1. Transportation Safety & Security - Identify the 5 main areas of influence in transportation safety and security - Explain how regulation affects the use of different modes of transportation - Describe individual responsibility in using various modes of transportation

2. Influences on Safety and Security There are 5 main groups of influence when it comes to transportation safety and security: Laws and regulations: As long as people obey the rules that are designed to control the system, that system is much safer. The design and function of the vehicle and any path on which it travels: Engineers are responsible for the safety designs integrated in a vehicle and others design, build, and maintain the roadways. The behavior of people operating the vehicles: in order for the laws and regulations to be effective, they need to be obeyed by the people operating the vehicles. The behavior of the people/objects with whom the vehicle comes in contact during its travels: These influences are unpredictable by nature. A person might run out in front of your car or someone might run a stop sign and crash into you. We usually rely on the proper authorities to minimize everyone’s risk. Environmental Conditions: Storms, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena can create unsafe conditions for any mode of travel.

3. Government Regulation In the US, transportation is highly regulated. State and local governments mandate some rules and regulations, but the vast majority are developed and enforced by the federal government. Since September 11, 2001, more actions have been taken to provide safe travel than at any other time in the US’s history. The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in New York and D.C. and is now under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In order for laws and regulations to work, however, people must respect and cooperate with government efforts. In this way, everyone is at least partially responsible for their own safety, as well as the safety of others, when they travel.

4. Driver Responsibility Many people don’t take highway safety seriously, thinking that they won’t be the ones to get into an accident. Statistics show that the number of casualties (fatalities and injuries) from car collisions is decreasing, but they only account for about 30% of all traffic accidents. Since 2011 the total number of traffic accidents, including accidents where no casualties occur, have been in an upward trend. More than 40% of all highway fatalities involve drunk driving. There has also been a steady rise in the number of accidents involving “distracted driving.”

5. Stats for Reported Collisions from 1991

6. Car and Truck Design Generally speaking, the cost of new cars and trucks increases each year. This increase is partially due to the redesigning and re- engineering of vehicles to better protect drivers and passengers. Some examples of safety improvements include: better seatbelts, better/more airbag systems, stronger vehicle frames and bodies, and automatic headlights.

7. Airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Two of the most dangerous situations in a collision are hitting your head against a hard object (like the steering wheel or windshield) and the car losing control during a turn. In physics, Newton’s Laws of motion can be applied to see why. The concept of inertia is that an object in motion stays in motion. If your car is in motion, so are you. When your car suddenly stop in a collision, you will continue to move forward. Stopping something very quickly requires enormous forces and those forces are what cause injury. Cars and trucks are designed to be crushable in order to absorb some of the energy in a collision and the airbags are there to increase the amount of time it takes to bring your body to rest. The slower something is brought to rest, the lower the forces acting on it. Cars and trucks are starting to include airbags for collisions from many angles instead of just the front as standard equipment. The ESC on cars is designed to prevent a car from under- or over-steering when a driver must swerve at high speeds to avoid something. Once again, inertia will make the car travel in a straight line once the tires break traction with the road. Professional drivers can counteract slippage with advanced techniques, but everyday drivers in a panic situation will have no control over a car that has lost traction. ECS detects tire slippage and uses a computer to adjust the power to the wheels to compensate, bringing the driver back in control.

8. Highway Design and Maintenance As traffic increases on the highways and accidents become more common, changes are being made to highway design to increase safety: More median dividers are being used Distance from pavement to parallel tree or fence line has been increased The number of rest areas has been increased to allow drivers to take more frequent breaks. Some states are hoping to eventually implement “smart” highways where the roads and the cars are equipped with sensors that allow the vehicles to travel under computer control like cars on a train. Small scale trials have shown a large increase in safety and fuel economy (from being able to travel behind other cars at much shorter distances safely, taking advantage of drafting). Companies like Google, Tesla, and several traditional car manufacturers have been working on the vehicle side of this implementation for several years now. Major questions still need to be answered before these technologies find their way into the mainstream. Regular maintenance of roadways is also critical for safety. Potholes are filled and snowed-over roads are plowed to allow safe passage.

9. Highway Security The movement of cargo is more of a security issue than one of safety. It does not receive very much attention, but because highway transportation is the most common form of regular transportation, security concerns are always present. Dangerous goods can be transported just about anywhere in the country by road.

10. Railroad Safety and Security Accidents involving railways are almost all caused by people outside of the trains themselves. ~96% of accidents were either caused by motorists deliberately ignoring crossing gates and other control devices or by people walking/playing on the tracks. An average freight train of 100 cars weighs between 12 million and 20 million pounds. Even when using its emergency brakes, a train can take over a mile to stop. Since trains are restricted to their tracks, they cannot swerve out of the way in order to avoid a collision. People probably take chances with trains for several reasons: Because they are so large, they appear to be traveling slower than they really are. The parallel lines of the tracks makes the train seem further away than it actually is. Some people do not realize that a train can travel on any track in either direction at any time. People who walk on railroad tracks are, in fact, trespassing. Tracks are not public property; they are owned by the railroad. No one has the right to walk on them without permission.

11. Car vs. Train What happens when a train hits a car? Imagine what happens when a car runs over a soda can. The ratio of weight for the car to the can is roughly the same as that for the train to the car. After impact, there’s not much left of either the can, or the car.

12. Trains, Tracks, and Signals Trains contain several safety devices. Each set of wheels has its own brakes. Horns, sidelights, and bell must all comply with federal regulations. People who live near train tracks might be annoyed by the horn, but it is an invaluable safety feature, especially at night when it is much harder to judge distance. Railways are slowly being updated to use more communication devices, especially when multiple trains use the same set of tracks. Newer computer-based systems regulate everything from train speed to switching to help protect against human error. Unlike driverless cars, driverless train systems have been around for quite some time (BART has been automated since it started in 1972, though there is still a “driver” in the cab for emergencies). Where they are used, there have been no major accidents that were caused by the automated systems.

