Feature Channels: Travel and Transportation

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A new study suggests that devices that prevent drivers from starting their vehicles after drinking, help to reduce drunk driving in the short term and may have additional potential based on a broader research approach. Vehicle crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers result in 10,000 deaths a year in the US. About a quarter of convicted Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenders are sentenced to install ignition interlock devices (IIDs), which prevent them from driving if their breath alcohol level exceeds a certain threshold. Interlock devices are effective while installed, though it is unclear to what extent they influence longer term changes in drivers’ alcohol use. Understanding the impact of the IID on offenders’ behavior can potentially help inform strategies for decreasing DUI recidivism. The study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research is the first known investigation of offenders’ drinking and driving from before their arrest to the period of time after the interlo

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To minimize transmission of COVID-19, in spring 2020, most U.S. states passed policies promoting social distancing through stay-at-home orders prohibiting non-essential travel. Vehicle-miles traveled in the U.S. decreased by 41% in April 2020 compared to 2019. A new study led by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital estimated associations between COVID-19-related social-distancing policies, traffic volume, and motor vehicle crash-related outcomes in Ohio.

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A world first study from the University of South Australia and the University of Technology Sydney, shows just how important local foods can be for domestic tourism, as the findings show how food can potentially increase visits to local areas by tenfold.

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People of color are five times more likely than white persons to be ticketed for fare evasion along mass-transit lines in Los Angeles, a new study of aggressive law enforcement on the Los Angeles transit system shows.

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Over the course of the last year, Rensselaer experts have made many meaningful contributions to the understanding of — and response to — the COVID-19 crisis. Here is a list of pandemic-related topics they can address.

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The results of a neurobiological study, today published in Brain Research, yielded pioneering scientific evidence revealing the potential mental and physical benefits of riding a motorcycle.

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DHS S&T SVIP announces $196,880 in Phase 1 funding to Deep North, a start-up based in Foster City, California, to apply video analytics to airport screening processes to help minimize exposure and contact between Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and passengers.

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Researchers examined e-scooter use in Washington, D.C. and found that both built environment and demographics matter. Tourist attractions, hotels and metro stops are all predictive of higher destinations. Scooter traffic is almost all in the downtown area, near the Mall, the White House and Congress. Younger median age, percentage of bachelor’s degrees and population density each were positive predictors for both trip origins and destinations. This model will help transportation planners figure out what drives e-scooter use.

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Our deep-rooted survival instinct for disease avoidance could make us less willing to embrace strangers and take foreign travel risks.

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Moralities of Intelligent Machines is a project that investigates people's attitudes towards moral choices made by artificial intelligence.

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DHS S&T SVIP announces $199,950 in Phase 1 funding to Lauretta AI, LLC, a start-up based in Arlington, Massachusetts, to adapt their video analytic solution to meet TSA’s needs.

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Samer Hamdar, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the George Washington University, is partnering with Moment AI to launch a project aimed at developing AI systems that could one day prevent health-induced traffic accidents, including those linked to stress.

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DHS S&T has partnered with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City to study how simulated coronavirus aerosols travel through buses and train cars to inform disinfection and other virus mitigation methods.

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One thing that decades of social science research has made abundantly clear? Americans in urban areas live in neighborhoods deeply segregated by race -- and they always have.

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New York City’s transit system exposes riders to more inhaled pollutants than any other metropolitan subway system in the Northeastern United States, a new study finds. Yet even its “cleaner” neighbors struggle with enough toxins to give health-conscious travelers pause.

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A new study in the journal Risk Analysis found that people are more likely to blame a vehicle’s automation system and its manufacturer than its human driver when a crash occurs.

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New drivers between the ages of 15 and 25 account for nearly half of the more than one million road deaths that occur worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization. Educational programs often use fear-based messaging and films of crash scenes to reduce risky driving behavior among young people. But does this “scary” approach work?

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Where do the greatest risks of infection lurk? How can you protect yourself and others even better? Scientists all over the world are working to expand knowledge about Covid-19 – including at Empa. Researchers are now using measurements and simulations to take a close look at cable cars and cabins in ski resorts.

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The crucially important work is accomplished through deploying S&T’s advanced lab-based technical expertise and capabilities in research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E).

