Volpe Center Highlights - January/February 2002
Papers and Presentations
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility |
Human and Natural Environment
Economic Growth |
National Security |
Papers and Presentations
A Volpe study evaluated the effectiveness of two key FMCSA safety programs. As shown above, in 1998, the Roadside Inspection Program saved an estimated 389 lives while the Traffic Enforcement Program saved 155 lives; and Roadside Inspection helped avoid 6,218 injuries, while Traffic Enforcement helped avoid 2,473 injuries. |
In support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Office of Data Analysis and Information Systems, the Safety Assessment Division completed the report, "FMCSA Safety Program Performance Measures - Intervention Model: Roadside Inspection and Traffic Enforcement Effectiveness Assessment," on October 26, 2001. The report documents the methodology and results from an improved model to measure the effectiveness of two of the FMCSA's key safety programs: Roadside Inspection and Traffic Enforcement. Program effectiveness was determined by how successful a program was in preventing crashes involving large commercial motor vehicles and, ultimately, in reducing related fatalities and/or injuries. Mr. Donald Wright of the Division provided technical management and wrote the report with Mr. Dennis Piccolo and Mr. Emmett Harris of EG&G Technical Services (a Volpe Center contractor) and with assistance from Dr. Thomas M. Corsi of the University of Maryland.
Mr. Bill Wood, Deputy Director of the Office of Traffic and Operations Management, attended the Fifth World Conference of the Global Aviation Information Network in Miami, Florida, on December 5 and 6, 2001. The conference theme was "Safety Information Sharing: Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation." Mr. Wood gave an address titled "Implementing Near-Real Time Airline Sharing Systems."
Dr. Eugene Gilbo of the Automation Applications Division contributed a chapter to the book titled Air Transportation Systems Engineering published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as Volume 193 of the AIAA series Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics. The chapter, "Collaborative Optimization of Arrival and Departure Traffic Flow Management Strategies at Airports," was co-authored by Mr. Kenneth Howard of Arcon Corp., a Volpe contractor.
Mr. Gregg Fleming, Chief of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division, participated in the 141st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On December 6, 2001, he presented the papers "Lateral Attenuation of Aircraft Sound Levels due to Engine Installation Effects" and "Highway Traffic Noise Measurements Compared to Predictions from FHWA's Traffic Noise Model."
A Final Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA), addressing the potential environmental impact of new rules to improve the US-Mexico cross-border safety of commercial motor vehicles (both trucks and buses), was delivered to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on December 10, 2001. The EA was prepared by members of the Environmental Engineering Division and the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division, and led by Dr. Paul Valihura of the Environmental Engineering Division.
A Special Edition of the Volpe Journal commemorates the Volpe Center's 30th Anniversary with an historical overview of the Center that presents selected accomplishments in research, analysis, engineering, and deployment performed in support of DOT and other sponsors. Our work is discussed in terms of the DOT's strategic goals: Safety, Mobility, Economic Growth, Human and Natural Environment, and National Security. The new Volpe brochure highlights the Center's continuing role in fostering innovation in the transportation community and our ongoing support in these strategic areas. The Journal is available on the Volpe web site, www.volpe.dot.gov.
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