Responsible media reporting on rail suicide and trespass incidents can inform the public and help those in need. However, media reporting of such events can also lead to copycat incidents. A new report illuminates common reporting practices that could increase suicide contagion on the rail system. Read the study’s key findings and recommendations.

Continuing her long history with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao returned to learn how Volpe provides innovative multimodal expertise for partners at U.S. DOT, other government agencies, and the private sector. Secretary Chao first visited Volpe as Deputy Secretary of Transportation in 1990 when the center was renamed for John A. Volpe, the former Massachusetts governor and second Transportation Secretary.

Capturing travel data on commercial motor vehicles (CMV) is an essential component of improving and maintaining roadway safety. Through U.S. DOT’s Small Business Innovation Research program, one small business is addressing the limitations of current CMV data collection technologies with a new low-cost, low-maintenance device that eliminates the need for drivers to stop for inspections or pull over at weigh stations.

Fourteen U.S. small businesses will receive up to $150,000 each through U.S. DOT’s SBIR program to conduct six months of Phase I concept development. Read on for a brief look at the winning proposals and the small businesses that submitted them.