The U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled a public online tracking tool on September 2 that provides data on the on-road testing of automated driving systems in 17 cities. [Above photo by Argo/Ford.] The tool is part of the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing or AV TEST Initiative launched in June and overseen […]

A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims that equipping large trucks with forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking or AEB systems could eliminate more than two out of five crashes in which a large truck rear-ends another vehicle. [Above photo via IIHS.] The group’s study encompassed some 2,000 crashes that […]

The Federal Aviation Administration is awarding roughly $1.2 billion in airport safety and infrastructure grants to 405 airports in 50 states and the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [Above photo by the FAA.] A complete listing of grants and an interactive map of airports receiving funding is available […]

The Federal Railroad Administration issued a final rule on August 28 that would allow railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology, augmented with global positioning system technology, to employ continuous rail testing. [Above photo by FRA.] The agency said this rule seeks to improve safety by making it easier for railroads to test rails more frequently […]

The Federal Transit Administration is providing $400 million in funding to support four transit infrastructure projects in four states – Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, and New Jersey – via its Capital Investment Grants or CIG program. [Above photo by the FTA.] The agency is also providing $99.9 million grant to the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation […]

A new report from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association indicates that many of America’s major tolling agencies continue to experience significant revenue impacts due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [Above photo by the Pennsylvania Turnpike.] “Transportation has seen many catastrophic events in our history, from the 1989 Bay Area Earthquake to [the terrorist attacks […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a notice of funding opportunity on August 25 that provides up to $50 million in grants for commuter rail agencies working to improve safety at railway-highway crossings. The agency said it would accept applications for that grant money through October 26. [Above photo by the NTSB.] The Federal Highway […]

The Federal Aviation Administration is planning to evaluate technologies and systems that could detect and mitigate potential safety risks posed by unmanned aircraft or drones, while beefing up funding to universities within its Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems network; a network also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS […]

Four federal agencies – the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Communications Commission – recently issued guidance to help non-federal public and private entities understand the federal laws and regulations that may apply to the use of capabilities to detect and mitigate threats posed by Unmanned […]

The Mobility Systems Center – operated by the Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology – plans to fund several new research projects to gain “deeper insights” into de-carbonizing the U.S. transportation sector. “Based on input from our Mobility Systems Center members, we have selected an excellent and diverse set of projects to initiate,” explained Randall Field, the […]