Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations

When Peer Pressure Is a Good Thing: Messaging, Behavior Modification and Young Driver Safety

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

TTI is approaching 25 years in researching and championing young driver safety through initiatives like the groundbreaking Teens in the Driver Seat pr...

Behind the Curve? The Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation Advocates for Hardening Security for the U.S.'s Global Position System

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Resilient Navigation and Timing (RNT) Foundation is a public benefit and scientific and educational charity, 501(c)3, organization. Its members ad...

Staffing the USDOT: Turnover, Teambuilding and Transportation Policy

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When a new U.S. presidential administration is inaugurated, federal agencies experience changes in leadership and staff. Nicole Nason served as admini...

A Lifetime on the Move: Tyler Duvall's Lessons Learned from a Career in Transportation

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tyler Duvall--currently CEO and co-founder of Cavnue, an infrastructure company dedicated to building safer, more efficient roadways while adapting to...

A New Captain Takes Command of TTI's Center for Ports and Waterways

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Established in 1995 by the Texas Legislature, TTI's Center for Ports and Waterways (CPW) provides valuable applied research and expertise to the ...

Revisited: Our 100th Episode! Celebrating 75 Years of the TTI-TxDOT Partnership.

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 In 1950, the Texas A&M Board of Directors charged the Texas Transportation Institute (now the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI) to...

Beyond Flying Cars: The Latest on Transportation's Tech Evolution

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As he prepares to head out to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the ITS World Congress, we check in with TTI Senior Research Engineer Bob Brydia about the l...

Ride Smart, Stay Alive: Motorcycle Helmets Reduce Risks for Injury or Death for Riders

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Motorcyclists love the freedom of the open road. But freedom isn't free, and sometimes the price incautious riders pay after a crash is severe br...

Score! We look at Texas roads and bridges in light of ASCE's 2025 Infrastructure Report Card.

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues its Report Card for America's Infrastructure. Expressed in reader-friendl...

Eyes on the Road! Encouraging Behaviors to Reduce Distracted Driving

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 40,000 Americans die...

It Takes a Village: In the Air or on the Ground, Safety Takes Teamwork

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tracing its origins to the Air Commerce Act of 1926, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established in 1967 as an independent agency ...

Our 100th Episode! Celebrating 75 Years of the TTI-TxDOT Partnership

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1950, the Texas A&M Board of Directors charged the Texas Transportation Institute (now the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI) to e...

Revisited: Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Folks are living longer thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, and that means our overall U.S. population is skewing older. The Tex...

The Math Doesn't Lie: Roundabouts Make Driving Safer, More Reliable, and Less Technology Dependent

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Roundabouts and other innovative intersections offer a number of advantages over more traditional designs, including improved sustainability, reliabil...

Revolution Requires Evolution: We Need New Roadside Safety Standards for Electric Vehicles

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2024, TTI's Roadside Safety and Physical Security Team crashed a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) into a heavy-duty guardrail at 62 mi...

Innovation, Education, Communication: TTI's University Transportation Centers

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the University Transportation Centers Program provides grants to college and university consort...

Trending Teens: What TTI's Latest Research Says about Young Driver Attitudes and Behaviors

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For more than two decades, TTI has championed young driver safety, preventing injury and saving lives through education, empowerment, and peer-led out...

Bridge to Everywhere: How to Keep International Trucks Moving While Expanding The Bridge of the Americas.

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

International commerce depends on trucks crossing national borders regularly, reliably, and securely. Ports of entry like the bridges connecting the U...

Virtual Degree, Real-World Opportunity: Texas A&M Online Master's of Engineering Offers Recipients New Career Options

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Texas A&M University's Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering offers an online master of engineering in engineering degree designed for ...

Long Trains Runnin': How Freight Trains Impact U.S. Communities According to a Recently Released Study Requested by Congress

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On September 17, 2024, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report following a study of freight trains longer than ...

EVolving Attitudes, Expanding Infrastructure: Electric Vehicles Are Charging Ahead Thanks to Public Sector Incentives.

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Washington Post recently reported that electric vehicles (EVs) now outnumber gas-powered cars in Norway, the first country to claim that distincti...

Revisited: Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 15-21) just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit our interview with Mark Willis fro...

Celebrating a Lifetime Storyteller: Bernie Fette passes the baton to our podcast's new host, Allan Rutter.

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This 89th episode of Thinking Transportation is a landmark event. Host Bernie Fette, who is retiring from service to the state of Texas after more tha...

Not So Fast! Can driver behavior influence how speed limits are set?

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Factors that determine speed limits on a given roadway have a lot to do with physical conditions along the route, but how fast drivers want to go figu...

Revisited: At the Intersection of Engineering and Psychology -- How a diverse team manages special event traffic.

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When special events set new records for attendance, they tend to do the same for roadway gridlock. To ensure success, experts rely on the right mix of...

