Op-Ed: Oregon Needs Mobility Education

Oregon’s graduated licensing program has received much praise in its effectiveness at reducing crash rates for teen drivers. Given this success, I propose that the state continue to lead the nation in driver preparedness by instituting mobility education, starting at the elementary school level. This recommendation focuses on the state level because the Oregon Department of Transportation already handles driver education within the state. Furthermore, instituting this novel idea as a pilot program within the state will allow for gradual adoption and flexibility in implementation.

Dangerous by Design: Portland's Unsignalized Intersections

Source: BikePortland.org

             The image above depicts the current intersection treatment at NE Going Street, looking north on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (MLK).

             Imagine you are a cyclist at this intersection, crossing the seemingly always-busy MLK by riding west on NE Going Street. As you wait for the traffic to pass you notice a car in the right-hand lane slowing to a stop just before the “zebra crossing.” The motorist looks at you and begins waving their hand, nodding and mouthing “go ahead.” Their behavior clearly states, “proceed, I am stopping for you.”

             This is where the problem begins.

Op-Ed: National Hand-held Cell Phone Ban

Distracted Driving Overview

Distracted driving is the traffic safety issue of the 21^st century and the biggest distraction goes to: cell phones.

Op-Ed: Lower that Legal Limit!

Every day, in the United States, one person dies every 48 minutes in a motor vehicle crash that involves an alcohol-impaired driver. These tragic crashes cost the United States more than 51 billion dollars each year (1). Given these stark and grave statistics, I urge the federal government to lower to legal alcohol limit for non-commercial drivers in the United States. 

Technology and Transportation - News in Brief

A quick compilation of some recent news at the intersection of technology and transportation.  Is Siri safer than texting? Will traffic-responsive speed limits make Oregon's highways flow smoother? And how is a Las Vegas billionaire pioneering the future of (private, for-profit) carbon-free multi-modal transportation?

Find out after the break:

Absenteeism and Overtime Pay in Trimet

       Trimet has recently made the news for its problematic overtime policy for bus and rail operators.  Revelations show a lack of regulation at both the State level and within Trimet itself.  Current Trimet rules state that light rail operators are required to take seven hours off between shifts, operators can’t work more than 17 hours during a 24 hour period, and that after 13 straight days of working, bus and rail operators are required to take the next day off.  A recent article reported that a single Trimet bus driver earned upwards of $116,624 in 2012, with $64,408 of that being overtime pay.  Apparently working 70 hours a week for fifty-two weeks straight is a lucrative decision.  Or is it?

A Pint for the Road?

Location of Kilgarvan in Ireland

Ireland is considered a relatively small island in terms of its size and population compared to other European countries. In some areas, the rural Irish countryside can lead one to believe that there isn’t anyone around for miles. In these rural settings the pub often stands in as the de facto community center, where locals can come to socialize, interact, and of course, share a pint or two. The combination of vehicle dependence, rural roads, and a strong pub-based culture makes driving intoxicated in these small villages commonplace and somewhat acceptable in the Irish countryside.
 
But drinking and driving hasn’t been legal for decades, until now. 

NYC's Making Streets Safe for Seniors

NYC, like many big cities globally, has a large and growing senior population. This population is especially vulnerable to the dangers of street traffic. In NYC, seniors make up 12% of the population but as pedestrians account for 36% of all traffic fatalities.  To address this growing problem, in 2008 NYC became the first major US city to establish a safety program specifically focused on making the streets safer for senior pedestrians. Bolstered by initial success, over the past 5 years NYC DOT has been expanding the program to include more streets across the city.

Tribal Traffic Safety

According to the National Center for Statistics & Analysis, there was a decrease of 2.2% of fatal crashes in the United States between 1975 and 2002. For the same timeframe, fatal crashes went up by 52.5% on tribal lands.  

A New Way to Raise Awareness for Pedestrian Safety

Find yourself a superhero:

Road Safety and Driving Age

I've wanted to get my driver's license since I was at least five years old. My favorite toys were Matchbox cars, and I didn't go a day without creating miniature cities on my bedroom floor  My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot. I was born in Missouri, and from there we lived in places as diverse as Washington State and Guam. When I was 13, we moved to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, located near a small town called Minot (pop. 40,888 in 2010). I was very excited when I found out the driving age in North Dakota was 14. Permits could be obtained on a person's 14th birthday, and licenses could be administered six months later. I did get my permit when I was 14, but before I could get my license my dad retired from the military and we moved to Oregon. 

Conversation with an Engineer

While reading “Dangerous Roads are Safer” by Tom Vanderbilt, I was reminded of a video I saw on YouTube a few years back. “Conversation with an Engineer” is an 8 minute video created by Strong Towns. The video follows a conversation between a resident and a project engineer about changes being made to the street in front of the resident's house.

Safety and Security Trade-Offs in Bogotá, Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia was a city in dire need of a re-vamp in order to curb the traffic fatalities and injuries that happened regularly in the city. According to “Road traffic injuries in Colombia,”[1] 68% of the traffic victims in urban areas of Colombia were pedestrians. As of the writing of the article, traffic crashes were the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality. It was outranked only by homicides.