Study: Drivers more prone to risk-taking on rural highways

Minnesota Public Radio, September 3, 2010

The perception that rural roadways are safer is common. But Minnesotans are much more likely to die on rural highways than on roads in urban areas where most people live, according to a traffic safety survey done by the university's Center for Excellence in Rural Safety.

Read more about the traffic survey

Toyota involved in fatal crash may help solve acceleration mystery

Minnesota Public Radio, September 7, 2010

The Toyota Camry belonging to St. Paul man Koua Fong Lee could help solve the mystery of why so many Toyotas are in crashes involving sudden acceleration. Lee's case is a vivid example of how difficult it is to single out one cause for sudden acceleration. Today's cars depend on multiple lines of software code, signals, and sensors to communicate a driver's actions and control the car. Rajesh Rajamani, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, explains that "as the number of systems on a car increases, the potential for software and electronic hardware failures just increases so much."

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio

Impact of Bemidji Regional Airport exceeds $27 million

Bemidji Pioneer, August 27, 2010

The total economic impact of Bemidji Regional Airport for 2009 is $27.88 million, according to a University of Minnesota study conducted by the Department of Applied Economics and North Central Research and Outreach Center. The activity also led to 446 jobs county-wide that year.

Read more about the Bemidji Regional Airport's economic impact at the Bemidji Pioneer

Drivers let guard down on riskier rural highways

USA Today, August 4, 2010

Drivers feel safer on rural highways and are more likely to drink or engage in distracted driving on these roads, even though rural roads are the most dangerous in the USA, a new survey finds. "People seem to feel more comfortable on those roads, even though the facts show that it's more dangerous," says Lee Munnich, director of the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota. "They feel more relaxed and, as a result, they are engaging in behavior that is riskier," such as eating or using phones while driving.

Read the USA Today article
Read more about the national poll

Laurie McGinnis named CTS director

Laurie McGinnis has been appointed CTS director following a comprehensive national search process. McGinnis, who served as CTS acting director since the departure of Robert Johns in September, has been with the Center for 18 years. During that time, she has worked closely with CTS stakeholders, faculty and staff, funding organizations, and the Center's advisory committees. "As director of CTS, Ms. McGinnis will provide leadership, direction, and vision in achieving the mission of the Center," University officials said.

More about Laurie McGinnis

Call for Papers: World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research

The inaugural meeting of the World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research (WSTLUR) will be held in Whistler, British Columbia, July 28-30, 2011. The conference will bring together academics and practitioners at the intersection of economics, planning, and engineering in the fields of transport and land use. The Call for Papers, seeking original and interdisciplinary research addressing the interaction of transport and land use, is open for submission until December 31, 2010.

More about the World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research

Teen Driver Support System (TDSS)

The ITS Institute, with the support from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the USDOT, has developed a new version of the Teen Driver Support System (TDSS), a GPS-enabled smart phone mounted on the dashboard to provide the driver real-time visual and audio feedback about driving performance. According to its developers, the TDSS is intend as a tool for parents to encourage teens to build safe driving habits in their early years on the road.

Watch video about TDSS

TERRA publishes fact sheets about rumble strips and farm implements

TERRA — the Transportation Engineering and Road Research Alliance — has published two new fact sheets.

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Report lays out funding options for Minnesota roads

To ensure that future needs are met, government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels need to work together to secure funding for transportation improvements. This complex process is made all the more difficult by constant changes in the policy landscape and the continual evolution of technology.

Researchers at the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs have completed a new report on the history and potential future of transportation funding in Minnesota. The report by Zhirong (Jerry) Zhao, Kirti Vardhan Das, and Carol Becker updates an earlier study on the same topic to reflect the implications of changes in state law enacted in 2008. The report reviews the complex history of state transportation funding and looks to the future for potential policy issues.

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Cost-benefit analysis of crash prevention strategies

University of Minnesota researchers have completed a cost-benefit analysis of safety systems intended to prevent road departure crashes on curves and tangential road sections. The safety systems evaluated included traditional treatments such as road geometry modifications and rumble strips as well as new technology-based systems such as radar-based curve speed warnings and in-vehicle driver assistive devices.

Intelligent Vehicles Lab director Craig Shankwitz led the study, which also included graduate student Jaswandi Pitale and collaborators Howard Preston and Michael Barry of consulting engineers CH2M Hill. The research was supported by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

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