13. Maritime Safety and Security Maritime usually refers to the sea, but it can also be used to describe inland waterways and ports. As with other forms of travel, there are rules and regulations with the goal of making travel safer. For example, sailboats have right-of-way when they cross paths with a motorboat. Even passengers on boats need to take some individual responsibility for their own safety. Life jackets are not just for people who can’t swim. If an accident were to happen, there is a chance that something could knock a person unconscious. Even great swimmers would be hard pressed to stay afloat while knocked out without a life vest!

14. Vessels and Ports Because ships can sink and passengers can drown, special care must be taken with maritime safety. The hull of a boat or ship must be monitored to maintain seaworthiness. Large ships with dangerous cargo or many passengers have special sensors that constantly monitor the hull for stress and alarms sound if the stresses get too large. Harbors have sensors that monitor a ship’s approach, current, weather patterns, etc. which is displayed to the operators that can give instructions to the incoming ship’s captains.

15. Maritime Security The best way of improving maritime security is by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations. The International Marine Organization, an agency of the UN, is responsible for such development. Today, “piracy” is usually used to describe the stealing of digital content or something that happened hundreds of years ago, but piracy still happens today in waters that are not policed. As of October 5 th last year, there had been 190 reported acts of maritime piracy for 2015, most happening near waters around Malaysia and Singapore. The use of armed guards on ships is a very controversial topic. The international body stipulates that ships must obey laws of their flagged nation, but must also obey the laws of any nations waters they enter. Many nations do not allow lethal weapons on board ships in their waters. Crews, then, need to be creative when it comes to fighting off pirates: Water cannons are can be used to knock pirates off of boarding ladders or fill their boats with water, slowing them down. Razor-wire or barbed wire can be placed around the hull. Nets can be thrown in the water to tangle the pirate vessel’s propellers. Stun or Rubber-ball grenades can be used as a non-lethal deterrent.

16. Maritime Security (cont.) Since 2001, security for passenger ships has increased, but security experts argue that a terrorist attack on a cruise ship would have far less impact than in other areas. A large portion of all cargo is screened for dangerous material (60- 80%). In a typical year, about 7,300 individual vessels registered in 81 countries make over 72,000 port calls. 11,000 inspections are carried out by the Coast Guard resulting in less than 300 detainments for security reasons. In land waterways are also enforced by the Coast Guard, although the safety and security of land-based structures linked to these waterways is under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers.

17. Air Transportation and Security Airplane crashes always make the news and airline safety and security receive far more media attention than other forms of travel. Yet, fewer people are injured or killed in airline incidents than on the highways. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates the largest and safest aviation system in the world. It certifies both aircraft and pilots, operates the air traffic control systems, and oversees airport security.

18. Passenger Responsibility When you purchase a ticket, the airline wants to know exactly who you are. The process of validating your identity is instantly begun. Several systems have tried to speed up this process while at the airport. CAPPS I and CAPPS II were programs that assessed the “risk level” of passengers before they boarded and aircraft. They were canceled due to concerns about civil liberties and lack of redress (the ability of a person to claim they were wrongfully flagged). A famous example is when Senator Ted Kennedy was not allowed to board his flight because he was on a “no-fly” list in 2004. A new system, called “Secure Flight” started implementation in late 2009 and aims to be better and faster, but it is criticized for having the same negative effects as the earlier programs. While on board, passengers are presented with the locations of emergency exits and oxygen masks.

19. Aircraft Design and Maintenance One reason air travel is so safe is because aircraft are so carefully engineered. That being said, planes have to be constantly monitored for potential problems: In 1989, United Airlines flight 232 crashed after one of its engines flew apart from metal fatigue (structural damage to metal from repeated stresses). The separation of a composite material (combination of materials) into layers that gradually flake off is called delamination. This must be detected with special instruments because there is no warning from the surface. Navigation was revolutionized with the GPS system, and it has been able to detect altitude for a while now. GPS allows pilots to know where they are at any time. When a pilot flies too steeply, the amount of lift the wings can produce can reduce to levels that will not keep the plane flying. This is called stalling and is a potentially serious problem. Most planes are equipped with warning devices that signal when a stall is likely. Fires have been the cause of several disasters where passengers were trapped in a burning plane. Planes are now equipped with more emergency exits and lights along the floor so people can find their way in a smoke-filled cabin. Birds can get sucked into a plane’s engine and cause it to fail. Modern jet engines have been engineered to withstand bird strikes. The highest risk is, of course, during takeoff and landing, so airport employ measures to keep birds from nesting in or near the airport.

20. Air Traffic Control and Airport Security The safe and orderly flow of aircraft is maintained by an air traffic control system. Controllers at each airport keep aircraft separate from one another and guide them onto the runways. Most controllers view the planes from large windows, though they do use radar as a backup. Fences, walls, barriers, and security patrols make sure no one can get access to the planes, luggage, or fuel areas without authorization. All checked baggage is passed through an X-ray machine and passengers walk through a metal detector. “Chemical sniffers” can be used to detect material that can be used in explosive devices. While on board, personnel are trained to identify potential dangers.

21. Pipeline Safety Pipelines sometimes have safety and security problems. However, when compared to other modes of transportation, pipelines are much safer. Rarely do pipeline accidents result in injury or death, but they can and do cause environmental and/or human health concerns. That being said, in September of 2010 a gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, CA, and resulted in a blaze in which flames reached 300 feet into the air. 8 people were killed and more than 50 people were injured. At the same time, workers in Michigan were still cleaning up one of the most expensive oil pipeline breaks in history (over $800 Million).