[TCN] Friday, January 14, 2011

 

Transportation Communications Newsletter

 

Friday, January 14, 2011 – ISSN 1529-1057

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AVIATION

 

1) Maryland Sues Federal Government Over Helicopter Crash

Suit claims air traffic controllers didn't provide adequate weather information and were distracted.

Link to AP article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/13/AR2011011305037.html

 

2) Poland Wants Cockpit Voice Recordings of Crashed Plane from Russia

Link to RIA Novosti article:

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110114/162142485.html

Link to story from Polskie Radio:

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul147338_warsaw-wants-polish-russian-joint-report-on-smolensk-disaster.html

 

3) FCC Suspends Prohibition of 121.5 MHz Emergency Locator Transmitters

Link to article on AVweb:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/fcc_suspend_prohibit_1215_elt_faa_stay_203950-1.html

Link to FCC order:

http://www.aea.net/governmentaffairs/pdf/FCC-11-2A1.pdf

 

4) Delta to Bring Call Center Jobs Back to US

Link to article on TheStreet:

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/10973715/1/delta-to-bring-call-center-jobs-to-us.html

 

5) Aircraft Must be Smart 'Swimmers' to Make NextGen Air Traffic Management Work

Link to article in Flight International:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/01/14/351794/aircraft-must-be-smart-swimmers-to-make-next-gen-atm.html

Link to news release from Airbus:

http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/airbus-launches-prosky-new-atm-subsidiary/news-category/press_release/

 

GPS / NAVIGATION

 

6) Apps with Maps: 11 iPhone GPS Apps Compared

Link to article in Macworld:

http://www.macworld.com/article/156720/2011/01/gps.html

 

OTHER

 

7) 50 Terrific Transportation Blogs

Link to blog on OnlineEngineeringDegrees.net:

http://www.onlineengineeringdegrees.net/best-transportation-blogs

 

PEDESTRIANS

 

8) Crosswalk Marking Field Visibility Study

Link to report from FHWA:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/10068/index.cfm

 

RAILROADS

 

9) Federal Railroad Administration Should Report on Risks to the Successful Implementation of Mandated Safety Technology

Link to report from the US Government Accountability Office:

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-133

 

ROADWAYS

 

10) New York Thruway Storm Nightmare Stirs Action by State

New guidelines include improved interagency communications and ways of communicating with travelers.

Link to article in The Buffalo News:

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article311792.ece

 

SAFETY / SECURITY

 

11) Police in US Turn to Drones for Domestic Surveillance

Link to article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2011-01-13-drones_N.htm

 

TELEMATICS

 

12) NJ Transit Allows Web Domain Name to Expire, Causing Site to Disappear for Some

Link to article in The Star-Ledger:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/glitch_tells_visitors_to_nj_tr.html

 

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

 

13) Maine DOT Gets Data on Roads from All Kinds of Sources

Link to story and video on WLBZ-TV:

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=144242

 

14) Tennessee DOT Commissioner Says Maps are Still Important Despite Smart Phones and GPS Devices

Link to AP article:

http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-bc-tn--statemap,0,3667533.story

 

VEHICLES

 

15) Toyota Tries to be More Entertaining

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/toyota-tries-to-be-more-entertaining

 

16) Technology Aids Bus Drivers on Narrow Shoulder Lanes

Link to article in UTC Spotlight:

http://utc.dot.gov/publications/spotlight/2011_01/html/spotlight_1101.html

 

 

News Releases

1) OnStar Looking for Application Developers of the Future

2) Jet Airways Takes the Next Step in Customer Innovation with Mobile Barcodes

3) DC Metro Provides Customers with Better Online Escalator and Elevator Status Information

4) Idaho 511 Sets Winter Record on Behalf of Drivers – and the Winter's Not Over

5) Sprint CEO Dan Hesse: Wireless Technology is Transforming Transportation

6) Telematics Enhance Driving Convenience

 

 

Solicitation

 -  Request for Proposal – 511 Web Services – Metropolitan Transportation Commission

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/jobs/contracts/511_web.htm

 

 

Upcoming Events

World Cargo Symposium 2011 – March 8-10 – Istanbul, Turkey

http://www.iata.org/events/wcs2011

 

 

Friday Bonus

I'm not sure if reading the TCN makes you a transportation geek, but here are some warning signs.

http://www.howwedrive.com/2010/12/17/you-might-be-a-transpo-geek-if/

 

 

Today in Transportation History    

1911 **100^th anniversary** Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition arrived in Antarctica in the Bay of Whales.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/peopleevents/pandeAMEX87.html

 

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