NBC News recently featured a segment on distracted teen drivers. Accoridng to the article, "Motor vehicle crashes have long been one of the primary causes of death and injuries among teen drivers. But a new study by AAA finds that young motorists are also a danger to everyone else on the road.

In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in teen crashes in 2013, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, with nearly 400,000 injured. But a new AAA study finds that nearly two-thirds of the people injured or killed during a crash are people other than the teen behind the wheel.

ABC News also has a feature on the topic, including some video of distracted teen drivers before a crash. Based on video review, "distractions were a factor in nearly 60 percent of the moderate to severe teen crashes studied. That rate was more than four times the previous official estimates from police reports."

As a transportation professional, we invite you to get involved to help spread the word about the dangers of distracted driving. Southern District ITE President Bill Seymour has initiated a special committee to determine what the District can do to get involved in outreach activities. If interested in getting involved in Kentucky, please contact Ashley Williamson or Scott Walker.

(Editor's Note: Many of you may have already seen this post as part of the the Southern District ITE The Connector. However, we want to emphasize it's importance. If you skipped over it last time, please take a few minutes to read through it this time).

Have a great week!

- KYSITE Officers

kysite@kysite.com

New KY Booster Seat Law

Kylee (daughter of Past President Ashley Williamson) in her booster seat

A new law that went into effect on Wednesday may change how your child rides your vehicle. House Bill 315 requires that children younger than 8 and between 40 and 57 inches tall be secured in a booster seat. Please make sure to spread the word to keep all kids in Kentucky safe.

Why is this important? "Partners for Child Passenger Safety say more than 90% of 4 to 8-year-old children who are seriously injured in a crash are not restrained in a booster seat."

For more information on the law from KSP, click here. Here's a link to an article from WDRB.

And while you are at it, don't forget to buckle up yourself.

America's Transportation Future

Throughout our history, investments in transportation have led America forward. Now is the time to renew this legacy for the next generation. To watch the video click this link.

Source is AASHTO Daily Digest Bulletin.

Banning Turns in San Francisco

Submitted by: Steve De Witte

From the Atlantic CityLab

"There are all sorts of things a city can do in the service of safer streets, from reducing speed limits to making room for bike lanes to handing out gift cards to law-abiding drivers. San Francisco just added another strategy to the list: restricting turns.

The move is part of a package of changes called the Safer Market Street plan-a subset of San Francisco's broader Vision Zero initiative-that recently won the unanimous approval of city officials. Under the new rules, private cars will have limited chances to turn onto Market Street for a mile-long stretch between 3rd and 8th streets."

For more information, click here.

Member Spotlight

Submitted by: Steve De Witte

Name: Christopher Barrow

Place of Work: Parsons Brinckerhoff

Title: ITS/Traffic Engineer

Degree: BS Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; MS Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Place of Birth: Illinois

Family: Wife (Ariel), Daughters (Aubrey [7], Sophia [4]), Son (Blake [2])

What are your technical interests?: Freeway and Arterial Operations, Ramp Metering, Incident Management, and ITS applications

What are your hobbies?: Kids activities (soccer, golf, swimming, and plays), Reading, Golf, and Travel

Favorites:

Color: Green

TV Show: The Black List

Music (Podcast): Your Move with Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church, EntreLeadership, Chris Brown True Stewardship, The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

Breakfast Food: French Toast with powdered sugar

Sport/Team: Golf

Five Quick Questions:

A. Coke or Pepsi: Coke

B. Dogs or Cats: Dogs

C. Facebook or Twitter: eh

D. iPhone or Android: iPhone

E. Cats or Cards: eh

Three interesting facts about you:

1. Wife and I are High School sweet hearts (married for 9 years)

2. I have probably driven your dream car. (Valet, 3 years in Atlanta)

3. Selected by endowment fund during Grad School to take a trip to Russia (St. Petersburg and Moscow) and Finland (Helsinki) to review their transportation systems

If you are interesting in being featured in an upcoming edition, please contact me at dewittesg@cdmsmith.com!

Mysterious Old Bridges

With all of this hot weather we've been having, the snow on this week's bridge in Scotland looks pretty nice! Thanks to Charles Schaub for passing these along.

Carrbridge, Scotland

Source

Weird Signs

Quick Hits

Commuting to Work in the 30 Largest U.S. Cities

SpaceX announces Hyperloop design competition at its Hawthorne test track

U.S. is Locked in to an Aging Highway System

Few Vehicles Equipped for Easy Child Safety Seat Installation, Study Finds

NTSB Calls for Immediate Action on Collision Avoidance Systems for Vehicles

Have You Seen That?

Disney animators frequently used to recycle footage from older animated films. They would draw over existing animation cells to make new scenes with characters with similar designs, characteristics, and movements.

Thanks for your continued support of KYSITE!

2015 KYSITE Board; and

Stuart Sparks, Editor
Scott Walker, Editor