This is Why Post-Sandy New York City Should Seriously Consider Bus Rapid Transit (and all things Transit)

October 31, 2012 at 5:33 pm

Saw this picture below tweeted out by joanna coles @JoannaColes Editor-in-Chief Cosmopolitan Magazine. She shot this gridlocked thoroughfare from her office (located on the 38th floor of the building where Cosmopolitan mag. is located).  With its subway system crippled by Sandy, this pic. shows how badly NYC needs to reconsider its transportation strategies and prioritize implementing any/all strategies that moves people away from cars.  It is going to be once heck of a recovery until the subway limps back to normal!   

View of a Gridlocked New York City

 

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Trick or Treat! Don’t Get Hit – Study Shows Halloween Most Dangerous Day Of the Year for Children

October 31, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Halloween '07

Halloween ’07 (Photo credit: Clover_1)

Happy Halloween!

As you (or the kids in your household) venture out trick or treating tonight, I want to remind you of a few things regarding safety. Today’s press release from insurance giant StateFarmshowed how dangerous

trick or treating can be for younger children.  StateFarm says that its research with Bert Sperling’s BestPlaces,  analyzed four million records in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Database revealed the following

  • Halloween Was Deadliest Day of the Year for Child Pedestrian Accidents
    One hundred and fifteen child pedestrian fatalities occurred on Halloween over the 21 years of our analysis. That is an average of 5.5 fatalities each year on October 31, which is more than double the average number of 2.6 fatalities for other days.
  • The “Deadliest Hour”
    Nearly one-fourth (26 out of 115) of accidents occurred from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Over 60% of the accidents occurred in the 4-hour period from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
  • Middle of the Block Most Hazardous
    Over 70% of the accidents occurred away from an intersection or crosswalk.
  • Ages Most at Risk on Halloween
    Most of the fatalities occurred with children ages 12-15 (32% of all child fatalities), followed by children ages 5-8 (23%).
  • Drivers Who Posed the Greatest Risk
    Young drivers ages 15-25 accounted for nearly one-third of all fatal accidents involving child pedestrians on Halloween.
  • Drivers Who Posed the Lowest Risk
    Drivers ages 36-40 and 61-65 were involved in the fewest child pedestrian fatalities on Halloween. Together, these age groups accounted for nine child pedestrian fatalities (8%) in the 21 years of the study.
  • Fatalities Declining
    Each of the last six years of the study (2005 – 2010) has seen Halloween child fatalities below the 21 year average of 5.5.

One more thing you may want to know is this: Last Halloween, more than 24,700 drivers received a red light violation, according to the Safer Roads Report 2012: Trends in Red-Light Running. So, tonight when you venture out with (or without) your kids, be careful.  Dress to be SEEN and do not become a statistic!

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Job Alert: Director of the Technology Transfer (T2) Center – Transportation Research Center (TRC) @ University of Florida, Gainesville

October 31, 2012 at 3:26 pm

Source: University of Florida

The Transportation Research Center (TRC) at the University of Florida is soliciting applications for the position of Director of the Technology Transfer (T2) Center. The appointment will be at the Assistant/Associate Engineer level based upon qualifications and experience. The salary and benefits package are competitive. This is a non-tenure track faculty appointment reporting to the director of the TRC.

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Air New Zealand = Awesome Sauce! Their new in-flight safety video enlists Hobbits to get your attention

October 31, 2012 at 12:29 pm

It is official.  I declare that Air New Zealand is the most fun airline on this planet.  You ask why?  Check this video below and you will agree with me wholeheartedly.  Always known for pushing the envelope, Air New Zealand packaged an important safety message into a well-made hobbit themed video that is not only fun to watch but also compelling enough to get you to pay attention.  For this brand new Hobbit inspired Safety Video, Air NZ partnered with WETA Workshop and it features cameo appearances including Sir Peter Jackson. What’s better?  Visit http://www.airnzcode.com/hobbitmovie to Find and Unlock the Elvish Code for your chance to win one of six double passes to the World Premiere Screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand on the 28th of November 2012

I’ve not had a chance to fly #airnzhobbit but one of these days I’ll definitely do so to experience the fun. Oh, why can’t the other airlines take a leaf (or two) from #airnz and do such creative infusion into their drab and stale “professional looking” safety briefings. “If you need little more inflation, blow into your mouth piece..” LOL.

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Test your App-titude! Uncle Sam challenges you to create a mobile solution to help American bus passengers

October 26, 2012 at 11:21 am

An interesting competition announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation encourages college students to design a better way to help consumers make smart decisions when booking their bus travel.  This is what you need to know about the challenge:

  • Who: Creative college students with imaginative ideas.
  • What: A mobile app or web-accessible tool that presents our safety information in a simple, intuitive way that would help the average person choose the safest bus available.
  • When: January 31st, 2013

Here is an embed of the announcement, as seen on USDOT Sec. Ray LaHood’s blog.  Please share widely.

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When Swarms Talk to Drones – Evolution of Robotics Is Approaching Scary Levels (And It is Awesome)

October 25, 2012 at 6:15 pm

There are many exciting developments in the world of robotics and here is one from the European Union, funded under the EU’s  7th Framework Programme.  The video below shows how a drone can take over command and control responsibilities of a swarm on the ground, without any external communication channels like GPS (i.e., Spatially Targeted Communication and Self-Assembly).  Some of the example applications shown here are cool, i.e, moving chairs, bringing snacks to a guy watching TV, pushing the water container, etc.  But this one has far more devastating implications when deployed for the military in remote battlefields.

How Vancouver is doing sustainable transportation right by blending transit & bikes

October 24, 2012 at 4:09 pm

Crazy Russian Pilot Gets Best Baller in Aviation History Award For This Take-Off

October 24, 2012 at 3:41 pm

Via Jalopnik

You gotta see it to believe how this Antonov AN-24 took off from that swampy mess of a runway (looks like a bog?)..The polit must be drunk on something heavy grade alcohol to even contemplate doing something like this, let alone do it for real.. Balls of steel.

Nissan ups the innovation ante – Next generation tech steers you safely and makes steering wheels vibration-free

October 22, 2012 at 6:14 pm

Nissan’s next generation cars are becoming a lot smarter than the current breed. Pedestrians in the road can soon feel a bit more safer when they see a Nissan coming towards them. As demonstrated in the video below, they can SAFELY swerve to avoid hitting a sudden pedestrian (or a deer) incursion on the road without hitting the vehicle in the adjacent lane(s). Also, steering wheels of the next generation Infinity are going to get a lot smoother..yeah, they don’t transmit the vibrations from the wheel to your hands but respond instantaneously to your commands via drive by wire technology. All this innovation makes you get excited about the cars of the future!

Going on a limb – An intense moment of a suicide attempt on Chinese bridge caught on camera

October 22, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Image Courtesy: The Atlantic

Saw this image float through my feed. The intensity of the situation was well captured in the image: “Rescuers attempt to stop a man from committing suicide on a bridge in Wuhan, Hubei province, on October 8, 2012. The man was rescued after he climbed onto the top of a bridge over the Yangtze River and threatened his own life if his economic dispute could not be resolved. (Reuters/Stringer)”

Click to see more eye popping “Scenes from 21st Century China