The Never Ending Story? Why road projects take so long to complete.

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Building a new highway involves a complex and painstaking process, one that begins years before the folks in hard hats and orange vests arrive on the ...

Anchors Aweigh: How maritime interests occupy a vital link in the freight industry.

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We rely upon waterborne shipping for most of the products we buy and use every day. We hardly give that reliance any thought at all – until somethin...

Is Traffic Back to Pre-COVID Levels? That depends on where you live.

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not enough to know that traffic is bad and getting worse. We also need to know where, when, and why. TTI Senior Research Scientist and urban mo...

Revisited--Exit This Way: Research informing upgrades in hurricane evacuation planning.

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the 2024 hurricane season approaches again, climate experts across the United States are predicting an especially active season, driven largely by ...

A Two-Edged Sword: In-vehicle technologies can either help us or hurt us.

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As car makers focus on protecting drivers and passengers, do their computer-based innovations really make us safer, or might they in some cases compro...

Bhatt and Winfree: Two industry leaders and their shared optimism for the future.

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree reflect upon a wide range of mobility challenges and opportunities, with referen...

Will AI Help Us Realize Our Highest Hopes or Our Deepest Fears?

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 Artificial intelligence seeks to replicate the analytical and creative capabilities of the human brain. Perhaps that lofty ambition helps to explain...

More Transit Agencies Are Jumping on the Battery-Powered Bandwagon.

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cities working to become leaders in clean transportation are electrifying their bus fleets, and learning that the road to success can be a bumpy one.

Neil Pedersen Has a Question: Are we willing to stick our necks out?

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The former leader of TRB may have stepped away from full-time employment, but he hasn’t stepped away entirely from the industry he has helped to gui...

Roadside Mysteries: When utilities pose unique challenges for roadway construction.

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every road construction project involves the hidden element of utilities in the right of way. That work isn’t necessarily as visible, but it’s eve...

Is Public Transit Back to Pre-pandemic Normal? That depends on where you look.

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The transit industry is better equipped to work through a public health crisis than it was before COVID-19. And even as it faces persistent challenges...

Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Drivers over age 80 are more prone to serious and deadly crashes. As this population segment grows, researchers are working toward fresh countermeasur...

Behind the Wheel, What We Think and What We Do Can Define Who We Are.

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Attitudes and behaviors related to driving reveal our traffic safety culture. Like other forms of culture, it has a way of changing over time— and n...

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How it’s easy to overlook our reliance on GPS.

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With near-magical precision, GPS applications reliably guide multiple functions for us every moment of every day. But as they hold great promise, thos...

How to Ensure That US Infrastructure Remains Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts.

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

America’s infrastructure was built to last, but it wasn’t built to last forever. The Center for Infrastructure Renewal is focusing on how to ensur...

Can Imperiled Creatures Survive and Thrive amid Widespread Roadway Construction?

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The well-being of creatures protected under the Endangered Species Act is a high priority for transportation agencies. That’s good for the critters,...

Can Solar Panels in Highway ROW Be the Next Big Step in Renewable Energy?

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In using roadsides for the collection of solar power, can we succeed in achieving both environmental and economic goals? It all depends on how you def...

We Rank the 2,138 Most Congested Roads in Texas. Is your daily drive on the list?

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Traffic congestion is relative, because what constitutes gridlock depends a lot on where you live. Clearly, though, it’s no longer just a big city p...

Revisited--Big and Bright: The view from TxDOT CEO Marc Williams’ Chair.

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As we gather for the 97th Annual Transportation Short Course, we're revisiting our interview with Texas Department of Transportation CEO Marc Wil...

Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness. They find insight and community through the vast ...

When Mobility Needs Are Like Snowflakes: TTI’s outposts focus on singular urban challenges.

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 It’s been said that all politics is local. Given the unique nature of major population centers everywhere, the same could be said for transportati...

Minor Stress Factors Can Cause Major Problems, Even in the Best Driving Conditions

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Obvious pressures when we’re driving on the roadways—like aggressive drivers, stormy weather, and unruly passengers—are widely recognized. But l...

Lofty Ambitions Are Fueling the Move Toward Sustainable Transportation

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Decarbonizing the transportation sector—the single-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions—won’t happen overnight. But the U.S. Department of...

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year high.

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The dangers for those who travel on foot have constituted a public health challenge for as long as we’ve had motor vehicles. Why are pedestrian deat...

What If? ... How modelers envision the worst to enable the best response.

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Disasters – whether natural or man-made – can cripple transportation systems. Sophisticated modeling can go a long way in minimizing disruptions a...

Is America’s Infrastructure Turning a Corner?

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two years have passed since America’s last road and bridge report card, and we’ll wait another two years for the next one. An unofficial mid-term ...

The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor: Recognizing vision, passion, and purpose.

