NTOC Talks Newsletter: February 19, 2014
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Join ITE in Miami for the 2014 Technical Conference and Exhibit!
ITE Technical Conference 2014
This is a not-to-be missed conference of 2014 for anyone in the transportation profession seeking
to learn about how to address the critical topics in our industry and grow their professional skills.
This year's conference, “Applying Innovation and Technology to Transportation,” will focus on
the challenges and opportunities of working with multidisciplinary teams to meet customer,
community and political expectations for the creation of vibrant regions to safely live, commute,
work, and play. The program will include plenary sessions from nationally recognized
transportation and policy professionals as well as presentations, peer-to-peer exchanges,
technology showcases and workshops focused on safety, design, operations and planning
considerations. To register and for more information including a preview of the sessions and
agenda, click on the link above.
FHWA Report: Impact of Exempt Vehicles on Managed Lanes
In order to better utilize available capacity in high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, states are
permitted to allow certain qualifying non-HOVs to use HOV lanes. In general, states may allow
motorcycles, public transportation vehicles, high-occupancy toll (HOT) vehicles, and lowemission and energy-efficient vehicles to use HOV lanes. For any or all of these types of
vehicles, the states must establish programs addressing candidacy, enrollment, and management
of the lanes.
This report examines programs in use by states allowing low-emission and energy efficient
vehicles to use HOV, HOT, and managed lanes without meeting the vehicle-occupancy
requirements. Information is presented on the enabling legislation, the program elements, use of
the programs, and impacts of the HOV, HOT, and managed lanes in 13 states. For more
information, please click here.
USDOT Announces Second Connected Vehicle Plugfest
The U.S. Department of Transportation will hold its second Connected Vehicle PlugFest to
conduct vendor-to-vendor connected vehicle device testing on March 12-13, 2014 in Novi,
Michigan (venue to be announced shortly). These test sessions help to ensure that devices meet
the base standard requirements and level of interoperability necessary for the Southeast Michigan
Connected Vehicle Test Bed Deployment 2014 Project.
The first of these PlugFests occurred at Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center in Mclean,
Virginia on January 29 - 30, 2014. Additional PlugFests will be scheduled throughout the year
and across the country. Each event will feature two tracks: a classroom training track and a
laboratory testing track. Each PlugFest is open to all interested connected vehicle research
parties; however, only those organizations who have read the Affiliated Test Bed Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) and the Amendment to the Affiliated Test Bed MOA will be able to
participate in the testing track. If you would like to attend the PlugFest testing track, please
return the participant template so a tailored version of the agreement can be prepared for your
signature. Registration will open in the coming weeks. To pre-register, please
visit: http://www.itsa.org/plugfest.
AASHTO Transportation Systems Management and Operations Guidance
The AASHTO Transportation Systems Management and Operations Guidance has now
been updated based on the experience of 24 state DOT and regional workshops sponsored by
SHRP 2 and FHWA during 2010-2013.
This web-based self-assessment guidance was designed for transportation agency managers
whose span of control relates to the operations and management of the roadway system.
Audiences include policy makers and program managers responsible for transportation systems
management and operations (TSM&O) programs and ITS programs at both the state and regional
level, as well as managers of systems operations related activities such as traffic engineering,
maintenance, and public safety. It is available at: http://www.aashtotsmoguidance.org/
The guidance is based on the a capability maturity model (CMM) approach developed for the
TRB Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2 L06) by a Parsons Brinckerhoff-led team
working closely with the AASHTO Committee on TSM&O. This team developed the interactive
web application under an AASHTO-sponsored National Cooperative Highway Research
Program project (NCHRP 3-94). The One-Minute Evaluation feature and Guidance have been
used in several collaborative workshop and training applications among states and metropolitan
regions since 2010. They have formed the basis for a series of agency self-assessments and
TSM&O improvement implementation plans, sponsored initially by SHRP 2 and now FHWA,
expected to number nearly 40 by the end of 2014. The same framework has also been used in the
SHRP 2 Regional Operations Forums and the National Operations AcademyTM for Senior
Managers, and in several other TSM&O applications.
TIM Network Responder/February 2014
Training Standards, By Eric Rensel
The subject of training is always coming up in circles that I frequent at the national level and
while working with state DOTs throughout the country and internationally. It always seems to
become a topic of discussion on what standards are being used by individual DOTs to train their
incident response personnel, specifically their Safety Service Patrols (SSP), Incident
Management Patrols, or any variation of this service's name to provide motorist assistance and
traffic incident scene management.
For simplicity's sake, I will refer to them as SSPs for the purpose of this article. Some are very
helpful with sharing their training materials, whereas others will say that they really haven't
formalized their training, but that they have a “someone” who does it for them and has all the
knowledge. If your program isn't formalized with lesson plans, presentations, and defined
training schedules, how do you ensure consistency throughout the various regions? To continue
reading and link to The Responder newsletter, click here.
