M.I.T. has an Algorithm for Predicting a Red-Light Runner

Wall Street has been using algorithms for years

 to trade the market. Not likely an algorithm will prevent

a stock market crash however,

M.I.T. might reduce intersection crashes.

The New York Times
By: Paul Stenquist
11/30/2012

A green light at an intersection may offer a driver the legal right to proceed, but it offers no guarantee of safe crossing. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed an algorithm to predict when an oncoming vehicle would be likely to run a red light.

With the proliferation of spatial sensors, advanced telematics systems and other hallmarks of so-called smart cars, algorithms could help prevent drivers from getting into accidents, according to Jonathan How, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at M.I.T.

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that of 7,000 traffic-related fatalities in 2008, 700 of them were the result of drivers running red lights at intersections, according to a media release from M.I.T. Half of those killed were not the drivers of the offending vehicle, but were passengers, pedestrians or the driver of another vehicle.

Developed by Georges Aoude, formerly a student of Professor How, the M.I.T. algorithm used parameters like the vehicle’s rate of deceleration and distance from the traffic light to determine which vehicles were most likely to run the light. If the algorithm were to be put in place, that data would be generated by means of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, a smart-car technology being researched by the Transportation Department in conjunction with a number of vehicle manufacturers.

“If you had some type of heads-up display for the driver, it might be something where the algorithms are analyzing and saying, ‘We’re concerned,’” Professor How said in the release. “Even though your light might be green, it may recommend you not go, because there are people behaving badly that you may not be aware of.”

The algorithm was tested at an intersection in Virginia. Applying it to data from more than 15,000 approaching vehicles, the researchers observed that the algorithm accurately identified red-light violators 85 percent of the time. The identification was achieved a couple of seconds before those vehicles reached the intersection — sufficient time, the researchers said, to allow drivers to react.

The research team is investigating ways to use the algorithm in a closed-loop system that would provide a recommended response to the driver whose vehicle may be in danger. They also plan to modify the algorithm to test its efficacy in air traffic control applications.

Until M.I.T. perfects their algorithm,

BE ATTENTIVE when entering all intersections.

Assume Nothing and Stay Alive!

Hand-Held Cell Phone Usage Banned for Interstate Truckers and Buses

FMCSA 35-11
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Contact: Candice Tolliver Burns
Tel: 202-366-9999

WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving.

"When drivers of large trucks, buses and hazardous materials take their eyes off the road for even a few seconds, the outcome can be deadly," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "I hope that this rule will save lives by helping commercial drivers stay laser-focused on safety at all times while behind the wheel."

The final rule prohibits commercial drivers from using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a commercial truck or bus. Drivers who violate the restriction will face federal civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense and disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle for multiple offenses. Additionally, states will suspend a driver's commercial driver's license (CDL) after two or more serious traffic violations. Commercial truck and bus companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving will face a maximum penalty of $11,000. Approximately four million commercial drivers would be affected by this final rule.

"This final rule represents a giant leap for safety," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "It's just too dangerous for drivers to use a hand-held cell phone while operating a commercial vehicle. Drivers must keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and head in the game when operating on our roads. Lives are at stake." While driver distraction studies have produced mixed results, FMCSA research shows that using a hand-held cell phone while driving requires a commercial driver to take several risky steps beyond what is required for using a hands-free mobile phone, including searching and reaching for the phone. Commercial drivers reaching for an object, such as a cell phone, are three times more likely to be involved in a crash or other safety-critical event. Dialing a hand-held cell phone makes it six times more likely that commercial drivers will be involved in a crash or other safety-critical event. Complete Press Release

Minneapolis Taxi Drivers: Dress Code and Drop the Cell Phones

Star Tribune
By Eric Roper
11/28/2011

The city's regulatory committee delayed action on a proposal requiring taxicabs to accept credit cards Monday, but approved a new regulation that restricts drivers from using cell phones.

Taxi drivers and industry representatives lined the Council chambers for the hearing on a multi-faceted modernization of the taxi code.

The cell phone restriction was passed along with a host of technical changes and alterations of the driver dress code. The next stop for that ordinance is the full City Council.

Councilmember Gary Schiff was slated to move forward his proposal requiring electronic credit card readers in cabs, but postponed it because of concerns about card service fees being passed to drivers. It was delayed until January.

"I don't want drivers to be penalized for a passenger who uses a credit card," Schiff said. "The purpose of this ordinance change is to make it easier for people to use taxis by giving people the option of cash or credit."

