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Spring 2017 Safety Compass Newsletter
In this issue: Improving Safety on the Roads Less Traveled Evaluation of a Strategic Highway Safety Plan – Why it is Important? FHWA and NACE Partner to Promote Local Road Safety Plans
News
Read the latest news and announcements from traffic safety interest groups and about traffic safety topics here.
Why Transportation Tech is on a Collision Course for 2017
During the last year alone, a self-driving truck has completed a commercial beer run, two automotive giants have spun out new divisions focused on “smart mobility,” and one of the world’s biggest car companies unveiled a new electric vehicle amid Tesla-level intrigue. Not since the days of Henry Ford’s first mass market family cars has the […]
BMW, Intel, Mobileye to Test 40 Driverless Cars in Second Half of 2017
According to several sources, BMW, Intel, and Mobileye announced on Wednesday they aim to begin testing “a fleet of around 40 self-driving test vehicles on the road in the second half of this year.” The BMW 7-Series test vehicles were planned to be equipped “with the latest technology from Intel and Mobileye and prepared for test drives worldwide […]
Transportation Department Will Investigate Marijuana-Impaired Driving
The DoT has been tasked with coming up with a marijuana intoxication limit. Last month, President Obama signed the $305 billion Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act into law, providing funding and new regulations for the country’s aging highways. This law has special significance for medical and recreational pot users, as it requires the government to […]
Highway Worker Safety – A Synthesis of Highway Practice
The National Cooperative Highway Research Program released a report to identify how state departments of transportation (DOTs) implement policies using highway worker safety and health data to reduce injuries and manage risk.
NTSB Rear Seat Safety in Passenger Vehicles
This report discusses improving the safety of the rear seat environment in passenger vehicles is vital to the goal of preventing fatalities and mitigating injuries in automobile crashes.
Road Rage is Getting Worse, Not Better
If commuters only understood. That is the prevailing mentality of truck drivers when it comes to courtesy, and the lack thereof, on Florida’s highways. Jacksonville-based truckers say if people better understood the challenges of driving 18-wheelers, they’d be less inclined to spar with them on the roads. Lane changes and merging trigger the vast majority […]
US has Few Rules of the Road for Self-Driving Cars
When it comes to the fledgling world of self-driving cars, most of the country exists in a legal gray area that is unlikely to change in 2017. Nine states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books that address the cars, some of which lay out clear ground rules for permits and where […]
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
FMCSA amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to establish requirements for the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse), a database under the Agency’s administration that will contain information about violations of FMCSA’s drug and alcohol testing program for the holders of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
U.S. Drivers Log 2.4 Trillion Miles In First Nine Months of 2016
USDOT FHA: New data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that U.S. driving topped 2.4 trillion miles in the first nine months of 2016, lengthening a series of consecutive monthly increases that started in April 2014. The new data, published in FHWA’s latest “Traffic Volume Trends” report […]