Transportation Safety
Objectives
• Introduce students to the TDL Career Cluster: Transportation Systems/Infrastructure Planning, Management, and Regulation – Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering)
• (Content Standard #1)
• Introduce Students to Transportation Safety Concepts
• (Content Standard #2 and #3)
Transportation Case Study
The objective of this study: – Analyze the current speed compliance ratio of
traffic.• How many people do not comply with the speed
limit on this stretch of road?
– Generate a viable solution targeted to slowing down traffic and making this stretch of road safer for drivers and pedestrians.
• Are current traffic speeds unsafe?• If they are unsafe, what can we do to slow down
traffic in a safe way?
Transportation Safety Background
• More than 3 million transportation-related injuries a year (nationwide)
• Societal cost: $231 billion a year
• Loss to Nebraska: $2 billion a year
• Motor vehicle crashes account for 40% of all 16-18 year old deaths in the US.
Transportation Safety Background
• In Nebraska, 256 people were fatally injured in traffic accidents in 2007.
• Downward Trend
230
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Nebraska Fatalities
Transportation Safety Background
As of July 3rd, 2008
• 98 Fatalities– 84 in Rural Areas– 14 in Urban Areas
• Compared to the 2004-2007 average– Fatalities are down 23% so far this year in
Nebraska
Transportation Case Study• We are going to do a case study on a
stretch of road just west of Bryan HS
48th street between Glasgow Ave and Giles Road
Transportation Case StudySTEP 1
DATA COLLECTION
• Using a stopwatch, time the cars as they pass between the two landmarks.– Landmarks will be given on next slide
• Record your times for each car on the worksheet provided. (Speed Conversion Worksheet)
Transportation Case StudySTEP 1
• The land marks are:– The pine tree just to the right of the house– The sign by the white building
TREESIGN
What Time Did You Get?
• Time between the two landmarks: – 2.45 Seconds
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
CALCULATE THE SPEED• Now that we have our data, we need to
find the speed of the cars in Miles per Hour.
• Use the equation for speedSpeed = Distance (Miles) / Time (Hours)
The distance the cars travel
The time it takes for the cars to
travel that distance
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• We need to convert FEET per SECOND to
MILES per HOUR
– There are 5,280 feet in a mile
– There are 3,600 seconds in 1 hour
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• First, find the distance the car has traveled in miles: 1 foot = 0.00018939 miles (1 / 5,280)
Number of feet the car traveled x .00018939 = Distance
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• Landmark Distance
163 Feet
Distance = 163 x .00018939
Distance = .03087057 Miles
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• Now that you have converted the distance from feet to miles, let’s convert the time from seconds to hours:
• Insert the time you recorded in seconds into the equation• Number of seconds over 3,600
Number of Seconds
3,600
2.45 Seconds / 3,600 = .00068055 Hours
=TIME (in hours)
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• Now let’s insert the TIME and DISTANCE into the Speed Equation:
DISTANCE
TIME =Speed (MPH)
Transportation Case StudySTEP 2
• TIME = .00068055 Hours• DISTANCE = .03087057 Miles
.03087057 Miles
.00068055 Hours= 45.36 MPH
Speed Limit = 35 MPH
Transportation Case StudySTEP 3
• You and a partner will spend 20 minutes collecting data on this stretch of road.
• You will time 10 different cars and calculate their speeds– Use worksheet provided
Transportation Case StudySTEP 3
• Once finished: calculate the Compliance Ratio – Give the percent of vehicles going faster than
the posted speed limit (35 MPH)– (# of speeders / 10) x 100 = percent of
speeding vehicles (Compliance Ratio)
Transportation Case StudySTEP 4
• Do we have a problem on this stretch of road?
• DISCUSSON– What are the traffic laws in this area?
• Speed Limit during SCHOOL?
– What is or is not located on or around this stretch of road that may increase traffic speed?
– Do you think that the low speed limit through here is important or should it be increased?
Transportation Case StudySTEP 4
• Using the internet, you and your partner will research possible solutions to slow down the traffic.– Stop Light– Traffic Calming Device– More Enforcement– Speed Bumps
• Create a power point presentation to showcase your solution.
Career Pathway
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Transportation Systems/Infrastructure
Planning, Management, and Regulation
Civil Engineering
Transportation Engineering
Civil Engineering Video…
• Nebraska Career Connections – Civil Engineering Career Video
http://www.nebraskacareerconnections.org/
Bear TracksBear Tracks is a Bryan High TDL newsletter dedicated to
increasing our student’ knowledge of high demand and high wage jobs in the
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics Career
pathway.