Mark Shields, a driver with Rainbow Taxi, worried that drivers will be charged high service fees and experience delays receiving their money.

"I dont want this dumped on the drivers," Shields said.

The new cell phone ordinance states that cab drivers cannot "operate a taxicab while using a wireless telephone, including a wireless telephone equipped with hands-free technology, except for emergency purposes."

That change did not arise in committee discussion, but Yemane Mebrahtu with the Minneapolis Taxicab Drivers and Owners Association said in an interview they oppose the language as it's written.

He said they had an understanding with the city that the change would only prohibit cell phone use when passengers are in the cab.

"If we don't have a passenger, [we] should be able freely to do our business," said Mebrahtu, the group's president. "Because we get a call from customers, we get a call from families."
Grant Wilson, the city’s manager of business licensing, said the intent of the bill is to bar cell phone use only when passengers are in the car. They will examine whether that language needs to be clarified, he said.

More from MN Daily

By: Nick Sudheimer

11/29/2011

Bari Niaz, president of Checker Cabs in Minneapolis, said he supports the ordinances, but admits they will make it harder for smaller cab companies to compete.

Niaz went on to say he hopes this will indirectly address a larger problem in the cab industry — the city allowing too many taxi licenses.

“For smaller companies, credit card companies won’t approve them but again it comes back to the city,” Niaz said. “The city will give [licenses] to anybody and now we have a problem because people complain and they think that every company has this problem [with credit card readers].”

Zen Tesseena, a driver for Blue and White Taxi, said he has noticed a significant increase in tips and ridership since he installed a credit card reader in his cab, which he said was one of the first card readers in Minneapolis.

Though he echoed Niaz’s concern with the number of cabs in Minneapolis, Tesseena doesn’t have any problems with the proposed changes.

“It doesn’t matter what the city does at this point; we are there so we will just do it,” Tesseena said. “Minneapolis is a beautiful city, and we love Minneapolis, and hopefully this will make things better for Minneapolis.”

MN Driver Pleads Guilty In Traffic Death yet Continues to Drive Recklessly

Mancheski, answering questions from prosecutor Imran Ali,

admitted he was driving between 83 and 89 miles

per hour before the crash.

To which the judge responds:

Judge Mary Hann warned Mancheski that any additional

offenses before his Feb. 24 sentencing,

including driving a vehicle, could result in prison time.

Star Tribune
By Kevin Giles
November 17, 2011

A Maplewood man pleaded guilty Thursday to causing a collision that killed a Minnesota National Guard staff sergeant who was driving to work.

Anthony Lloyd Mancheski, 21, admitted in Washington County District Court that he was speeding in May 2010 when he lost control and struck Brian J. Jacobson's car.

Under the plea agreement with county prosecutors, Mancheski will spend up to a year in jail on a felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide.

He also will spend as long as 10 years on probation.

Since Jacobson's death, Mancheski has had speeding convictions, all petty misdemeanors, in Cottage Grove, Oakdale and Newport.

He was cited in Maplewood on Sept. 11 for fourth-degree drunken driving, a misdemeanor, after wrecking his car in an accident.

A person operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated can be charged and convicted of a Fourth Degree DWI in situations in which such an individual has no other driving while impaired violations within ten years before the current case. It appears reckless driving and killing someone is acceptable as long as one was not "driving while impaired."

On Thursday, Judge Mary Hann warned Mancheski that any additional offenses before his Feb. 24 sentencing, including driving a vehicle, could result in prison time.

Jacobson's car was "virtually destroyed" in the collision on Hwy. 61 just north of the Hastings Bridge, according to the criminal charges.

Mancheski, answering questions from prosecutor Imran Ali, admitted he was driving between 83 and 89 miles per hour before the crash.

Driver Safety Incentive Programs That Work...

Just throwing money and / or prizes at drivers

for a safe driving record won't necessarily be

successful in motivating them to continue driving safely.

Automotive Fleet

There is little question that keeping company vehicle drivers, their passengers, and the public safe is the single most important responsibility a fleet manager has. From vehicle selection to specification to policy, safety should be a primary force in decision making. 

One method used by many companies to help make safety efforts successful is implementing a safe driving incentive program. Using various measurements, drivers whose safety records are exemplary are rewarded.

But if the basis for the program is merely “no accidents = cash,” the overall goal of achieving a safety culture among drivers won’t be met. Here are some tips to remember when you want your safety program to have maximum effectiveness.

Incentives: What Kind?

