SafeTREC Newsletter

SafeTREC publishes an online newsletter reporting on activities at the center, as well as information of interest or of help to traffic safety efforts in California and beyond. Subscribe to the SafeTREC Newsletter.

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The Spring-Summer 2010 Newsletter

Taking SafeTREC on the Road to Korea Researchers Kitae Jang and John Bigham Represent SafeTREC on a Visit to Partners and Counterparts As soon as the GPS unit on the dashboard started its familiar "wah-wah" baby crying sound, the driver slowed down. So did those in the other cars near him on the freeway. As soon as the "wah-wah" warning stopped, he resumed his speed. So did everyone else. >>>

Getting Kids Walking: a focus on 10 low-income schools: Five years after it was funded in the 2005 federal transportation bill, Safe Routes to Schools has programs in every state. As of January 2009, $370.6 million had been awarded. Last year, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership sponsored SafeTREC and PPH Partners to look at Safe Routes to School programs at 10 low-income schools that took part in The Safe Routes to School Local School Project. >>>

New Research:

• PLANSAFE Beta Testing and User Interface Refinement
• UC Berkeley Campus Periphery Safety
• Public Health and Transportation
• Methodology for Applying Safety Treatments to Rail-Highway At-Grade Crossings

Seminars, Awards, SafeTREC in the news, and more>>>

Volume 5, Number 4: Winter 2009-2010

• Director's Message from Simon Washington: Reflections on what a remarkable time it is to be joining the Safe Transportation Research & Education Center (SafeTREC, formerly the Traffic Safety Center)...
• Pedestrian Training Roundup: Catching up with the SafeTREC Community Pedestrian Safety workshops team.
• Walking (and Cycling) the Walk on a Tour Through Europe: Presentation by Charles Zegeer on the The International Technology Scanning Program's International Scan on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility.
• What Our Students Did Last Summer: SafeTREC graduate and undergraduate researchers report on their activities.

Previous Issues:

Volume 5, Number 3: Summer 2009

• Going beyond the Numbers: an interview with incoming TSC Director Simon Washington on traffic safety myths and the importance of correcting them.
• Pedestrian Safety Training Debuts at Glendale: the location for a targeted, statewide program.
• Making Sure that Walking Counts in the Capitol: TSC's Robert Schneider Reports Back on his Summer Eno Foundation Conference

Volume 5, Number 2: Spring 2009:

• GSRs at the TSC for the 2008 academic year
• TSC activities at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

Volume 5, Number 1:Winter 2008-2009 : Toward a Culture of Traffic Safety in the U.S.:

• Traffic Safety Culture: What is it? The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety formally declared that its top priority would be to work for establishment of an improved traffic safety culture in the U.S.
• What can we do to change it? Two California traffic safety policymakers talk about traffic safety culture's role.
• Separate interviews with: Chris Murphy, the California Office of Traffic Safety, and Jesse Bhullar, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) safety engineering program.

Volume 4, Number 4: Spring 2008

• The Safety Run-Around that Happens at Rail Crossings: At-grade rail crossings are regularly the scenes of gambles by drivers that they are simply not physically capable of winning.
• What Did Your Walk to School Today Do to (or for) You? There is tremendous interest in encouraging a return to walking, biking and busing for the school "commute."
• Making the Way to School Safer: Evaluations, including a recent one completed by Traffic Safety Center researchers, show that, overall, biking and walking trips rose, and safety was improved.
• TRB 2008 Posters
• How San Francisco’s Public Health Department Found Its Voice in Land Use and Transportation Planning Efforts A report on the presentation by Dr. Rajiv Bhatia.
• The Graduate Student Researchers at the TSC Seventeen students are working on projects.

Volume 4, Number 3: Winter 2007-08

• A Tale of Two Cities—and an Island Resort—in Asia Three grad students provide insights into traffic safety in China and Thailand.
• Walking into the Tsunami: the Need to Balance Sustainability, Multimodalism, and Traffic Safety TSC Director David Ragland proposes a seven-point agenda
• A Traffic Safety Experiment in Salinas Valley: The TSC is taking its research to the streets of Greenfield, population 16,000.

Volume 4, Number 2: Fall 2007

• Backgrounder on International Road Safety: By 2020, road traffic injuries are projected to be the third most important contributor to the global burden of disease, the World Health Organization reports. Only heart disease and major depression will take more lives.
• Report on Safety Sessions from the 11th World Conference on Transport Research in Berkeley Read the report on selected WCTR Traffic Safety Tracks, complete with links to papers (when available).
• New Research Snapshots from the Traffic Safety Center.

