new or redefined goals and objectives to meet emerging research needs. The themes fall into three broad categories:

• Maturing Connected Vehicle Systems – Focuses on what is needed to accelerate the maturity of vehicle-based communications with surrounding systems

• Piloting and Deployment Readiness – Focuses on the security, policy, business opportunities, capabilities, pilots, and incentives needed to support vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) implementation

• Integrating with the Broader Environment – Focuses on the integration and decision support capabilities to enable V2V and V2I (collectively termed V2X) interaction with other governmental services and public utilities.

We invite the community to consider providing input to the draft themes by visiting http://itsstrategicplan.ideascale.com/.  The USDOT is seeking your input on the following key questions, although other input is highly welcome:

·         What technological changes will occur in the near future that will impact transportation?

·         Are the themes outlined here addressing the technological and societal changes that affect transportation?

·         Are there other themes we should be considering? If so, why?

·         Are there themes that should not be considered, or moved to a different timeframe?

·         What is the appropriate federal role in technology and transportation that best assists the private sector and travelers at large?

Your input is requested no later than Friday, March 15, 2013.  Your attention and consideration of this request is greatly appreciated.

Despite the bold predictions (75% of vehicles on road will be autonomous by 2040!!!), the infographic below visually captures some of the benefits of autonomous vehicles.. 

From: Bankrate Insurance’s InsuranceQuotes.com