Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations

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Our ability to get from Point A to Point B is something lots of us take for granted. But transporting people and products across town or across the country every day is neither simple nor easy. Join us as we explore the challenges on Thinking Transportati

Texas A&M Transportation Institute


    • Apr 29, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 28m AVG DURATION
    • 102 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations

    Eyes on the Road! Encouraging Behaviors to Reduce Distracted Driving

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 32:19 Transcription Available


    April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 40,000 Americans died on U.S. roadways in 2023. We talk with TTI safety experts Emily Martin and Srinivas Geedipally about how distracted driving can lead to tragedy and what we can do, as drivers and passengers, to make our travels safer for everyone.

    It Takes a Village: In the Air or on the Ground, Safety Takes Teamwork

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 36:45 Transcription Available


    Tracing its origins to the Air Commerce Act of 1926, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established in 1967 as an independent agency inside the U.S. DOT charged with investigating why transportation accidents happen. In 1974, it became an independent federal agency separate from the DOT. Although largely focused on aviation, the agency also investigates roadway, marine, pipeline, and railroad accidents, as well as those involving commercial space. Today, we talk with Robert L. Sumwalt—currently executive director of the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and former chair of the NTSB—about that agency's ongoing mission to investigate accidents and recommend improvements that make travel safer for everyone who uses our transportation network. 

    Our 100th Episode! Celebrating 75 Years of the TTI-TxDOT Partnership

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2025 47:37 Transcription Available


    In 1950, the Texas A&M Board of Directors charged the Texas Transportation Institute (now the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI) to enlist the broad resources of the college across the spectrum of transportation research to benefit Texas, while also providing unique educational opportunities for students to study and work in the field. This agreement solidified the Cooperative Research Program between the then-Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) and TTI. For 75 years, these agencies have partnered to conduct applied research that benefits Texans and travelers worldwide by innovating and improving the safety, mobility, and resilience of our transportation network. Our host, Allan Rutter, talks about this longstanding relationship with TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree.

    Revisited: Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2025 26:23 Transcription Available


    Folks are living longer thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, and that means our overall U.S. population is skewing older. The Texas Demographic Center notes that the U.S. population aged 65 and older spiked between 2010 and 2020, the largest 10-year growth on record. That means more drivers on the road are older too, and statistics show that licensees over 70 jumped from 73 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 2022. A year ago, Bernie Fette talked with TTI's Myunghoon Ko about the challenges and dangers facing older drivers, as well as how research like that performed at the Institute is producing more effective countermeasures to help keep these vulnerable drivers safer on our roadways. Today, we revisit that conversation.

    The Math Doesn't Lie: Roundabouts Make Driving Safer, More Reliable, and Less Technology Dependent

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 40:29 Transcription Available


    Roundabouts and other innovative intersections offer a number of advantages over more traditional designs, including improved sustainability, reliability, and resilience--and astonishing benefits to traffic safety for drivers. Amanda Austin, the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT's) lead in implementing these alternative designs, and TTI Research Engineer Marcus Brewer join us this episode to discuss them. For more information on TxDOT's work in this area, see the department's Innovative Intersections web page.

    Revolution Requires Evolution: We Need New Roadside Safety Standards for Electric Vehicles

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 23:50 Transcription Available


    In June 2024, TTI's Roadside Safety and Physical Security Team crashed a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) into a heavy-duty guardrail at 62 miles per hour. When the EV blew right through the barrier, researchers were stunned. TTI Senior Research Engineer Roger Bligh, whose 38 years of roadside safety barrier testing experience oversaw the test, joins guest host and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree to discuss the results of the testing and the broader implications for standards governing the development and deployment of roadside safety devices. | View the Crash Test

    Innovation, Education, Communication: TTI's University Transportation Centers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 41:14 Transcription Available


    Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the University Transportation Centers Program provides grants to college and university consortia across America. With an emphasis on innovating transportation technologies, educating the next generation of transportation professionals, and transferring technology to share lessons learned, the program leverages the best academic talent at U.S. institutions of higher learning to solve mobility and safety problems that affect all Americans. Dr. Melissa Tooley, TTI assistant agency director for federal affairs and UTC operations, discusses TTI's history with the program and looks forward to future opportunities. 

    Trending Teens: What TTI's Latest Research Says about Young Driver Attitudes and Behaviors

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 22:53 Transcription Available


    For more than two decades, TTI has championed young driver safety, preventing injury and saving lives through education, empowerment, and peer-led outreach. Supported by public- and private-sector sponsors, the Institute's Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program recently published Texas Trends, 2024, which captures data regarding young driver attitudes, codifies ongoing crash and injury trends, and helps us better understand the causes behind more than 900 young driver traffic deaths each year. TTI's Christine Yager discusses the report. | View the Texas Trends, 2024 report

    Bridge to Everywhere: How to Keep International Trucks Moving While Expanding The Bridge of the Americas.