Volume 4, Number 1: Spring-Summer 2007

TSC Web site has new look
International Traffic Safety in Hanoi: Why more than the three "E's" —Engineering, Education, and Enforcement—are required
The Traffic Safety Center Welcomes Visitors from NHTSA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
TSC Law Enforcement Liaisons: From Writing Tickets to Writing Grants

Volume 3, Number 4: Winter 2006-07

Timing Is Everything: The TSC looks at pedestrian crossing signals on a busy Bay Area thoroughfare.
Walking and Bicycling to School: Making it Safe Safe Routes to School study delivered to California State Legislature.
Crosswalk Confusion: Pedestrians and drivers need more information. Or do they?
Closing the Gate on Rail Crossing Crashes: An evaluation of where best to intervene

Volume 3, Number 3: Fall 2006

Putting a Face on Traffic Safety Numbers: TSC Addresses Caltrans Human Factors Workshop

Why—and How—Pedestrians and Bicyclists Count
Licensing Older and Younger Drivers

This Year's Future: Eleven graduate student researchers sign on to a range of TSC projects

Volume 3, Number 2: Summer 2006

Pedestrian Safety and Roadway Design

Putting Safety into Road Planning—a New Diagnostic Approach
When Crosswalks Work—and When They Don't: Charles Zegeer on marked vs. unmarked crossings
Walking the Walk: An Interview with Pedestrian Safety Expert Charles Zeeger
TSC at TRB 2006: Links to papers and presentations by our researchers at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006
Traffic Safety Center Salutes New Graduates: We congratulate six students affiliated with TSC projects who received graduate degrees in 2006

Volume 3, Number 1: Winter 05-06

The Fifth Anniversary Issue

Five Years of Traffic Safety Research
Youthquake to Jolt the Traffic Safety World
San Pablo SMART Corridor Designs for Multiple Mode Users
Toward "Healthier" (Safer) Urban Pedestrianism
A Step in the Right Direction: Oakland Scramble
Latino Traffic Safety
Walking with Cars: An Emeryville Pedestrian Safety Study
Zeroing in on Drinking-Driving
A Look at the Haddon Matrix
A Statistical Snapshot of the State

Volume 2, Number 4: Summer 2005

Safety and the SUV

History of the SUV as a tragedy of the commons
Light trucks dodge the spotlight
A new, holistic look at old data
How Ford's SUV public service campaign is playing out
The evolution of the SUV: a pictorial timeline

Volume 2, Number 3: Winter 2004-2005

Traffic Safety in a Global Context

Traffic safety emerges onto the global stage
Measuring the global burden of disability
Worldwide traffic risk patterns pose challenge to public health efforts
Improving traffic safety in Australia
It takes a huge effort to build a sidewalk

Volume 2, Number 2: Summer 2004

Rural Road Safety The Complexity of Rural Roads

Vasco Road: A Rural Road in Transition
Barriers to Rural Emergency Care
The Huron Story: Traffic Safety Challenges in an Agricultural Setting
Rural Traffic Safety Programs

Volume 2, Number 1: Spring 2004

Safety, Physical Activity, and the Built Environment

Making Safety a Must
Can Pedestrian-friendly Planning Encourage Us to Walk?
Safety in Numbers
Safer Streets for Older Adults--and Everyone Else
Healthier Kids, Safer Neighborhoods
Interview with Elizabeth Macdonald
Tribute to Anne Seeley
Web Resources

Volume 1, Number 4: Fall 2003

Disparities in Traffic Safety

Groups that traffic safety has left behind
Challenges in collecting data
Lessons from the Meharry Medical College Study and the Blue Ribbon Panel
Improvements in emergency services in Thailand
Extending Safe Driving Years workshop
Seminar series stimulates cross-departmental thinking
Transportation community loses pioneering researcher

Volume 1, Number 3: Summer 2003

Driving Under the Influence

History of DUI
Programs that have worked
Implications of California's demographic trends
Increasing DUI awareness
Current programs
Survey of 19-25 year olds

Volume 1, Number 2: December 2002

Occupant Protection

Getting People to Buckle Up
Standardized Survey Methodology
Child Passenger Safety
Booster Seats
Interview with David Manning of NHTSA
Interview with Teresa Becher of OTS

Volume 1, Number 1: August 2002

Older Adults and Safe Mobility

Transportation Policy
Older Pedestrians
Oakland's Scramble System
Epidemiology of the Older Driver
Statewide Task Force
Local Transportation Alternative Programs