Scientists use artificial intelligence to forecast large-scale traffic patterns more accurately, reads the headline in a recent article by Tech Xplore , which cites an article published this summer in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record .

This 2018 study published in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record , examined the increasing penetration of online shopping on physical stores. "Accessibility or Innovation? Store Shopping Trips versus Online Shopping," by Kees Maat and Rob Konings of Delft University of Technology. is one of the most read TRR articles of the past 6 months. The study determined, as of 2017, that online shopping had grown dramatically over the past decade for almost all types of goods. At that time, the share of t...

This 2018 study published in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record , examined infectious diseases, specifically severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1, Ebola, and pneumonic plague, but it is worth a new look in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. "Germs on a Plane: The Transmission and Risks of Airplane-Borne Diseases," by Nereyda L. Sevilla of George Washington University is one of the most read TRR articles of the past 6 months. To contain the spread of infectious diseases, avia...

Compared with much of the world, the United States has relatively few highway tunnels. Norway, for instance, has more than 900 roadway tunnels, while the entire United States has 503. In a feature article in TR News magazine, Number 327, May-June 2020, the authors examine the challenges of using tunnels in a road or rail network, including relatively high first costs, the need for continuing maintenance and operational expenditures, and safety matters.

Should speed limits in the U.S. still follow rules that were established in the early 1900s? This Transportation Research Record (TRR) journal paper considers the question. "Eighty-Five PercentSolution: Historical Look at Crowdsourcing Speed Limits and the Question of Safety"  was published on June 30, 2020. It was authored by Brian D. Taylor and Yu Hong Hwang of the Institute of Transportation Studies UCLA.

The high-resolution micro traffic data (HRMTD) of all roadway users is important for serving the connected-vehicle system in mixed traffic situations. The roadside LiDAR sensor gives a solution to providing HRMTD from real-time 3D point clouds of its scanned objects. "Automatic Background Filtering Method for Roadside LiDAR Data" proposed an algorithm based on the spatial distribution of laser points, which filters both static and moving background efficiently. From 2018, by Jianqing Wu, Hao Xu, Yuan Sun...

Trajectory data are reported to have served many different mobility purposes. Vehicle travel trajectories are acquired via real-time communication between a data center and in-vehicle gadgets such as smartphones and GPS navigators. "Real-Time Piecewise Regression: Application to Effective and Economical Collection of GPS Trajectory Data," by Yang Zhang, Yuandong Liu, and Lee D. Han, looks at the evaluation and compression of GPS locations as they are produced. From 2017, this study was 2019's third-most ...

Rutting and fatigue damage are two major forms of distress that cause the most concern in asphalt concrete pavements, as they affect both serviceability and safety over the performance life of asphalt pavements. Rutting—permanent deformation under the wheels’ path—is more dominant at high temperatures, and fatigue damage—evolution of micro-cracks and micro-voids—generally is more problematic at low and intermediate temperatures. "A Straightforward Procedure to Characterize Nonlinear Viscoelastic Response...

Traffic flow characteristics deteriorate significantly in fog conditions compared to normal weather conditions, which might result in high crash risk. "Understanding the Highway Safety Benefits of Different Approaches of Connected Vehicles in Reduced Visibility Conditions," by Md Sharikur Rahman, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Ling Wang, and Jaeyoung Lee, from 2018, was 2019's fourth-most cited article from Transportation Research Record . The study examined how to improve traffic safety in fog conditions. Microsimu...

Lifestyle factors play an important role in shaping use of autonomous vehicles. Younger, urban residents who are more educated and technologically savvy are more likely to be early adopters of AV technologies than are older, suburban, and rural individuals, a fact that favors a sharing-based service model over private ownership. "Modeling Individual Preferences for Ownership and Sharing of Autonomous Vehicle Technologies,"  by Patrícia S. Lavieri, Venu M. Garikapati, Chandra R. Bhat, Ram M. Pendyala...