Mobile Apps Helping Functionality of Connected Cars
Link to article from GCN.com
The use of smartphone apps by regional traffic systems and motorists are helpful in gathering
information about highway accidents, traffic jams and other information to ensure safety on the
highways. Now, even more advanced mobile apps are being developed that will assist drivers
and agencies at even greater levels. One example is iOnRoad, a free downloadable application
for Android devices and iPhones, uses the devices’ video cameras and accelerometers to monitor
conditions ahead of the vehicle in which it is mounted. The application issues alarms when it
senses a potential collision.
And Honda Motors recently demonstrated the ability of a car equipped with dedicated shortrange communications (DSRC) technology to detect and help avoid a collision with a pedestrian
carrying a DSRC-enabled smartphone. The smartphone tracks the position, direction and speed
of its owner and compares it to the DSRC data about the status of nearby vehicles. When the
software determines there is a potential hazard it emits a high-pitched sound and displays an onscreen warning. To read more, click on the link above.
Newly Added to Webinar Archives: Connected Vehicle Architecture Views
USDOT and the CVRIA team held a seven-part webinar series on the first draft of the connected
vehicle architecture views which have now been added to the Talking Technology and
Transportation (T3) webinar archives. The objective of the webinar series was to gather feedback
on the views before launching analysis to identify candidate interfaces for standardization. In
each webinar, the CVRIA team presented two or three representative views and discussed the
interface analysis and candidate standards process, and the policy analysis results to date. To
view these webinars, please visit www.pcb.its.dot.gov.
Evaluating the Safest Types of Traffic Signals
Link to article from The Atlantic Cities
With focus on large-scale design and enforcement measures, it's important to remember that
often, the quickest and most direct way a city can improve safety at an intersection is with traffic
signals. Traffic lights are neither as ubiquitous as they might seem (even in New York, only a
quarter of all intersections have four-way signals) nor as simple. New research in the journal
Transport Policy evaluates four common light structures found across the city: basic signal
installation, increased pedestrian cycles, the Barnes dance, and split-phase timing. To read more,
click on the link above.
Can Smartphones Help Agencies With Traffic Data?
Link to article from GCN.com
With NHTSA’s announcement this month that it would move forward with vehicle-to-vehicle
communication for light vehicles, it showed that intelligent technologies will become an intricate
part of highway safety. However, even before this latest development in the world of ITS,
transportation managers were beginning to see the initial stages of a potential revolution in traffic
safety technologies: the integration of crowdsourced data from smartphones. Some
industry observers note that the federal Connected Vehicle program may already behind the
times though, as the program doesn't include the most rapidly growing source of all traffic data smartphones.
Crowdsourced smartphone data could solve one of the major challenges of connected vehicle
efforts - the expense of sensors. “Sensors are really expensive to deploy,” said Ofer Avni, CEO
of Cellint, a provider of cell-based traffic data. “After billions of dollars invested worldwide,
only a very small fraction of roads are covered, less than 1 percent. So we look for alternatives.”
To read more, click on the link above.
Radar Assisting Bikes and Vehicles at Intersections
California city has installed what is known as a SmartSensor Matrix, a detection scheme that
uses wavetronix radar to ensure that vehicles as well as bicycles can pass safely through
intersections. The Tustin, California intersection system is part of a major road project unveiled
in the city last November. The sensor is able to detect vehicles as well as bicycles and register
them as part of traffic, eliminating the problem that many cyclists face at actuated traffic signals:
traffic cameras often cannot detect bicycles; and inductive loops require bicycles be positioned in
a specific location above the loop for accurate detection.
The stated purpose of the sensor is to pick up cars and cyclists at the stop bar as they enter into
the area but to be able to pick them up as they enter the intersection. This allows the system to
hold the green longer to get them through the intersection. So it makes it safer for the cyclists. To
learn more, visit http://youtu.be/2gFmrRUv8x0
Traffic Incident Management Program Announced in Louisiana
Link to article from theadvocate.com
State police officials in Louisiana have determined that more efficient communication is needed
among first responders in the state and this week announced plans for a new statewide training
system. The training will focus on responding more quickly to accidents so that roads can be
reopened in a more timely manner following any incidents. Specifically, the system aims to
make sure all first responders, including police, fire, medical and even wrecker services have the
same training and information when arriving at an accident scene to streamline the process and
get traffic moving. The Traffic Incident Management system is developed by FHWA and is
currently in place in 33 states. To read more, click on the link above.
Smart Cars and the Invasion of Privacy: Where Congress Stands on Legislation
Link to article from businessweek.com
Cars are getting smarter and that’s great, but there’s inevitably a downside to all that brilliance,
i.e., lack of privacy and information sharing. Consumers are understandably wary since the
statement was made by Ford’s marketing chief about cars sending info; info that allows auto
companies and surely others, to know when a motorist breaks the law. So now there is a sense of
urgency for lawmakers to develop legislation surrounding how much information vehicle
technology sends to the government, marketing firms and car makers.
Minnesota Senator Al Franken promised to reintroduce legislation this year that would, among
other things, require companies to get permission before collecting tracking data. “Our privacy
laws haven’t kept pace with these enormous advances,” Franken writes. To read more, click on
the link above.