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Volpe Center Highlights - November/December 2000

Focus

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Volpe Renews Collaborative Agreement with Dutch Ministry

(seated, left to right) Dr. Richard R. John and Mr. Houko Luikens renew the 1998 collaborative agreement between DOT and the Dutch Ministry in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
(standing, left to right) Mr. William Lyons, Volpe coordinator of the agreement; Mr. Jacques Sistermans, coordinator of the agreement for the Transport Research Centre (TRC) of the Dutch Ministry; and Mr. Hans Jeekel, Director of Research for TRC.

The Volpe Center has renewed a collaborative agreement first signed in 1998 under an existing Memorandum of Understanding between DOT and the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Waterworks. From October 4 to 6, 2000, Dr. Richard R. John, Director of the Volpe Center, and Mr. William Lyons of the Service Assessment Division, who serves as the Volpe coordinator of the agreement, traveled to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to formally renew the agreement. While there, a signing ceremony was held with Mr. Houko Luikens, Director of the Transport Research Centre (TRC) of the Dutch Ministry.

In Rotterdam, Dr. John also participated on a peer review panel of international experts to review the functioning of the TRC, which operates as a research and development center within the Dutch Ministry, and gave a presentation on transportation and technology policy at the Technical University of Delft to representatives from TRC and the Dutch Ministry, and to faculty and guests. Mr. Lyons also gave a presentation at TRC. His presentation focused on the U.S. institutional framework for transportation planning as defined by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and the Clean Air Act and was the result of work completed for the Dutch Ministry under an Interagency Agreement. As part of the visit, Mr. Lyons then traveled to the Hague to meet with staff from TRC and the Dutch Ministry to discuss the possibility of the Volpe Center providing assistance to the Dutch Freight Transport Directorate for monitoring freight safety and policy.

As a result of the October visit, a number of projects were identified as priorities and candidates for future collaboration between DOT and the Dutch Ministry. These include: research related to human factors and safety; institutional frameworks for transportation planning and public collaboration; data to monitor public transit performance; development of road safety monitoring systems; and research initiatives of the European Commission.

Under the renewed Volpe/TRC agreement, a team of Dutch researchers visited the Volpe Center for a cross-national workshop on human factors and safety from November 13 to 15, 2000. During the three-day workshop, participants discussed a variety of issues related to human factors and safety. Panel topics included: strategies to manage operator fatigue and alertness in transportation; the risks of young and novice drivers; Geographical Information System applications to enhance safety; international comparison of safety and risk; advanced instructional technologies to enhance transportation operators' performance; and user acceptance of Intelligent Transportation Systems technology. Participants also were given an overview of the Volpe Center and a demonstration of the Federal Aviation Administration's Enhanced Traffic Management System. The workshop concluded with identification of future opportunities for collaboration.

Dutch participants at the workshop included representatives from TRC, the University of Groningen, the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, Ultrecht University, Traffic Test, and the TNO Human Factors Research Institute. U.S. participants included representatives from the Volpe Center; Mr. Thomas Granda of the Federal Highway Administration; Mr. Ronald Knipling of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Mr. Michael Smith of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and Dr. William Bailey, principal scientist with Exponent Health Group. Dr. Mary Stearns and Dr. Donald Sussman both of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division and Dr. Sherry Borener of the Accident Prevention Division organized the workshop. More information on the workshop is available at www.volpe.dot.gov/opsad/ws00/index.html.

Continuing the Volpe Center's collaboration with the Dutch Ministry, Mr. Lyons gave a combined presentation with Dr. Pieter Boot, Policy Director of the Dutch Ministry, on Dutch/U.S. institutional approaches to transportation planning at the Institutional Frameworks Workshop held in Madrid, Spain, from December 13 to 14, 2000. The workshop was sponsored by the European Conference of Ministers of Transport, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure.

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