Traffic Safety Awareness Day
Please join Volpe’s Traffic Safety Awareness Day for hands-on exhibits that show the intersection of safety and health, human factors, and the transportation enterprise.
This year’s event will feature the following:
- Multiple exhibits and hands-on demonstrations on driver safety issues
- Concussion goggles
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Crash Test Dummies
- The Cambridge Police Department demonstrating LIDAR and RADAR
- Information on truck side guard safety and a City of Cambridge truck outfitted with side guards
- Demonstrations on highway-rail grade crossing safety and trespass prevention
- An MBTA training bus
- Materials and tools on a variety of safety issues, including child seat safety and bicycle safety
Opening remarks will be made from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. by Volpe Acting Director David Ishihara, AAA Southern New England traffic safety education specialist Diana Dias, and NHTSA Region 1 Administrator Art Kinsman. The exhibits and demonstrations (details below) will be on display from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Exhibits and Demonstrations
Distractology Trailer with Distracted Driving Demos
The Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation will bring its Distractology trailer to Volpe. The trailer is outfitted with state-of-the-art high-tech driving simulators that give drivers a real-life look at the potentially disastrous effects of distracted driving.
State Police B.A.T. Mobile
The Massachusetts State Police will bring the B.A.T. Mobile. The Breath Alcohol Testing (B.A.T.) Mobiles are command posts that are positioned at sobriety checkpoints many weekend nights across the state to enforce impaired driving laws.
Rollover Simulator
The Massachusetts State Police will bring its rollover simulator. The rollover simulator is used to show the effects of a vehicle rollover if the occupants are not properly restrained.
Air Bag and Jaws of Life Rescue Demos
In two simulated rescue demonstrations, the Cambridge Fire Department will use a high-pressure air bag to lift a car off of a mannequin and the Jaws of Life to cut into a car.
Volpe’s Alcohol Countermeasures Laboratory
Visitors will have a chance to tour and see a demonstration of Volpe’s Alcohol Countermeasures Laboratory. Started in 1970, Volpe’s lab is the primary NHTSA-recognized laboratory with the authority to test and approve alcohol-detection devices that are used by law enforcement and the transportation industry.
Volpe’s Driving Simulator
Owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and housed and operated by Volpe, the custom-built five-screen driving simulator creates virtual “worlds” and allows researchers to examine user reactions to a myriad of scenarios and technologies without ever putting people in harm’s way. Visitors will have a chance to sit in the driver’s seat and take part in an experiment on unintended acceleration or an experiment on driver risk-taking behavior at highway-railroad grade crossings.
HAWK Pedestrian Signal
FHWA Region 1 will demonstrate and provide information on HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK) signals, which are signal-beacons designed to help pedestrians safely cross busy streets. At certain locations, the signal can automatically detect the presence of pedestrians waiting to cross and will activate the signal.
Event Location
Volpe is located at 55 Broadway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the heart of Kendall Square near the MIT/Kendall Square stop on the MBTA Red Line. Event activities will take place in Volpe Parking Lot 4 and Building 6, off of Third Street and Monroe Street (see map at right).
Traffic Safety Awareness Day is sponsored by Volpe’s Safety and Health Program and NHTSA Region 1 in celebration of DOT’s 50th anniversary.