Friday is the 13th of September. Are you superstitious and stay home from work? Think it's all non-sense? We're not here to judge. However, we're hear to give you a few random facts to share with your co-workers:

More than 60 million people worldwide claim to be affected by a fear of Friday 13th. Some of them won't go to work, drive cars or get out of bed on this day.
The independent horror flick Friday the 13th was released in May 1980 and despite only having a budget of $550,000 it grossed $39.7 million at the box office in the United States.
Ancient Romans regarded the number 13 as a symbol of death, destruction and misfortune.
Retired bus conductor Bob Renphrey of North Wales decided to spend every Friday 13 in bed after a run of bad luck on the fateful day during the early 1990s. Among other misfortunes he wrote off four cars, got made redundant, fell into a river, crashed a motorcycle and walked through a plate glass door.

Stay safe!

Let us know if you need anything from KYSITE!

- KYSITE Officers

kysite@kysite.com

Reminder: Register for the KYSITE Fall Meeting

The KYSITE Fall Meeting will be held on Monday, September 30th from 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM at the University Club at the University of Louisville. Registration numbers are looking good so far, but there is still space for you!

Speakers include:

Martin Bretherton, SDITE President
Eric Green, KYSITE Director
Clinton Deckard on the Big Four Bridge
Director Vanessa Burns, Louisville Metro Public Works

Please note:

Breakfast will be provided.
Attendees can obtain up to 3.0 PDH

Click here to register.

ITE Signs MOU Leading to Creation of Transportation Operations Center of Excellence

From ITE:

On Friday, August 30, 2013, ITE, ITS America and AASHTO signed a Memorandum of Understanding leading to the creation of a national Transportation Operations Center of Excellence. ITE, AASHTO and ITS America have been working in partnership with FHWA and the SHRP 2 program on the development of new tools to disseminate knowledge of transportation system management and operations and travel time reliability to practitioners.

The intent of the Operations Center of Excellence is to satisfy a strong desire of transportation professionals to draw on the tacit knowledge of other practitioners through best practices and peer-to-peer exchanges; and to consolidate resources that are currently spread across multiple agencies, professional associations and other organizations. The process will begin with the implementation of an enhanced knowledge transfer system that is a product of the reliability track of the SHRP 2 research program. This work will be coordinated with the on-going resources that ITE currently provides to the National Transportation Operations Coalition.

Change in US Car Culture Contibuting to Decrease in Highway Fatalities

by: Jarrod Stanley

The number of highway fatalities is decreeasing. Many of the factors are repeats, but there are a few new ones:

Boomers age out of high mile driving years
Cars (and motorcycles) too costly for teens and young adults
Average miles driven per driver has decreased 8% since before recession
Above decline more prevalent in male drivers than females(who are yes, safer drivers)
Auto use has not recovered since the end of the recession
Lifestyle changes, more shopping online and less in store purchases (less shopping trips)
Avg. miles driven per driver decreased 8% since before recession

For more information, click here.

Hong Kong, A Model For Public Transit

By: Billy Garrison

New York City residents always complain about the rising costs of the subway and the lack of improvement. Most don't realize that the ticket prices don't even cover the operational cost of the subway. Meanwhile in Hong Kong the public transportation system runs with a surplus and is more reliable. They do that by teaming with local businesses and even owning part of some of the businesses. To read how Hong Kong does this, click here.

Amazing Roads XIV

By: Anne Warnick

Up this week on the Weather Channel's 15 most amazing roads list is number 14, another crazy mountain road. All images and descriptions all come straight from weather.com.

The World's 15 Most Amazing Roads

Stelvio Pass, Italy

The highest paved mountain pass in Italy's Eastern Alps, the road we know today as the Stelvio Pass dates back to the early 1800s, when it was first built to connect the province of Lombardia with the rest of the Austrian empire. The mountain just above the pass is called Dreisprachenspitze or "Three Languages Peak," to mark the place where the German, Italian and Romansh languages meet.

Today, the challenging road features 60 hairpin turns winding near the Italian-Swiss border, 48 of which lie on the northern side of the pass and are numbered with rocks along the sides of the narrow road, which also features a pair of very steep inclines.

Weird Signs

Quick Hits

New Jersey Train Deaths Have Increased Since State Launched Safety Initiative

Franklin City Streets Are Key to Middle Tennessee Segment of US Bicycle Route

Lawmakers Look to Revive Los Angeles' 1984 Olympic Plan to Reduce Traffic

Distracting Drivers? Mississippi DOT Sees Memorials in Right-of-Way as Hazard

Transportation: A Big Challenge for Those with Dementia

Have You Seen This?

In honor of Friday the 13th, here's a re-cut of the movie as a teen comedy. It's slightly edgy -- I'd rate it as a PG-13 so be warned.

friday the 13th trailer re-cut

Thanks for your continued support of KYSITE!

2013 KYSITE Board; and

Scott Walker, Editor