Center for Traffic Safety Research Proposed in Texas
IVsource.net
5 April 2001

A Texas State Senator is championing a traffic safety research center within the Texas Transportation Institute that would include in-vehicle safety devices and driver workload among its focus areas.

A bill has been introduced into the Texas State Legislature that would establish a center for traffic safety research within the Texas Transportation Institute.  The proposed transportation safety center would study accident factors and develop ways to reduce deaths on the state’s roadways.

In 1998, nearly 4,000 people died on Texas roads.  “We lead the country in traffic fatalities,” State Senator Steve Ogden said.  “When I began to ask how we collect traffic accident data and what can we do to reduce accidents, the answer is, ‘We don’t do it very well.’”  Ogden is sponsoring the legislation.

The Texas Transportation Institute has been instrumental in the development of various highway safety measures over the years.  Ogden said a safety research center would fit the mission of the institute, which belongs to the Texas A&M University System.

The bill also suggests a new center could help planners prepare for future transportation needs and develop new safety technologies.

Dennis Christiansen, deputy director of the Texas Transportation Institute, said agency officials found Ogden’s idea for a safety research center intriguing.  “Historically, research has been effective at reducing crash and fatality rates,” he said.  But according to the institute’s concept paper presented to the University System Board of Regents, funding for such research has been limited.

Christiansen said traffic density on Texas roads has been increasing 4 to 6 percent annually, which contributes to higher fatality and crash rates.  He said current safety measures, including in-vehicle devices such as air bags, are reaching the point of diminishing returns.

“There have to be some new thoughts, ideas and directions to be able to increase safety in an environment of increasing traffic congestion,” he said. “... We think there are some gaps between state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice.”

Possible areas of research for the proposed Center include aspects of in-vehicle safety devices, studies of how much information drivers can handle at one time, causes of road rage, cellular phone use while driving, and the effects of prescription drugs on older drivers.

For More Information ...

... access tti.tamu.edu on the web. 

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