Collection of essays on a variety of topics affecting rail, track, railroad regulation, operations management and commuter issues. 80 pages.

Railroad Rail, Track, Regulation, Operations Management, and Commuter Issues

Science & Math

Transportation Research Board

National, Research Council

Technology

TRB Special Report 205: Should Intercity Bus Drivers Be Allowed To Use CB Radios? recognizes the importance of improved communications on the highways, but also recognizes that CB radios have many drawbacks and are not sufficiently reliable to warrant recommending universal use on intercity buses. Transportation Research Board (TRB) staff visited several bus companies, including some that allow their drivers to use CB radios. Staff members, unidentified to drivers, also rode a number of buses to gain firsthand experience with how CB radios are used by bus drivers who work for companies that allow them. The Committee examined the incident files of Trailways to determine the types and frequency of on-board emergencies faced by the nation's bus drivers and to estimate the probable use of CB radios should they be permitted universally. The Committee also reviewed the accident records of the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety to decide how often CBS might be needed to call for police and medical assistance in the case of bus accidents. Finally, the Committee examined a number of alternative mobile communications systems to determine if there are any cost-effective alternatives to CB radios. The majority concluded that although benefits might accrue, they do not appear to be large enough or sufficiently certain to warrant federal intervention in this dispute.

Should Intercity Bus Drivers Be Allowed To Use CB Radios?: Special Report 205 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

Engineering & Transportation

Transportation

National Academies Press

TRB Special Report 211: Twin Trailer Trucks examines the potential safety effects of the new federal truck size rules (the Surface Transportation Act of 1982 requires states to permit twin 28-ft trailers on Interstate highways and on principal roads). The study also addressed other effects of the new rules on highway transportation including the trucking industry use of twins, safety consequences of twins, pavement wear and other highway features affected by twins, and safety and pavement wear affected by 48-ft long semitrailers and 102- in. wide trucks.  The use of twin trailer trucks will be concentrated in the general freight common carriers sector and will result in a 9% reduction in combination-truck miles in the portion of their hauling that is switched from tractor-semitrailers to twins. It is not expected that either the scope of the current highway network or restrictions on access to that network will have an impact on travel by twins. The increased use of twins will have little overall effect on highway safety. However, twins will accelerate pavement wear and increase rehabilitation costs. The use of 102-in. wide trucks and 48- ft semitrailers (also permitted by the 1982 law) also increases pavement wear. Recommendations are presented that would help coordinate the efforts of various data producers and users of programs that collect nationwide information on truck travel, safety, and highway impact, and thus enhance their ability to provide data addressing policy questions. Recommendations are also made for improving the safety of the vehicles. The various chapters of the book cover the study method and report organization; the historical and regulatory background; use characteristics and cost impacts; safety impacts; highway condition, operation and design impacts; long-term monitoring; and conclusions drawn from the study.

Twin Trailer Trucks: Special Report 211 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

Automotive

Collection of essays from leading experts on various aspects of pricing and shipping of coal and general freight. 49 pages.

Freight Transportation (Transportation Research Record, No. 1061) (Transportation Research Circular)

Engineering

TRB Special Report 215: Measuring Airport Landside Capacity reviews existing capacity assessment techniques and recommend guidelines that can be used by airport operators, planners, and others who must measure airport landside capacity. Congestion at airport terminal buildings, access roads, and parking areas increasingly threatens the capability of airports to serve additional passengers and air cargo. Measuring the capacity of these airport landside facilities and services is becoming critical. No generally accepted standards exist for gauging the level of service provided by landside facilities and their operations. This report concludes that current knowledge about the performance of various airport landside components is inadequate to support airport landside service standards at this time. Instead, the report recommends a process for measuring airport landside capacity that takes an important first step toward developing such standards.

Measuring Airport Landside Capacity: Special Report 215 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

Business & Money

TRB Special Report 222 - Improving School Bus Safety examines the causes of school bus accidents and evaluates the effectiveness of safety measures, including seat belts, that might better protect children while they are boarding, riding, and leaving school buses.

Improving School Bus Safety: Special Report 222 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

TRB Special Report 223 - Providing Access for Large Trucks covers appropriate highways for access, safety, vehicle handling characteristics, pavement service life, access to service facilities, local government access policies, the implementation of access policies, and the definition of terminal.  The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 attempted to strike a balance between improved efficiency of trucking operations and safety. Since the Act became law, the U.S. Department of Transportation has designated a National Network and all states have enacted access policies. Because of the restrictiveness of some state access policies, carriers and shippers have petitioned the Federal Highway Administration to establish minimum uniform standards for reasonable access. State and local transportation officials, however, maintain that access decisions should be made locally.

Providing Access for Large Trucks: Special Report 223 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

TRB Special Report 227 - New Trucks for Greater Productivity and Less Road Wear: An Evaluation of the Turner Proposal evaluates the approach to regulation of the size and weight of trucks using U.S. roads known as the Turner Proposal. This approach had its origin in a proposal put forth in a 1984 address to AASHTO by former Federal Highway Administrator Francis C. Turner.  The approach evaluated by the committee differs in an important respect from Turner's original concept: in the committee's approach, use of the new trucks would be voluntary; that is, truck operators would be offered the choice of continuing with existing equipment and weight rules or adopting the new trucks with the new weight regulations. The committee designed a package of changes in size and weight limits, safety restrictions, and procedures regarding bridge deficiencies, routing, and enforcement that would be a practical regulatory scheme for implementing the Turner concept.  The committee recommends that every state, with careful assessment of the risks and uncertainties, consider this proposal as a supplement to current size and weight regulations. If Turner trucks were adopted in all states according to the recommended rules, they would reduce the cost of shipping freight and would not degrade safety. The total cost of maintaining the road system would be reduced, although pavement wear savings would be partially offset by higher bridge costs.  The committee that carried out this study identified two truck configurations outside the weight and length limits established by federal law that would offer greater productivity without increasing infrastructure or safety costs. These vehicles formed the basis for the configurations recommended in a later (2002) TRB report, Special Report 267: Regulation of Weights, lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles.

New Trucks for Greater Productivity and Less Road Wear: An Evaluation of the Turner Proposal -- Special Report 227 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

TRB Special Report 228 - Data Requirements for Monitoring Truck Safety recommends improving the data systems used to monitor truck safety and to develop programs to reduce accident losses.

Data Requirements for Monitoring Truck Safety: Special Report 228 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

TRB Special Report 229 - Safety Research for a Changing Highway Environment examines how well the highway safety research community is prepared to address emerging safety problems and to capitalize on opportunities for their solution. The committee that produced this report was particularly interested in how the research process could be better managed to encourage innovation and more effective use of resources. Specifically, the study committee (a) reviewed the characteristics and scale of existing highway safety problems and research, (b) identified promising areas for research that merit more attention or that warrant continuing study, and (c) examined the financial and institutional arrangements that may be needed to refocus research on these priorities.

Safety Research for a Changing Highway Environment: Special Report 229 (SPECIAL REPORT (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U S) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD))

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