- Safety Matters: EDC Safety Summit Series
- Special Edition Coffee & Conversation: Getting Ready for ELDT (Entry-Level Driver Training)
- Signal Spotlight: The Role of Traffic Signals in Traffic Incident Management
- Innovation Station: 2011 CT Creative Solutions Award Winner - Automated Watering System
- Congratulations! New Executive Director of OSTA
- 2021 National Honorees of FHWA Build a Better Mousetrap Program
- NIOSH's 10 Actions to Protect Drivers at Work
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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is hosting EDC Safety Summit Series every Wednesday in September. To learn more on deploying life-saving innovations, overcoming challenges, sharing your own success stories, and building your network, register today!
This summit will highlight seven Every Day Counts (EDC) safety innovations, and share how they can save lives. The series will benefit those who are just beginning to implement these innovations, those who are further along and could gain from peer-to-peer engagement, and those with success stories to share. It will include opportunities to discuss hot topics with peers and establish relationships that can boost success now and in the future.
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Safety Summit Schedule and Featured EDC Innovations:
The summit will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET each day and is open to all State, local, and tribal stakeholders. Participants can join for one or all five Wednesdays.
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Special Edition Coffee & Conversation: Getting Ready for ELDT (Entry-Level Driver Training) |
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A Federal standard for mandatory training of entry-level drivers of commercial motor vehicles will begin on February 7, 2022. CDL applicants will be required to complete entry-level driver training (ELDT) from a provider listed on the Training Provider Registry of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
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The CT T2 Center has scheduled a special edition of “Coffee and Conversation” to help you better understand the new requirements. We are very pleased that the following guests will be joining us on November 10, 2021 from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon to provide an overview of the regulations and to answer questions from the audience.
Christopher Henry – Division Administrator – CT Division – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Ernest Galante – Federal Program Specialist – CT Division - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
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Signal Spotlight: The Role of Traffic Signals in Traffic Incident Management |
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What Is Traffic Incident Management (TIM)?
A traffic incident is a non-recurring event that creates a reduction in highway capacity and/or an increase in demand. Incidents can include traffic crashes, disabled vehicles, spilled cargo, highway maintenance or construction, non-emergency planned events, emergencies and major weather events.
In Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management published in September of 2010, FHWA defines Traffic Incident Management (TIM) as “a planned and coordinated multidisciplinary process to detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents so that traffic flow may be restored as safely and quickly as possible.” As such, Traffic Incident Management requires extensive coordination between many stakeholders including law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services (EMS), transportation agencies, towing and recovery personnel, and communications specialists.
- Responder safety;
- Safe, quick clearance; and
- Prompt, reliable, interoperable communications.
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If you have traffic signal systems questions, please contact:
Theresa Schwartz, P.E., P.T.O.E. - Traffic Signal Circuit Rider
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2011 CT Creative Solutions Award Winner - Automated Watering System
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Through the summer months, we will be running a special Innovation Station theme in our monthly Crossroads. We are going to highlight past CT Creative Solutions Award (CCSA) winning designs and showcase Connecticut Public Works' great innovations through the years. This month, we are shining a spotlight on the 2011 CCSA winner, the Town of Hebron's Automated Watering System.
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Problem Identified:
This modification has enhanced the safety of the driver/operator by not having to exit the vehicle. In the past, each time the water needed to be turned on or off, the driver would have to exit the vehicle, sometimes putting him in harm’s way. The driver would often rush, and this could become an unsafe practice.
Solution:
The watering system on the rear of the vehicle was retro-fitted with an airbrake cam, which was spliced into the tailgate air switch located in the cab. The brake cam, when activated, automatically opens and closes the valve that controls the flow of water at the rear of the truck.
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Cost Estimate:
$50.00, but brake cam can be used for normal application at any time.
Benefit:
More efficient water is evenly distributed. The number one benefit is safety to the operator, keeping the driver in the vehicle means less chance for strains, sprains or falling accidents. The driver now does not have to rush to turn water off and, most of all, does not have to exit the vehicle into on-coming traffic.
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Congratulations! New Executive Director of OSTA |
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Congratulations to Joseph Ouellette, the new Executive Director in the Office of the State Traffic Administration (OSTA). Joe comes to this new position with a wealth of knowledge and experience as he was previously the CTDOT State Safety Engineer in the Safety Engineering Unit, managing the Department’s Highway Safety Improvement Program. We are so grateful for all the great work we were able to do in road safety through our partnership with Joe. We look forward to working with him and his OSTA team in the future. |
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2021 National Honorees of FHWA Build a Better Mousetrap Program |
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Each year, the Federal Highway Administration recognizes government agencies who use innovation to save time and money and increase efficiency in transportation. This video announces the 2021 national honorees for the Build a Better Mousetrap National Recognition Program for Transportation Innovation. Learn more here. |
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NIOSH's 10 Actions to Protect Drivers at Work |
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Workers across all occupations and industries drive as part of their jobs – moving freight and passengers, making sales calls, traveling between construction sites, delivering food, making on-site repairs, providing home healthcare, and more. The legal, scientific, and technological landscape of work-related motor vehicle safety (MVS) has changed significantly over the past few years. Laws and regulations have changed. Research gives us new evidence about the nature of risks and how best to manage them. Newer technologies give employers new ways to promote safer driving and prevent crashes. It’s time to take a fresh look at what employers can add to their toolbox of policies and interventions to protect their employees who drive for work.
Continue reading for 10 actions we consider to be the most important to take when implementing an MVS program. Everyone benefits when employers protect their workers from driving hazards, including workers’ families and communities.
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Along with our Facebook page, the T2 Center now has an Instagram page! Click on the icons below to like the T2 Center on Facebook and follow the T2 Center on Instagram! |
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If you have any ideas or suggestions for future Connecticut Crossroads topics, please feel free to email the designer Regina Hackett at [email protected]
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