Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Discuss Federal Legislative Initiatives at IBTTA Legislative Conference – March 22-23, 2010 in Washington, DC

Join the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association on March 22-23, 2010 in Washington, DC and participate in discussions on federal legislative initiatives with leaders in the transportation policy debate. Topics will include transportation authorization, electronic tolling interoperability, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) charging, the proposed Office of Public Benefit, and other important issues affecting tolling and road pricing. Participants will spend Tuesday afternoon visiting their congressional representatives to advance tolling initiatives on Capitol Hill. This meeting is ideal for toll industry professionals interested in US Federal and transportation legislation and regulations affecting the toll industry. Visit www.IBTTA.org for registration, hotel and travel information and to view the preliminary agenda. [More…]

BICYCLES

1) California Bill Would Raise Hands-Free, Texting Fines, Extend Ban to Bicyclists

Link to article in The Sacramento Bee:

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/02/bill-would-rais.html

CARTOGRAPHY

2) Virtual Maps to Help in Indian Disaster Management

Link to article in The Hindu:

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/23/stories/2010022358542000.htm

GPS / NAVIGATION

3) Jamming of GPS Signals Threatens Vital Services

Link to article in the Financial Times:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4fa1c68a-2094-11df-9775-00144feab49a.html

ROADWAYS

4) New Jersey Toll-Takers Rude, Lewd and Racist, Complaints Charge

Link to article in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/85042697.html?cmpid=15585797

5) Cities Shortening Yellow Traffic Lights for Deadly Profit

Link to commentary on AlterNet:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/145752/cities_shortening_yellow_traffic_lights_for_deadly_profit

SAFETY / SECURITY

6) Man Cited During Traffic Stop Fears His Picture Might End Up Online

Link to story and video on KENS-TV:

http://www.kens5.com/news/Do-you-realize-that-when-police-pull-you-over-for-a-citation-they-will-likely-take-your-picture--Is-that-wrong-85003517.html

7) ‘Embrace Life’ Goes Viral

PSA promoting seat belt use turns into a worldwide phenomenon.

Link to CNN video story:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2010/02/20/nr.levs.embrace.life.cnn

TRANSIT

8) Google Transit Launches in Europe

Link to IDG News Service article:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/189942/google_transit_launches_in_europe.html

9) Maryland Transit Administration Chief on How Agency Can do Better with Snow

Improved communications is at the top of his list.

Link to article in The Baltimore Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-md.cm.mta23feb23,0,3942742.story

10) Transit Smart Cards to be Adopted in Calgary by 2012

Link to article in the Calgary Herald:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Transit+smart+cards+adopted+2012/2601354/story.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

11) Olympic Transportation Issues Being Dealt with as They Arise

Link to article in Pique:

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?content=Transportation

12) Dedicated Buses, 24x7 Monitoring of Transport for Commonwealth Games Athletes

Link to Sify article:

http://sify.com/news/Dedicated-buses-24X7-monitoring-of-transport-for-Games-athletes-news-National-kcxqOcbfegd.html

13) New Resources from US DOT

- Searchable Tool: Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Performance Measurement Knowledgebase

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=613

- A Domestic Scan of Congestion Pricing and Managed Lanes

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=612

- Federal Highway Administration Focus States Initiative: Traffic Incident Management Performance Measures Final Report

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=614

VEHICLES

14) Could Electronics be What’s Causing Runaway Cars?

Link to article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-02-23-Electromagnetic23_CV_N.htm

15) Technology Solutions Newsmaker Q&A: Michael Gile

Interview with the founder of Fuzzy Luke, creator of a vehicle diagnostic application for mobile phones.

Link to interview in Aftermarket Business:

http://aftermarketbusiness.search-autoparts.com/aftermarketbusiness/Industry+News/Technology-Solutions-Newsmaker-QampA-Michael-Gile/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/657942

News Releases

1) Inrix National Traffic Scorecard Reveals America’s Top 10 Most Congested Cities

Upcoming Events

High Speed Rail 2010 – March 4-5 – Orlando, Florida

http://www.ushsr.com/events/florida2010.html

Today in Transportation History

1940 **70^th anniversary** A squadron of British and French warships began a blockade of the north coast of Sweden, Norway and the Soviet Union.

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© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast www.bwcommunications.net