Transportation Issues News

November 22, 2024

Top Headlines

New Research Reveals How Large-Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles Can Improve Air Quality and Human Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research team used computer simulations to show that ...

Autonomous Vehicles Could Understand Their Passengers Better With ChatGPT

Sep. 16, 2024 — Imagine simply telling your vehicle, 'I'm in a hurry,' and it automatically takes you on the most efficient route to where you need to be. Engineers found that an autonomous vehicle (AV) can do this with the help of ChatGPT or other chatbots made ...

To Build a Thriving Electric Vehicle Market, Prioritize Equity and Justice

Aug. 28, 2024 — When it comes to purchasing and using electric vehicles (EVs), housing- and income-related factors significantly shape perceptions and preferences among potential buyers, finds a new study. This research is among the first to examine both EV ...

Engineers Develop AI System for Real-Time Sensing of Flooded Roads

Aug. 28, 2024 — Roadway-related incidents are a leading cause of flood fatalities nationwide, but limited flood-reporting tools make it difficult to evaluate road conditions in real ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:30am EST

Scientists Unveil Strategies to Make Self-Driven Vehicles Passenger-Friendly

Nov. 6, 2024 — Automated vehicles promise to improve urban mobility, but passenger trust remains a challenge. Providing timely, passenger-specific explanations for ...

Texting While Walking Puts Pedestrians in Danger

Oct. 7, 2024 — Research analyzing actual pedestrian interactions with vehicles on busy streets concludes that distracted pedestrians face higher safety risks compared with undistracted road users. The study found ...

Bicycle Rolling-Stop Laws Don't Lead to Unsafe Behavior by Riders or Motorists, Research Shows

Aug. 26, 2024 — Laws that let bicyclists treat stop signs as yield signs lead neither riders nor motorists to act unsafely, according to a groundbreaking ...

Warehousing Industry Increases Health-Harming Pollutants, Research Shows

July 24, 2024 — A new study shows an average 20-percent spike of nitrogen dioxide polluting the air for communities located near huge warehouses. And people of color are harder ...

Study Shows New Efficiency Standards for Heavy Trucks Could Boost Energy Use

July 18, 2024 — A new study suggests that the U.S. government's push to increase heavy-duty trucks' energy efficiency could encourage more shipping by truck instead ...

Trust, More Than Knowledge, Critical for Acceptance of Fully Autonomous Vehicles

July 9, 2024 — While not yet on the market, fully autonomous vehicles are promoted as a way to make road travel dramatically safer, but a recent study found that ...

Study Reveals High Rate of Drowsy Driving by Teens

June 4, 2024 — A new study found that drowsy driving by teenagers is a common threat to public safety on U.S. ...

Subtle Cognitive Decline Precedes End to Driving for Older Adults

May 22, 2024 — Even slight cognitive changes can affect an older person's decision to stop driving, according to a new study. The findings suggest that routine cognitive testing -- in particular, the kind of ...

New Transit Station in Japan Significantly Reduced Cumulative Health Expenditures

May 14, 2024 — A research team assessed the impact of a train station's opening on health expenditures. The natural experiment study revealed that a new mass ...

Child Pedestrians, Self-Driving Vehicles: What's the Safest Scenario for Crossing the Road?

Apr. 24, 2024 — Crossing roads for children can be a risky calculation, especially when the vehicles are self-driven. In a new study, researchers determined ...

Engineers Unveil AI Model for Predicting, Controlling Pandemic Spread

Oct. 24, 2024 — A team of engineers has published a study on how international air travel has influenced the spread of COVID-19, finding Western Europe, the Middle East and North America as leading regions in ...

Researchers Find Possible Inaccuracies in Crash-Reported Child Passenger Injuries

Aug. 14, 2024 — Researchers found discrepancies between crash reports and hospital data that might paint an incomplete or inaccurate picture of how crashes impact the safety of child passengers. Enhancing the ...

Study Quantifies Air Pollution for NYC Subway Commuters

Aug. 7, 2024 — New York City subway commuters who are economically disadvantaged or belong to racial minority groups have the highest exposure to fine particulate matter during their commutes, according to a new ...