There are a number of incentives that do work and help promote a safety culture:

• Recognition among peers and others. Most people work hard and do their jobs with little fanfare. Publicly recognizing excellence, on a wide scale, is something most people rarely, but would like to, receive.
• Tangible rewards. These can take many forms. Letters of commendation, plaques, and trophies are usually proudly displayed. Prizes, perhaps chosen from a catalog, are sometimes used, as is permitting a driver to upgrade the model or equipment on their vehicle. Combinations of all of these methods are another way to emphasize the safety message.
• Monetary. “Money talks,” as the saying goes, and monetary incentives can help bolster the effectiveness of the program. Monetary rewards don’t necessarily have to be in the form of a check; drivers can have personal use charges suspended or reduced for a set period, or something along those lines — anything that either provides money for a driver or reduces/prevents his or her money from going out the door. 

Employees — and people in general — are motivated in different ways. Some actually crave recognition above money, others want the money. Still others need both. It is easy to provide both recognition as well as some tangible or monetary reward in a safety incentive program, which helps motivate the broadest set of personalities.

Biggest Safe Driving Incentive of all...

You get to do this when you come home.

What and How to Measure

A combination of recognition and monetary/tangible rewards are usually the best way to motivate the largest number of drivers. However, what do you measure, and how do you measure it? “Keeping score” is also an important part of safety programs that work. Criteria should be clear, measurable, and fair to all. 

Fairness can sometimes be tricky to achieve. If, for example, drivers are judged, in part or overall, by chargeable accidents, drivers in congested urban areas are exposed to far more instances in which such accidents can occur (more intersections, traffic controls, and traffic) than drivers in wide-open, rural areas. Then again, rural drivers accumulate far more miles than those in urban and suburban areas where customers are closer together. For that reason, don’t make chargeable accidents the only measurement. Consider using accidents-per-thousand-miles driven, rather than just the number of accidents in a designated period.

Be sure to include violations, too. Assign points to various types of violations — the lowest number for administrative violations (expired registration or inspection), a bit higher for equipment (broken tail light, burned out headlight), higher still for moving violations (failure to yield, improper lane change), with the highest number of points for the most serious violations (speeding, reckless driving, following too closely). Drivers who get DUI/DWI violations shouldn’t be driving company-provided vehicles or, at the very least, should be excluded from the  incentive program.

More on: What and How To Measure, Checking the Program Period and Rewarding Safety

Don’t just throw checks at drivers who manage not to run the company car into a highway underpass. Choose your criteria, measure it, set the rewards, and most of all, communicate with drivers and management regularly.  Have sales managers announce award winners at scheduled conference calls or branch meetings. Highlight the program on the company website. Remember, the purpose of a fleet safety program is as much to foster a culture of safety throughout the organization as it is to recognize individuals. If done right, it works, and will save money, too.

Dear American Motorists: "If you can't stay AWAKE, then stay off the road."

School Transportation News
By Ryan Gray
11/7/11

Sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation, "Drowsy Driving Prevention Week" began Nov. 6 and concludes Nov. 12. According to a 2002 National Sleep Foundation study, half of all American adult drivers, especially young males, admitted to driving drowsy, and 20 percent said they had fallen asleep while behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, NHTSA estimates that drowsy driving causes 100,000 automobile crashes each year, which result in 71,000 fatalities and 1,550 fatalities. But NHTSA adds, drowsy driving can be the most difficult for police and crash investigators to detect and prove, unlike speeding, alcohol and drug use and weather.

"For more than 20 years fatigue has been recognized as a transportation danger on the NTSB's Most Wanted List," said NTSB's Hersman. "Tired drivers pose a safety risk because fatigue can degrade every aspect of human performance. It slows reaction time, impairs judgment, and degrades memory."

Fatigued driving among all drivers, including those with their CDLs, remains a hot-button issue for the NTSB, which only makes recommendations to U.S. Department of Transportation agencies, states and organizations on how to improve the nation's highway safety.

In addition to the common-sense recommendation that all drivers including transportation professionals get adequate sleep before getting behind the wheel, NTSB advises regulators to play a larger role to play in establishing commercial hours-of-service regulations. NTSB also said employers must develop guidance and rules for proper screening, detection and treatment for sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea.

"Drowsy Driving Prevention Week is an ideal time to remind drivers that being well rested is a safety measure that can save lives 52 weeks a year," adde Hersman. "If you can't stay alert, then stay off the road."