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2024 30:52 Transcription Available


    International commerce depends on trucks crossing national borders regularly, reliably, and securely. Ports of entry like the bridges connecting the United States and Mexico in El Paso, Texas, are vital to both nations' economic vitality. But what happens when a major conduit like The Bridge of the Americas is closed for updating? Where does that traffic go? How can we keep those goods flowing without negatively impacting the surrounding community? We interview experts from TTI's Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research in El Paso to find out. | Bridges Connecting El Paso to Mexico | Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Management Plan

    Virtual Degree, Real-World Opportunity: Texas A&M Online Master's of Engineering Offers Recipients New Career Options

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 25:29 Transcription Available


    Texas A&M University's Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering offers an online master of engineering in engineering degree designed for engineering professionals interested in management. Led by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), this program offers valuable real-world experience from qualified instructors in topics like working with city governments to help graduates become better managers or begin management careers. Two of the instructors, TTI's Brianne Glover and Jim Cline, sit down with Allan Rutter to discuss what an applicant can expect from the program, as well as how it can help graduates' professional lives after completion.

    Long Trains Runnin': How Freight Trains Impact U.S. Communities According to a Recently Released Study Requested by Congress

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2024 36:29 Transcription Available


    On September 17, 2024, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report following a study of freight trains longer than 7,500 feet and their impacts on local communities. Requested by the U.S. Congress, the report recommends empowering regulatory agencies to address challenges such as safety concerns and traffic delays due to blocked crossings. Our host, TTI's Allan Rutter, served as one of twelve members on the consensus study panel that produced the report. He talks with David Willhauer, senior program officer with the Transportation Research Board, who was the project manager for the study. Listeners can find the report  here.

    EVolving Attitudes, Expanding Infrastructure: Electric Vehicles Are Charging Ahead Thanks to Public Sector Incentives.

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2024 50:21 Transcription Available


    The Washington Post recently reported that electric vehicles (EVs) now outnumber gas-powered cars in Norway, the first country to claim that distinction. The U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation--a shared agency of the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation--was created in 2021 under the bipartisan infrastructure law to help facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles across the United States. Gabriel Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, and Joe Zietsman, deputy director of TTI, join us today to talk about the advantages, challenges, and long-term goals of implementing EVs nationwide. 

    Revisited: Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 25:27 Transcription Available


    With National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 15-21) just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit our interview with Mark Willis from almost exactly one year ago. This is the week in which the trucking industry celebrates the contributions of roughly 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwide, who deliver the essential goods our families rely on, from food to fuel to medicine to clothing. Mark is host of the afternoon show on Road Dog Trucking, channel 146 on SiriusXM, a lifeline to truckers nationwide to other truckers and the topics that interest them like roadway safety and adequate parking. Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness, and they find insight and community through the vast reach of satellite radio. 

    Celebrating a Lifetime Storyteller: Bernie Fette passes the baton to our podcast's new host, Allan Rutter.

    Play Episode Play 52 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 27, 2024 35:21 Transcription Available


    This 89th episode of Thinking Transportation is a landmark event. Host Bernie Fette, who is retiring from service to the state of Texas after more than 30 years, is passing the podcast hosting baton to Allan Rutter, TTI's Freight Practice Leader. Included in his decades of transportation-related employment, Allan served as Federal Railroad Administrator under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004. Allan interviews Bernie about his many years of experience as a journalist, media expert, podcaster, and innovative storyteller for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute regarding all things transportation. 

    Not So Fast! Can driver behavior influence how speed limits are set?

    Play Episode Play 60 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 15, 2024 29:44 Transcription Available


    Factors that determine speed limits on a given roadway have a lot to do with physical conditions along the route, but how fast drivers want to go figures into the equation, too.

    Revisited: At the Intersection of Engineering and Psychology -- How a diverse team manages special event traffic.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2024 24:51


    When special events set new records for attendance, they tend to do the same for roadway gridlock. To ensure success, experts rely on the right mix of traffic planning and outreach.

    The Never Ending Story? Why road projects take so long to complete.

    Play Episode Play 27 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 29:12 Transcription Available


    Building a new highway involves a complex and painstaking process, one that begins years before the folks in hard hats and orange vests arrive on the scene.

    Anchors Aweigh: How maritime interests occupy a vital link in the freight industry.

    Play Episode Play 39 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 26:17 Transcription Available


    We rely upon waterborne shipping for most of the products we buy and use every day. We hardly give that reliance any thought at all – until something goes wrong.

    Is Traffic Back to Pre-COVID Levels? That depends on where you live.

    Play Episode Play 52 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 33:04 Transcription Available


    It's not enough to know that traffic is bad and getting worse. We also need to know where, when, and why. TTI Senior Research Scientist and urban mobility expert David Schrank joins us to discuss the "how" of answering those questions.

