January 2018
Issue 44
In This Issue:

  • 2018 Workshop Calendar Now Available!
  • New Tailgate Talk - Dressing for Winter Work & Protecting Yourself from Cold Stress
  • Tips from Tony
  • Innovation Station: Minnesota DOT Tests Driverless Shuttle Bus
  • Snow Shoveling Secrets
  • Happy New Year from the T2 Center
  • Tips from Tony - Answer
Our mission is to foster a safe, efficient, environmentally sound transportation system by improving skills and knowledge of local transportation providers through training, technical assistance, and technology transfer.
2018 Workshop Calendar Now Available!


The 2018 T2 Training Calendar is Available!
Click here to view training opportunities available in 2018.
The T2 Training Team has been hard at work planning another year full of opportunities for you and your crews to learn about new technologies and practices, share ideas and innovations and improve your operations. We hope you find the variety of offerings interesting and beneficial to your agency.

We will continue to update the schedule with dates and locations, so check in with us regularly. As you review the schedule and develop your department's professional development plan for 2018, please feel free to contact us with questions. If you are interested in hosting a class, please email Shelly Desjardin at [email protected] .
New Tailgate Talk - Dressing for Winter Work & Protecting Yourself from Cold Stress
The T2 Center is thrilled to announce we will be publishing 12 new Tailgate Talks. We will publish one per month in the year 2018. Each Tailgate Talk focuses on one on-the-job safety topic and is designed to be shared with your crew at the beginning of their day. When employees are presented with safety material in small portions, in a setting in which they are comfortable, they are more likely to retain that information and put into practice.

The first Tailgate Talk of 2018 focuses on Dressing for Winter Work & Protecting Yourself from Cold Stress. Cold weather can limit your ability to see, hear, smell, and touch as well as hinder your ability to recognize danger. It is usually difficult to be productive when you are cold, too. Therefore, it is important to dress for weather conditions. Workers who are exposed to extreme cold or work in cold environments may be at risk of cold stress. Extremely cold or wet weather is a dangerous situation that can cause occupational illness and injuries such as hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot, and chilblains.

To continue to the Dressing for Winter Work & Protecting Yourself from Cold Stress Tailgate Talk, click on the button below.
Tips from Tony
Do you know what the appropriate colors should be for traffic control devices in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), including this sign?
Find the answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
If you have roadway safety questions, please contact:
Anthony Lorenzetti, P.E. - Safety Circuit Rider
(860) 486-5847 or [email protected]
Innovation Station: Minnesota DOT Tests Driverless Shuttle Bus
With a cheery chime, a small, squarish minibus eased forward and tentatively took to the "highway" on December 12, advancing to a speed of 3 miles per hour in the frigid morning air.

The road was actually part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation's MnROAD cold-weather pavement testing facility, a self-contained area in Monticello not open to normal traffic.

And the bus — more like moving pod, really — is part of MnDOT's Autonomous Bus Project, a pilot program for pilotless vehicles that will help determine how they operate in cold weather.

The clime in Monticello did not disappoint, as MnDOT hosted a phalanx of media to show off the project. The public will get a peek during the Super Bowl LII festivities, when the buses are demonstrated on Nicollet Mall.
Snow Shoveling Secrets

Once should be enough when it comes to shoveling snow out of your driveway. Unfortunately, snow can end up re-deposited across your driveway entrance when plows clear your street. The Missouri Department of Transportation has a simple solution to help you avoid a second round of shoveling.

Scooping snow about 10 feet away to the left of your driveway is the key. This leaves enough room for a snow plow clearing your street to deposit the excess snow in the free area you created, thus keeping your driveway entrance clear.

Many towns now have their own Facebook pages, please feel free to share this video of helpful hints and techniques with your town residents.
Happy New Year from the T2 Center Team

From all of us at the T2 Center, wishing every day of your new year is filled with success, happiness and prosperity. Safe & Happy New Year! We look forward to working with you in 2018.
Tips from Tony ~ Answer
This sign shall have a yellow-green background with black legend and border in accordance with the MUTCD.

Section 7B.07 Sign Color for School Warning Signs on page 734.

The standard says: " School warnings signs, including the "SCHOOL" portion of the School Speed Limit (S5-1) sign and including any supplemental plaques used in association with these warning signs, shall have a fluorescent yellow-green background with black legend and border unless otherwise provided in this manual for a specific sign. "

See Section 1A.12 (03) on page 10 of the MUTCD for all traffic control devices.

Standard:
The general meaning of the 13 colors shall be as follows:
A. Black—regulation
B. Blue—road user services guidance, tourist information, and evacuation route
C. Brown—recreational and cultural interest area guidance
D. Coral—unassigned
E. Fluorescent Pink—incident management
F. Fluorescent Yellow-Green—pedestrian warning, bicycle warning, playground warning, school bus and school warning
G. Green—indicated movements permitted, direction guidance
H. Light Blue—unassigned
I. Orange—temporary traffic control
J. Purple—lanes restricted to use only by vehicles with registered electronic toll collection (ETC) accounts
K. Red—stop or prohibition
L. White—regulation
M. Yellow—warning
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Use these links to get more information about the Connecticut Technology Transfer (T2) Center:
If you have any ideas or suggestions for future  Connecticut Crossroads  topics, please feel free to email the designer Regina Hackett at  [email protected]