Welcome to the
Florida Transit Safety and Operations Network (FTSON)
The purpose is to provide resources and a platform for discussion of safety and operational challenges, opportunities, and initiatives impacting public transportation providers in Florida.
FDOT encourages publicly-funded transportation providers throughout the state to consider innovative options to provide enhanced mobility to decrease traffic congestion, provide cost-effective service, and meet consumer demand. As always, public safety is at the forefront of FDOT’s mission. As such, we are providing the attached document to serve as a resource for transportation providers as…
The July–August 2019 issue of TR News focuses on types of trespassing in passenger and freight rail: the importance of the issue, possible strategies to prevent trespassing, and effects on the rail transportation system. Articles will present an overview of the prevalence of trespassing deaths and will address a variety of preventive strategies and technologies…
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the state of automated vehicle (AV) technology in transit. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wishes to know what AV technology is currently available that could be used in transit with an eye towards possible demonstration projects. It finds that the operational use of…
The transit industry has always shown a great interest in the adoption of transformational safety technologies to improve the safety of its passengers and drivers, as well as all road users including pedestrians. Due to its unique characteristics and behaviors, such as vehicle size and frequent stops/starts, transit often deals with safety challenges and priorities…
The safety implications of implementing bus lanes on road corridors remain unclear given that findings from previous research have been mixed. The authors recent research demonstrated improvements in road safety resulting from bus priority in Melbourne however causal factors for this effect remain to be explored. In this study, an experimental microscopic traffic simulation modelling…
This paper describes how a team led by Battelle, on behalf of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration and Federal Transit Administration, has deployed 5 collision avoidance applications on University of Michigan transit buses, including two applications—one for pedestrian crosswalks and one for vehicles cutting in front of transit buses at stops—identified as high-priority concerns…
The sideview camera system has been shown to eliminate blind zones by providing a view to the driver in real time. In order to provide the best integration of these systems, an integrated camera-mirror system (hybrid system) was developed and tested. Traditional aftermarket systems utilize wide-angle cameras, which provide up to 100-degree horizontal field of…
The findings from the NCTR project entitled Evaluation of Camera-Based Systems to Reduce Transit Bus Side Collisions are presented. Current transit bus mirrors have driver field-of-view limitations. These blind zones are the major contributing factor in sideswipe and side crashes involving transit buses. This NCTR project evaluated the effectiveness of camera-based systems to reduce transit…
This study deployed a total of 100 Rearview Video Systems (RVS) in three different companies to evaluate the effectiveness of rearview video systems in reducing backing crashes and obtain the feedback from truck drivers participating in the study. Most drivers involved in the study showed a positive attitude towards the system, with a few exceptions.…