    Revisited--Exit This Way: Research informing upgrades in hurricane evacuation planning.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 20:05 Transcription Available


    As the 2024 hurricane season approaches again, climate experts across the United States are predicting an especially active season, driven largely by higher-than-average sea surface temperatures. This makes ever more important the research and planning that begins long before extreme weather strikes, and continues long after the storm has passed.

    A Two-Edged Sword: In-vehicle technologies can either help us or hurt us.

    Play Episode Play 50 sec Highlight Listen Later May 14, 2024 37:01 Transcription Available


    As car makers focus on protecting drivers and passengers, do their computer-based innovations really make us safer, or might they in some cases compromise our safety?

    Bhatt and Winfree: Two industry leaders and their shared optimism for the future.

    Play Episode Play 60 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 45:54 Transcription Available


    FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree reflect upon a wide range of mobility challenges and opportunities, with references to Star Wars, Dick Tracy and hair styles.

    Will AI Help Us Realize Our Highest Hopes or Our Deepest Fears?

    Play Episode Play 40 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 32:10 Transcription Available


     Artificial intelligence seeks to replicate the analytical and creative capabilities of the human brain. Perhaps that lofty ambition helps to explain why so many humans are leery of the idea. 

    More Transit Agencies Are Jumping on the Battery-Powered Bandwagon.

    Play Episode Play 39 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 2, 2024 28:47 Transcription Available


    Neil Pedersen Has a Question: Are we willing to stick our necks out?

    Play Episode Play 60 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 19, 2024 46:23 Transcription Available


    The former leader of TRB may have stepped away from full-time employment, but he hasn't stepped away entirely from the industry he has helped to guide for half a century.

    Roadside Mysteries: When utilities pose unique challenges for roadway construction.

    Play Episode Play 46 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 5, 2024 27:20 Transcription Available


    Every road construction project involves the hidden element of utilities in the right of way. That work isn't necessarily as visible, but it's every bit as consequential. 

    Is Public Transit Back to Pre-pandemic Normal? That depends on where you look.

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 22, 2024 32:22 Transcription Available


    The transit industry is better equipped to work through a public health crisis than it was before COVID-19. And even as it faces persistent challenges, public transportation continues to play a central role in everyday mobility.

    Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?

    Play Episode Play 34 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 6, 2024 26:04 Transcription Available


    Drivers over age 80 are more prone to serious and deadly crashes. As this population segment grows, researchers are working toward fresh countermeasures.

    Behind the Wheel, What We Think and What We Do Can Define Who We Are.

    Play Episode Play 43 sec Highlight Listen Later Jan 23, 2024 25:40 Transcription Available


    Attitudes and behaviors related to driving reveal our traffic safety culture. Like other forms of culture, it has a way of changing over time— and not always for the better.

    Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How it's easy to overlook our reliance on GPS.

    Play Episode Play 60 sec Highlight Listen Later Jan 2, 2024 32:58 Transcription Available


    With near-magical precision, GPS applications reliably guide multiple functions for us every moment of every day. But as they hold great promise, those applications also face vulnerabilities.

    How to Ensure That US Infrastructure Remains Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts.

    Play Episode Play 32 sec Highlight Listen Later Dec 12, 2023 17:54 Transcription Available


    America's infrastructure was built to last, but it wasn't built to last forever. The Center for Infrastructure Renewal is focusing on how to ensure the resilience of the collective physical systems that America runs upon. 

    Can Imperiled Creatures Survive and Thrive amid Widespread Roadway Construction?

    Play Episode Play 37 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 39:36 Transcription Available


    The well-being of creatures protected under the Endangered Species Act is a high priority for transportation agencies. That's good for the critters, and for agency operations as well. 

    Can Solar Panels in Highway ROW Be the Next Big Step in Renewable Energy?

    Play Episode Play 22 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 7, 2023 25:22 Transcription Available


    In using roadsides for the collection of solar power, can we succeed in achieving both environmental and economic goals? It all depends on how you define “success.”

    We Rank the 2,138 Most Congested Roads in Texas. Is your daily drive on the list?

    Play Episode Play 48 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 24, 2023 29:23 Transcription Available


    Revisited--Big and Bright: The view from TxDOT CEO Marc Williams' Chair.

    Play Episode Play 50 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 10, 2023 38:28 Transcription Available


    As we gather for the 97th Annual Transportation Short Course, we're revisiting our interview with Texas Department of Transportation CEO Marc Williams from approximately one year ago. Despite some Texas-sized mobility challenges and worldwide supply-chain obstacles, the guy in charge of the Texas Department of Transportation wants you to know he's never been more optimistic about our transportation future.

    Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.