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The risks of riding with an impaired driver or being involved in a crash caused by another person’s drinking are lower in countries that have comprehensive penalties for driving under the influence, according to an international study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Previous research on the effects of drunk-driving policies has focused on aggregate outcomes such as accident rates or fatalities involving alcohol-impaired drivers. Relatively slight attention has been paid to harms caused by another driver’s impairment, although these “secondhand” effects are widespread and serious; in the US in 2015, almost 40 percent of drunk-driving deaths were of victims other than the impaired driver. Investigators explored whether national policies relating to drink-driving, and regional drinking cultures, were associated with such effects.

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A collaborative study found that compared with their non-autistic peers, young autistic drivers have lower rates of moving violations and license suspensions, as well as similar to lower crash rates.

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Research that could change the bridge construction industry has led to South Dakota State University graduate student Ted Sjurseth becoming the University Transportation Center Outstanding Student of the Year.

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ORNL story tips: Nanoscale commuting, easy driver and defect detection

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A controlled scenario test by DHS S&T shows promising results for facial recognition technologies to accurately identify individuals wearing protective face masks.

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People dreaming of travel post-COVID-19 now have some scientific data to support their wanderlust.

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Can you imagine a world powered by 100% renewable electricity and fuels?

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine will expand a statewide program to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs.

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A team of European researchers working on a project about public transport as public space have recently completed a study on the perception and use of public transport during the first wave of COVID-19.

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DHS S&T, in partnership with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, will conduct tests in a real-world environment to determine the most effective measures to reduce the spread of viruses on public transit.

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Researchers found that nearly half of adolescents who sought specialty care for a concussion were back to driving when asked approximately two weeks after the injury, even though few had returned to exercise and sports.

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A multi-institutional effort led to the design of a highly active and more durable catalyst made from cobalt, which sets the foundation for fuel cells to power transportation, stationary and backup power, and more.

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Researchers at HSE University and Lomonosov Moscow State University analyzed data on Russians' movements during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Increased depth range and the ability to explore 99% of the ocean floor, including the abyssal region—one of the least understood areas of the deep sea—are just some of the upgrades underway for the iconic human-occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin that were unveiled today at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020.

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MITRE shares findings from a study to test aerosol dispersion on buses and determine the best methods to control potentially infectious airborne particles such as COVID-19.

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As the U.S. Army modernizes weapons systems and combat vehicles, researchers at Missouri S&T are developing lightweight and ultra-high-strength steels for next-generation combat vehicles that improve blast resistance and lower transportation costs.“Missouri S&T offers one of only seven metallurgical engineering programs in the U.

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Researchers in Poland have created smart road signs that use built-in Doppler radar, video, and acoustic radar and weather stations to monitor road traffic and conditions to warn drivers in real-time of hazards and prevent collisions on highways. During the 179th ASA Meeting, Dec. 7-10, Andrzej Czyzewski will describe his applied research project to develop autonomous road signs with built-in acoustic radar devices.

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Using public data from the entire 1,500-square-mile Los Angeles metropolitan area, PNNL researchers reduced the time needed to create a traffic congestion model by an order of magnitude, from hours to minutes.

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Christine Vogt is the director of Arizona State University's Center for Sustainable Tourism in the School of Community Resources and Development. Vogt has done research for over two decades in the areas of recreation, parks and tourism. She shares what kind of tourism changes we can expect to see this snowbird season.

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A landmark study on how cannabis affects driving ability has shown that cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis component now widely used for medical purposes, does not impair driving, while moderate amounts of the main intoxicating component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produce mild driving impairment lasting up to four hours.

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ORNL story tips: Air taxis, fungi speak, radiation game and climate collab

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A new report outlines future research paths that are needed for airlines to reduce carbon emissions and notes that the only way to achieve emission reduction goals is with Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

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With the two biggest travel holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas – around the corner, many are debating whether they should gather with family and friends as usual.

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The COVID-19 pandemic had surprising effects on demand for public transit in American cities, new research suggests. While demand for public transit dropped about 73% across the country after the pandemic hit, the reduction didn’t impact all cities equally.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, closing national borders and borders between states and regions has been prevalent. But does it help? In a paper in Chaos, researchers decided to put this hypothesis to the test and discover if confinement and travels bans are really effective ways to limit the spread of a pandemic disease. Specifically, they focused on the movement of people from larger cities to smaller ones and tested the results of this one-way migration.

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