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Browsing by Author "Kazmierowski, Tom"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Establishing a Methodology to Evaluate Teen Driver-training Programs
    Trimble, Tammy E.; Baker, Stephanie Ann; Schaudt, William A.; Schrader, Taryn (Wisconsin. Department of Transportation. Library and Research Unit, 2013-11)
    The goal of this research project was to develop a methodology to assist the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) in the evaluation of effectiveness of teen driver education programs over the short and long terms. The research effort was divided into two phases. Phase I focused on the development of an evaluative methodology that was based upon a review of the relevant literature and Wisconsin-specific policies and available data sources. This review culminated in a program assessment tool focused on four contributing areas of teen driver training and education: 1) Guardian Involvement, 2) Driver Education and Training Curricula Requirement, 3) GDL Coordination, and 4) Instructor Qualifications. The proposed methodology was presented to the Project Oversight Committee and was validated through two rounds of pilot testing using materials provided by programs and schools under the oversight of both WisDOT and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The resulting methodology informed the Phase II implementation plan recommendations. Work products included within this report are an annotated bibliography, a knowledge base documenting best practices and Wisconsin-specific data source, a methodology that may be used to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of driver-training programs as they relate to the demonstrated safety and behavior of teen drivers in Wisconsin, and a three-phase implementation plan.
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    Impact of Pavement Performance Models on Strategic Funding Analyses in the NCDOT Pavement Management System
    Mastin, J. Neil; Finger, Alan R. (2015-06-04)
    In 2012, the Pavement Management Systems Group at the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began a research project with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to significantly update and improve the pavement distress performance curves used in the optimization module of the Pavement Management System (PMS). The incoming model updates caused the Pavement Management Systems group to begin a major evaluation of the decision trees used in the PMS and how they interacted with the new models. This combination of changes greatly altered the outcome of analysis results and, in general, appears to have led to a more accurate representation of pavement behavior for North Carolina's 80,000 center-line mile (128,747 kilometer) highway network. The paper describes the overall changes in the models and decision trees, the impact to funding of those changes to strategic analysis results and how those impacts were communicated to decision makers.
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    Integration of Sustainability Rating Tools in Contemporary Pavement Management Systems
    Maher, Michael; Kazmierowski, Tom; Navarra, Michael (2015-06-04)
    There is growing demand around the world for public agencies to implement sustainable initiatives into public infrastructure projects. Sustainability principles need to be integrated seamlessly into all decision making processes, especially when it relates to public expenditures on vital infrastructure. While agreeing with the principles of sustainability, many agencies struggle with how to implement these objectives in a systematic manner. Pavement sustainability can be evaluated using several different methods or tools, including life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, performance assessment, and sustainability rating systems (SRS). A SRS is basically a list of sustainability best practices with a related measure, usually a point score, which quantifies each best practice in a common unit. The challenge is to develop a System or Program that can identify the benefits and project impacts, compare options in a balanced manner and quantify the benefits. To meet this challenge, both the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder) have developed user-friendly sustainability rating systems (SRS) to promote sustainable pavement technologies for the design, construction, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and preservation of roads. The MTO system is known as GreenPave and the Golder system as GoldSET. This paper describes the development and implementation of these two SRS and assesses their sustainability measures through a case study of a highway using innovative pavement preservation/rehabilitation techniques. In addition, the paper discusses how these SRS tools can be incorporated into pavement management and asset management practices.