    Play Episode Play 36 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 26, 2023 25:18 Transcription Available


    Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness. They find insight and community through the vast reach of satellite radio. 

    When Mobility Needs Are Like Snowflakes: TTI's outposts focus on singular urban challenges.

    Play Episode Play 53 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 32:04 Transcription Available


     It's been said that all politics is local. Given the unique nature of major population centers everywhere, the same could be said for transportation. 

    Minor Stress Factors Can Cause Major Problems, Even in the Best Driving Conditions

    Play Episode Play 53 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 29, 2023 30:37 Transcription Available


    Obvious pressures when we're driving on the roadways—like aggressive drivers, stormy weather, and unruly passengers—are widely recognized. But less conspicuous triggers can compromise safety, too. 

    Lofty Ambitions Are Fueling the Move Toward Sustainable Transportation

    Play Episode Play 24 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 15, 2023 29:15 Transcription Available


    Decarbonizing the transportation sector—the single-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions—won't happen overnight. But the U.S. Department of Energy has a plan.

    One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year high.

    Play Episode Play 59 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 1, 2023 30:01 Transcription Available


    The dangers for those who travel on foot have constituted a public health challenge for as long as we've had motor vehicles. Why are pedestrian deaths increasing so fast? And what can be done to stem the tide?

    What If? ... How modelers envision the worst to enable the best response.

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 18, 2023 24:06 Transcription Available


    Disasters – whether natural or man-made – can cripple transportation systems. Sophisticated modeling can go a long way in minimizing disruptions and restoring routine conditions. 

    Is America's Infrastructure Turning a Corner?

    Play Episode Play 26 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 6, 2023 30:50 Transcription Available


    Two years have passed since America's last road and bridge report card, and we'll wait another two years for the next one. An unofficial mid-term grade suggests that conditions are improving.

    The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor: Recognizing vision, passion, and purpose.

    Play Episode Play 44 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 20, 2023 26:17 Transcription Available


    Texas owes its transportation primacy in large part to an elite group of visionary leaders whose contributions merit permanent and meaningful places in the Lone Star State's history.

    Fewer Motorcycle Safety Coaches, More Unlicensed Riders, More Crashes: Is there a link?

    Play Episode Play 42 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 39:48 Transcription Available


    In recent years, roughly half of the motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in Texas were unlicensed. Safety advocates are working to enlist more instructors who can help riders develop the safety skills they need.

    Charging Ahead: How the Electrified Mobility Collaborative envisions a radical shift.

    Play Episode Play 41 sec Highlight Listen Later May 25, 2023 27:21 Transcription Available


    Nearly 300 million vehicles are on American roads today. Nearly all of them run on gasoline or diesel, so a large-scale shift to electric power would be transformative. A new Texas A&M University System venture is working to figure out how that might work. 

    For Bernie Wagenblast, both career and life have been all about transition.

    Play Episode Play 48 sec Highlight Listen Later May 9, 2023 28:30 Transcription Available


    As a transportation journalist, Bernie Wagenblast has been weaving narratives of a professional sort for more than 40 years. As it turns out, one of her most recent stories is more personal.

    Hidden Treasures: Remote community airports play an essential role in Texas life.

    Play Episode Play 28 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 27:26 Transcription Available


    The value that small general aviation airports deliver far exceeds what their modest size might suggest. To many local government officials, those facilities represent “the most valuable mile of pavement in the county.”

    Revisited--Highway to the Danger Zone: Hazards abound where road work advances.

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2023 22:27 Transcription Available


    As we're about to observe National Work Zone Awareness Week and in light of a work zone crash last month in Maryland, in which 6 workers were killed, we're revisiting a discussion with TTI's Jerry Ullman, research engineer and highway work zone safety expert. The number of fatal crashes in America is up by about 7 percent over the past decade. But in roadway work zones, it's up by more than 40 percent. Jerry discusses why those work zones are dangerous not only for those who work in them, but for those who navigate them as well. 

    Off the Rails, On the QT: Train derailments happen daily, though few grab our attention.

    Play Episode Play 40 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 30, 2023 26:52 Transcription Available


    Major railroad disasters tend to produce major news headlines, but there are hundreds of derailments each year in America that we never hear about. Why is that?

    Turning the Tables: When a transportation journalist is the one answering, not asking, the questions.

    Play Episode Play 23 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 14, 2023 29:00 Transcription Available


    It's been said that journalists are responsible for writing the first draft of history. As the transportation writer for the Houston Chronicle, Dug Begley has been crafting that city's mobility story for more than a decade. 

    Engineering a Career Path: Sometimes, a 7th grade dream can actually come true.

    Play Episode Play 56 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 28, 2023 30:08 Transcription Available


    Even after wrapping up a 46-year stretch at TTI, Tim Lomax still enjoys the adrenaline rush that comes from finding new traffic challenges, and fixing them. 

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