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Texas owes its transportation primacy in large part to an elite group of visionary leaders whose contributions merit permanent and meaningful places i...

Fewer Motorcycle Safety Coaches, More Unlicensed Riders, More Crashes: Is there a link?

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, roughly half of the motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in Texas were unlicensed. Safety advocates are working to enlist more ins...

Charging Ahead: How the Electrified Mobility Collaborative envisions a radical shift.

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 300 million vehicles are on American roads today. Nearly all of them run on gasoline or diesel, so a large-scale shift to electric power would ...

For Bernie Wagenblast, both career and life have been all about transition.

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a transportation journalist, Bernie Wagenblast has been weaving narratives of a professional sort for more than 40 years. As it turns out, one of h...

Hidden Treasures: Remote community airports play an essential role in Texas life.

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The value that small general aviation airports deliver far exceeds what their modest size might suggest. To many local government officials, those fac...

Revisited--Highway to the Danger Zone: Hazards abound where road work advances.

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As we’re about to observe National Work Zone Awareness Week and in light of a work zone crash last month in Maryland, in which 6 workers were killed...

Off the Rails, On the QT: Train derailments happen daily, though few grab our attention.

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Major railroad disasters tend to produce major news headlines, but there are hundreds of derailments each year in America that we never hear about. Wh...

Turning the Tables: When a transportation journalist is the one answering, not asking, the questions.

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been said that journalists are responsible for writing the first draft of history. As the transportation writer for the Houston Chronicle, Dug ...

Engineering a Career Path: Sometimes, a 7th grade dream can actually come true.

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Even after wrapping up a 46-year stretch at TTI, Tim Lomax still enjoys the adrenaline rush that comes from finding new traffic challenges, and fixing...

One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Maintaining our roadway infrastructure demands a varied scientific approach.

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

America’s roads were built to last, but they weren’t built to last forever. New research is taking a forensic approach to maintaining and repairin...

Bent, But Not Broken: How global supply chains demonstrate post-pandemic resilience.

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most of what we buy and use every day comes to us on cargo ships, which represent essential links in worldwide distribution systems. A global public h...

At the Intersection of Engineering and Psychology: How a diverse team manages special event traffic.

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Big-time athletic events can create big-time roadway gridlock. Experts game out the possibilities to navigate chaos – from the first car in, to the ...

Uncommonly Deadly: Wrong-way crashes are small in number, immense in devastation.

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wrong-way crashes on high-speed roadways are uncommon, but they’re almost always fatal. Ongoing research is supporting countermeasures to help drive...

All Aboard? When unions, management, and Congress dodged a nationwide rail strike.

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rail industry employees and management were at odds for months and on the verge of a nationwide shutdown, until Congress and the White House invoked a...

It Takes a (Big) Village: How a community of transportation pros is making mobility better.

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Institute of Transportation Engineers is wrapping up a pivotal year in its history. Jeff Paniati, the organization’s CEO, and TTI's Beverly...

Border Balancing Act: Finding harmony between commercial efficiency and security demands.

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Along America’s 2,000-mile border with Mexico, there’s plenty of room for things to go awry when it comes to the secure, efficient movement of peo...

Sharing the Load on Texas Roads: Are overweight trucks paying their fair share?

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Big trucks cause more damage to transportation infrastructure, but they pay less to use roads and bridges than passenger vehicles do. New research fin...

Big and Bright: The view from TxDOT CEO Marc Williams’ chair.

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Despite some Texas-sized mobility challenges and worldwide supply-chain obstacles, the guy in charge of the Texas Department of Transportation wants y...

Drilling for Solutions: A gusher of new data is helping cut crash numbers in Texas’ Permian Basin.

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Large vehicle collisions in and around the giant West Texas oil patch in recent years have been alarmingly frequent and serious. Through a partnership...

Under the Influence of Youth: Most teens are eligible to drive at age 16, but are they ready?

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Young drivers face greater risks on the road than any other group. Some of the reasons for that are unlikely to change, but one thing that’s clearly...

Of Needles and Haystacks: For truck drivers, finding a parking space is tougher than ever.

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic helped to expose a chronic shortage of truck drivers in America – and a scarcity of places for those truckers to park, too. Th...

All over the Map: Just two car guys talking about transportation.

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From self-driving tech to safety culture and power grids. When a transportation research leader and an auto industry journalist cross paths, the conve...

Safety in Numbers? As bicycle use grows more popular, crash numbers carry mixed messages.

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Along with the growing popularity of bicycling comes an increased need for safety. But while the number of bicycle crash injuries dropped during 2020,...

On the Ascent: General aviation in Texas is more indispensable than ever.

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Numbering nearly 300, Texas has more community airports than counties. Largely out of view and out of mind for most of us, they are nonetheless centra...

Exit This Way: Research informing upgrades in hurricane evacuation planning.