Mary Smarelli New President of TLPA

Congratulations Mary Smarelli

It is so refreshing when quality people

are recognized for a job well done!

Biz Times Daily
11/8/2011

The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) announced it has named Mary Smarelli, owner of one of Wisconsin’s largest passenger transportation companies, as its new president.

Smarelli owns Transit Express in Milwaukee, a company with a fleet of 150 vehicles including paratransit vans, buses, trolleys, limousines, executive cars and several riverboats. Since starting her company with just two wheelchair accessible vans more than 30 years ago, her company has risen to become one of the most respected leaders in the for-hire transportation industry.

Smarelli was voted into office at the TLPA’s 93rd annual Convention & Trade Show held Oct. 26-30 in San Francisco.

“The TLPA and its membership have really helped me grow my business over these many years, and this is a great honor to give back to it and to serve as its president,” Smarelli said.

“The TLPA represents the absolute best of our industry through our collective legislative voice, our professional training, our focus on customer service and safety, our community involvement, and our charitable giving.”

Established in 1917, the (TLPA) is a nonprofit trade association of and for the private passenger transportation industry.

Killing a MN Grandpa in a Crosswalk Yields a 7 Year Jail Sentence (truly sad)

Criminal Vehicular Homicide in MN

May be sentenced to Not More

Than 10 Years in Prison

or to Payment of a Fine of

Not More Than $20,000

or Both

Star Tribune
By Anthony Lonetree
November 3, 2011

When their paths crossed on St. Paul's East Side in July, Roger Tetu, 78, was a "man of honor" beloved by his Dayton's Bluff community, while Gregory J. Larsin, 21, was a felon whose life was "out of control," a judge said Thursday.

Larsin, driving with a suspended license, passed cars that were waiting for Tetu to cross Earl Street on July 26, and struck and killed him.

For three days, Larsin was on the run, trying to persuade a woman from whom he bought the car to report it stolen. But eventually he surrendered to police. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 7 1/3 years in prison for one count of criminal vehicular homicide.

"You are and continue to be a danger to the community," Ramsey County District Judge Robyn Millenacker said.

Tetu, in contrast, was an iconic patriarch, "a pillar of the community," said prosecutor Margaret Galvin.

She read to the court a victim impact statement written by a daughter, Nancy Tetu, who gave up trying to read it herself after she shook with emotion.

For 56 years, Roger Tetu lived in a house near where he died. Even in his late 70s, his daughter wrote, he shoveled snow for his neighbors, never complaining. He was crossing the street to pick up litter when he was hit and killed, friends and family said. Continue Reading

D.C. City Council Goes Pro-Pedestrian (How About Minneapolis?)

DCist.com

While the safety of cyclists on the District's roads has been at the center of many discussions of late, pedestrian-centric proposals are usually drowned out by the noise of who's to blame in the evolving relationship between the two-wheeled and their motorized counterparts. Today, though, two measures were introduced in the D.C. Council that would put additional emphasis on pedestrian safety.

Are we to believe it is acceptable for a D.C. motorist to pass a vehicle

stopped at a crosswalk...say WHAT? Tell me it is not so!

The first, which was proposed by Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), would mandate that if one car is stopped at a pedestrian crossing, any cars coming up behind it should also have to stop, rather than come around or pass on a two-lane road. According to the proposal, this would ensure that any pedestrians in the crosswalk would be able to safely finish crossing.

It is time for the Minneapolis City Council to consider a 15 mph on

residential side streets. The current 30 mph is simply insane.

The other measure, introduced by Councimember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), would lower speed limits on residential roads to 15 miles per hour. According to Bowser, concerns over speeding in residential neighborhoods has discouraged residents from walking and cycling, and she cited research noting that decreases in speed can have a substantial impact on how severe an injury to a pedestrian or cyclist could be. Under Bowser's proposal, arterial roadways would be exempted.

Both proposals were referred to the Council's Committee on Environment, Public Works and Transportation, which is chaired by Cheh.

Vigilant Transport Math

At 30 mph, a vehicle is traveling 44 feet per second and with an average (non-distracted reaction time) of 1.5 to 2 seconds, one has travelled 66 to 88 feet before hitting the brakes. One has already blown by 4 parked cars before hitting the brakes. So much for the youngster fetching the football. SLOW DOWN.

An average Minneapolis city block is 660 feet (north to south) so at 15 mph, it takes a mere 15 seconds longer to reach the next block versus flying down a side street at 30 mph. I maintain all pedestrians are worth at least 15 seconds per block!