Innovative Modeling Aims to Curb Teen Drunken Driving Fatalities

July 29, 2024 — New research is shedding new light on the complex issue of drinking and driving among teens and young adults in the ...

Electric Scooter and Bike Accidents Are Soaring Across the United States

July 23, 2024 — In the crowded urban landscape, where small electric vehicles -- primarily scooters and bicycles -- have transformed short distance travel, researchers are reporting a major national surge in ...

Traffic Speeds Decrease When Bike Lane Is Present

June 3, 2024 — Researchers conducting a study at a high-traffic intersection in a Jersey Shore town have found that the installation of a bike lane along the road approaching the convergence reduced driving ...

GeoAI Technologies for Sustainable Urban Development

Apr. 15, 2024 — From heatwaves to pandemic diseases, the urban environments of the world face numerous challenges. Researchers are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and informatics to address emerging concerns ...

One-Third of Ride-Share Drivers Have Had a Crash on the Job, Survey Finds

Apr. 4, 2024 — Using a cell phone, driving while tired and driving on unfamiliar roads increased the likelihood of a ...

New Traffic Signal Would Improve Travel Time for Both Pedestrians and Vehicles

Mar. 12, 2024 — Adding a fourth light to traffic signals -- in addition to red, green and yellow -- would shorten wait times at street corners for pedestrians, as well as improve traffic flow for both autonomous ...

Scientists Revolutionize Wireless Communication With Three-Dimensional Processors

Mar. 4, 2024 — Scientists have pioneered a method for using semiconductor technology to manufacture processors that significantly enhance the efficiency of transmitting vast amounts of data across the ...

Improving Traffic Signal Timing With a Handful of Connected Vehicles

Feb. 20, 2024 — With GPS data from as little as 6% of vehicles on the road, researchers can recalibrate traffic signals to significantly reduce congestion and delays at ...

Determining Who Gets Blamed When Cars Hit Pedestrians

Feb. 13, 2024 — A new study examines the circumstances behind who is found at fault when cars hit pedestrians in an urban area. Results showed that the environment where the crash took place -- especially the types ...

Road Features That Predict Crash Sites Identified in New Machine-Learning Model

Feb. 13, 2024 — Issues such as abrupt changes in speed limits and incomplete lane markings are among the most influential factors that can predict road crashes, finds new research. The study then used machine ...

Using Idle Trucks to Power the Grid With Clean Energy

Jan. 15, 2024 — Researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids. After analyzing energy demand on Alberta's power grid ...

In the Driver's Seat: Study Explores How We Interact With Remote Drivers

Jan. 13, 2024 — Research is helping shed light on the important interaction between users and remote drivers that oversee the operation of automated ...

How Big Events Can Disrupt Public Transit Over an Entire City

Dec. 19, 2023 — New technology has allowed scientists to see how a major sporting event can disrupt public transportation in an entire city for hours before and after the ...

Using Machine Learning to Monitor Driver 'Workload' Could Help Improve Road Safety

Dec. 7, 2023 — Researchers have developed an adaptable algorithm that could improve road safety by predicting when drivers are able to safely interact with in-vehicle systems or receive messages, such as traffic ...

To Help Autonomous Vehicles Make Moral Decisions, Researchers Ditch the 'Trolley Problem'

Dec. 1, 2023 — Researchers have developed a new experiment to better understand what people view as moral and immoral decisions related to driving vehicles, with the goal of collecting data to train autonomous ...

Decarbonizing Light-Duty Transportation in the United States: Study Reveals Strategies to Achieve Goal

Nov. 6, 2023 — Researchers found that meeting greenhouse gas emissions goals for light-duty vehicles, which are passenger vehicles such as cars and trucks, is possible, but not just by increasing electric vehicle ...

Gaming Strategy Helps Plan for and Prevent Attacks on Infrastructure

Oct. 30, 2023 — As technology continues to advance, the likelihood of malevolent attacks and subsequent failures on society's critical infrastructures increases. Blackouts, water shortages, transport collapses ...