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Information Resources

Volpe Center Highlights

Focus

TRB banner for the Volpe Center's exhibit -- Deploying Systems that Enhance Mobility.

Major themes of the recent TRB meeting included Congestion, Security, and Safety. In response to these themes, the Volpe Center's exhibit -- Deploying Systems that Enhance Mobility -- focused on the Center's work in traffic management, including rail traffic management research for the Federal Railroad Administration, vessel traffic control on the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and parking management for the National Park Service.

Volpe Contributes to TRB Annual Meeting

The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) 2003 annual meeting drew approximately 8,000 transportation professionals from around the world to Washington, D.C. The Center was well represented in this diverse group of researchers, academics, administrators, and others from government and industry. Volpe staff participated in nearly 20 sessions or meetings, delivered 12 papers or presentations, and developed and staffed the Volpe Center exhibit, DOT's Small Business Innovation Research Program exhibit, RSPA's University Transportation Center's Technology and Innovation exhibit, and DOT's Technology and Innovation exhibit.

The TRB meeting may be the world's largest transportation forum. With every mode of transportation represented, it is an ideal venue for the Volpe Center to share its knowledge and perspective. Volpe participants covered a broad range of topics, including safety and human performance, environmental impacts of transportation, intelligent transportation systems, transportation economics, performance measurement, transportation network modeling, railroad-highway grade crossings, railroad track structure and maintenance, high-speed rail planning, and traveler information systems.

Screenshot of ONEDOT Fatigue Management software.

Fatigue resulting from round-the-clock and irregularly scheduled operations can adversely affect the performance of transportation employees. A Volpe-developed workshop for those concerned with scheduling and fatigue management provided hands-on training in two DOT-funded software tools.

Safety and Human Performance

Dr. Stephen M. Popkin of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division presided over a Volpe-developed human factors workshop on fatigue-management software.
In support of the Maritime Administration, Dr. Joyce Ranney of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division co-developed and co-presided over a human factors workshop titled "What Is Safety Culture in Transportation and How Can It Be Improved?"
Dr. Lawrence C. Barr and Dr. C. Y. David Yang of the Accident Prevention Division presented "An Exploratory Analysis of Truck Driver Distraction Using Naturalistic Driving Data."

Railroad Safety

Mr. Jeffrey E. Gordon of the Structures and Dynamics Division presented "What Do Federal Railroad Administration Safety Statistics Tell Us?"
Dr. David Jeong of the Vehicle Crashworthiness Division presented "Risk Assessment Applied to Rail Defect Detection Scheduling."
Dr. Theodore R. Sussmann and Dr. Andrew Kish of the Structures and Dynamics Division presented "Investigation of Influence of Track Maintenance on the Lateral Resistance of Concrete Tie Track."
Ms. Judith Warren, of the Information Integration Division, presented the paper "Closure of U.S. Highway-Rail Crossings: a Status Report."

Environmental Impacts

Dr. Aviva Brecher of the Office of Environmental Preservation and Systems Modernization presented the invited paper "Transportation Perspectives on Adverse Health Impacts of Air Toxics" (co-authored with Ms. Nicole Rossbach of the Environmental Engineering Division). Dr. Brecher also served as a panelist in the session "Air Toxics: The Next Poison Pill for Transportation?"

Mobility

Volpe staff presented a methodology to help quantify the loss to a person, community, and society when an individual loses outside-the-home mobility for age-related reasons.

Mr. Sean Peirce and Ms. Jane E. Lappin of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division presented "Evolving Awareness, Use, and Opinions of Seattle Region Commuters Concerning Traveler Information: Findings from the Puget Sound Transportation Panel Survey, 1997 and 2000."
Dr. Donald Sussman, Chief of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division, and Dr. Mary Donahue Stearns and Mr. David Skinner, also of the Division, presented the paper "Quantifying the Relationship: Aging, Driving Cessation, Health and Costs" in conjunction with Mr. Donald Trilling, U.S. DOT Office of the Secretary. The paper was developed in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Performance Measures

Ms. Rachel Winkeller of the Planning and Policy Analysis Division and Mr. Bob Pray of the Technology Application and Deployment Division, with Capt. Doug Lane of the U.S. Coast Guard, presented "Using Performance Measures to Improve Cutter Readiness in the U.S. Coast Guard."
Mr. Donald G. Wright of the Motor Carrier Safety Assessment Division presented "Means to Measure Program Effectiveness of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Programs."

Volpe Center Exhibit: Deploying Systems that Enhance Mobility

Major themes of the TRB meeting included Congestion, Security, and Safety. In response to these themes, the Volpe Center's exhibit focused on the Center's work in Traffic Management, highlighting support to three federal agencies.

The National Park Service is developing traffic monitoring and management systems for national parks with the support of the Volpe Center. The exhibit illustrated a low-cost, real-time parking management system deployed at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey during the summer of 2002 to monitor and predict parking availability; traffic information systems are planned at other national parks.

A portable transponder aboard each ship on the Seaway provides accurate navigation information to the Vessel Traffic Control Center.

The Highway Grade Crossing Safety display highlighted Volpe's support to the Federal Railroad Administration in the rail traffic management arena with an emphasis on safety, mobility, and security. This display included an interactive driving simulator, overviews of current field operational tests related to infrastructure security and safety, risk assessment studies, human factors research, and support to federal rulemaking and industry standards.

For the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the Center developed and implemented a new vessel-traffic management system that identifies and tracks all commercial vessels on the Seaway. The network, based on the automatic identification system, also enables the automated dissemination of waterway status information to transiting vessels. The system contributes to improved mobility as well as safety.