Browsing by Author "Gick, Brittney N."

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    Automated Shuttles and Buses for All Users
    Turnbull, Katherine F.; Higgins, Laura; Gick, Brittney N. (Safe-D University Transportation Center, 2023-12)
    Numerous demonstrations and deployments of automated shuttles and buses are occurring in downtown areas, university campuses, business and medical parks, and entertainment complexes throughout the United States. This research project focused on ensuring that individuals with disabilities have equal and safe access to automated shuttles and buses to improve their mobility. The project introduced individuals with disabilities to an automated shuttle in Arlington, TX and a Smart Intersection in College Station, TX, assessing their safety perceptions and obtaining information on any safety concerns about their complete trip. The project identified enhancements in planning, vehicles, service and operations, and the street system and built environment to ensure that individuals with disabilities can safely access and use automated shuttles. The research included interviewing individuals with disabilities before and after riding in the Arlington automated shuttles and online interviews of the Texas A&M University students using mobility devices obtaining feedback on the Smart Intersection and automated shuttles. Virtual and in-person workshops were held examining possible automated shuttle routes on the Texas A&M University–San Antonio campus and the adjacent VIDA development, and the Texas A&M University System RELLIS campus in Bryan. Guidelines for enhancing automated shuttles for individuals with mobility and visual impairments were developed.
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    Connected Vehicle Information for Improving Safety Related to Unknown or Inadequate Truck Parking
    Katsikides, Nicole; Gick, Brittney N.; Parab, Smruti; Hwang, William "Billy"; Lee, Dahye; Montes de Oca, Jose Rivera; Farzaneh, Reza; Kong, Xiaoqiang "Jack"; Srisan, Tat; Bell, Stephen; Alden, Andy S.; Warner, Jeff; Schrank, David (Safe-D National UTC, 2022-10)
    Safety issues due to commercial truck parking shortages are a national concern. National hours-of-service (HOS) regulations limit drivers’ time on the road to increase safety by limiting fatigue. This requires drivers to locate safe, secure, and legal parking wherever they are when or before they hit their limits. If drive time is exhausted with no nearby truck parking, drivers may park in unsafe or unauthorized locations to meet HOS requirements, or they may continue to drive while fatigued. As a result, there are intrinsic safety implications to all highway users due to large trucks parking in unsafe locations or truck drivers driving past their allotted hours. With the projected growth of truck traffic, the demand for adequate truck parking will continue to outpace the supply of public and private parking facilities. The current study will help transportation agencies develop solutions to the parking availability problem by identifying effective methods for using data to estimate truck parking demand and areas of parking opportunity, assessing available data sources for estimating truck parking demand and supply, and determining the safest solutions for distributing information on parking availability directly to drivers.