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Predictions for an especially active hurricane season place added importance on the research and planning that begins long before extreme weather stri...

Building by the Numbers: How economic indicators guide road construction.

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Some statistics like population growth and the price of crude oil are directly linked to transportation planning in Texas. But others—like commercia...

When the Workplace Is Behind the Wheel: Improving occupational safety for truckers (and the rest of us).

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Close to half of all workplace deaths result from transportation incidents, including crashes that involve large trucks. Drivers of those trucks are a...

Cars Can Track Our Driving Habits: Who owns that data, and what's being done with it?

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The newest cars on the road today generate huge amounts of data, telling us much about our driving habits and helping us build and operate our roadway...

Beyond Skin Deep: The humble roadway is about more than asphalt and concrete.

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s pavements bear little resemblance to the driving surfaces of the early 1900s. Research Engineer Darlene Goehl explains how decades of experi...

When a Crash Is No Accident: Staging roadside collisions to make them more survivable.

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes vehicle crashes can’t be avoided, but it is possible to make them less life threatening. Senior Research Engineer Lance Bullard joins us t...

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? Keeping tabs on self-driving tech.

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the first lessons we learned about autonomous travel remains true today: Building a self-driving car is a lot more difficult than many people e...

Multiple Stakeholders, One Purpose: The vision of “clean transportation” involves much more than electric cars.

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Government agencies, utilities, vehicle manufacturers, and related industries all have a stake in a clean transportation future. Though they share a c...

First, Do No Harm: When endangered species habitats lie in a roadway’s path.

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Unintended encounters with cars and trucks are bad news for animals. Not only do creatures face dangers on existing roads, they’re often imperiled f...

Upsides and Downsides: Transportation and public health share a complicated union.

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How we develop our transportation systems has direct and lasting impacts on personal well-being. Associate Research Scientist Ben Ettelman explains ho...

Channeling George Jetson: We could have flying cars sooner than we think.

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of urban air mobility (UAM) envisions the safe and efficient movement of people and cargo at low altitudes within populated areas. Many co...

When Traffic Takes Sick Leave: COVID’s effect on Texas roadways.

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

TTI researchers have measured traffic gridlock through an urban area lens for decades. Senior Research Scientist David Schrank explains why they’ve ...

Partners in Purpose: How universities and the Transportation Research Board find solutions together through science and innovation.

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Transportation improvements require tireless effort and inspired innovation. TTI Executive Associate Director Katie Turnbull and Neil Pedersen, execut...

Highway to the Danger Zone: Hazards abound where road work advances.

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The number of fatal crashes in America is up by about 7 percent over the past decade. But in roadway work zones, it’s up by more than 40 percent. Se...

Strong as Their Weakest Link: What the pandemic taught us about supply chains.

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Supply chains everywhere were strained to their limits long before the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic simply exposed weaknesses that were already the...

Innovation U: In a transportation research rivalry, everyone is a winner.

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 Greg Winfree and Zac Doerzaph, leaders of America’s two most prominent transportation research agencies, share their insights on the nation’s mo...

From BAC to THC: How the impaired driving danger is evolving.

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The latest statistics tell us that while driving drunk has become a bit less common, driving high is more prevalent than ever. As Senior Research Scie...

Can We Talk? How meaningful engagement can create public support for transportation projects.

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The idea of engaging the public on decisions about how to spend public transportation dollars seems perfectly reasonable, but it’s not how things we...

Charging Ahead: How electric trucks can re-shape the freight and delivery industry.

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The electrification of the medium- and large-truck fleet is driven by both business interests and climate concerns, and it’s boosted by leaps in bat...

Ready or Not, Here They Come: Preparing for the electric vehicle transformation.

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 The number of electric cars and trucks on our roadways is growing, and the pace of that growth is accelerating. Are we ready for that? TTI Assistant...

To Have or Have Not: When transformative mobility options are beyond the reach of underserved populations.

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travel for many of us has become more convenient, affordable, productive and, in some cases, more enjoyable than ever. But not everyone enjoys the ben...

Raising Them Right: Cultivating the next generation of transportation professionals.

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Just as roads and bridges need regular reinforcement, so too do the professionals who help us travel safely and smoothly on our transportation network...

What We Think, We Become: How traffic safety knowledge influences driver behavior.

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever occupies our thoughts can influence our performance on the road. In this episode, Senior Research Scientist Katie Womack takes a close look a...

When Captives Become Cargo: How transportation professionals can disrupt human trafficking.

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An efficient transportation network is central to the success of any commercial enterprise, including those that aren’t legal. Our roads and bridges...

There’s Danger Afoot: Death by walking remains a chronic roadway safety issue.

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 Cars and pedestrians have been sharing space on city streets for more than a century, and traveling on foot remains as dangerous as it’s ever been...