The day is coming faster than I want it to come.
I'll have to sit her down and have "the talk."
It will be awkward. I'm going to stumble over my words. I'll need to be ready for any emotional outbursts. But it's all a part of life and I have to accept that.
"Mom," I'll say. "How do you feel about your driving? Do you think you're still a safe motorist?"
She's already cut back on her nighttime driving. It makes her uncomfortable. So her friends or one of my family members take the wheel instead.
The day she hands over the keys for good will be tough on this very independent lady, but she sees it coming, too.
"The last thing I want," she says, "is to hurt someone because I caused a crash."
Older drivers are the subject of a MoDOT-sponsored gathering this week. Experts from around the state will discuss the road safety needs of our aging population.
On their minds is this fact: Although drivers 65 and older account for eight percent of all miles driven, they comprise 17 percent of traffic fatalities.
We've got a lot of company in addressing the issues. A report released today from TRIP, a transportation research group, describes the efforts of state departments of transportation to address older drivers.
TRIP reports that the growing ranks of older Americans "will far outpace previous generations with their level of ability and activity. Serving their needs will require a transportation system that includes safer roads, safer vehicles and improved choices."
Visit http://www.savemolives.com/older-driver.html now and in the months to learn more and to find tools to help older drivers you know and love.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
What's In A Name? US 71 to Become I-49
MoDOT is preparing for final projects in the transformation of U.S. Route 71 from national highway to interstate standards. Why?
The change will increase economic opportunities for Missouri and enhance the safety of travelers.
When businesses consider locating in Missouri, one of the first factors they consider is access to quality transportation. Preference is given to locations that are near to interstate highways. The I-49 designation will ensure this factor is not an obstacle for the communities along the corridor between Kansas City and Joplin. Plus, the I-49 designation benefits Kansas City’s development as an “inland port” for the flow of freight throughout the country.
Traffic on the US 71 corridor between Kansas City and Joplin already consists of 30 percent trucks. The route connects Kansas City's interstates with Interstate 44. As freight volumes are expected to increase, we believe upgrading U.S. 71 to interstate standards makes sense.
Future projects in Arkansas are expected to complete I-49's path from New Orleans to Kansas City, making road transport of freight to and from the Port of New Orleans more efficient. This has exciting implications.
In 2014, the expansion of the Panama Canal will be complete. Super container ships that are now unable to squeeze through the canal will be able to bring their cargo into the Port of New Orleans. The drive from New Orleans to Kansas City is shorter than the drive from the west coast ports, so the cost to bring goods to the midwest should fall. That's good news for consumers.
The transformation is more than just a name change. In order to be classified as an interstate, a route must meet stringent requirements. U.S. 71 largely met the requirements from Kansas City to Missouri's southern border. However, because no at-grade intersections are allowed on an interstate, several interchanges were either built or are underway. Intersections with ramps and overpasses are much safer than those that occur at-grade (without overpasses or underpasses). They virtually eliminate T-bone-type crashes.
We believe the investment made to transform U.S. 71 into Interstate 49 will pay off both economically and in safety for Missourians in decades to come.
The change will increase economic opportunities for Missouri and enhance the safety of travelers.
When businesses consider locating in Missouri, one of the first factors they consider is access to quality transportation. Preference is given to locations that are near to interstate highways. The I-49 designation will ensure this factor is not an obstacle for the communities along the corridor between Kansas City and Joplin. Plus, the I-49 designation benefits Kansas City’s development as an “inland port” for the flow of freight throughout the country.
Traffic on the US 71 corridor between Kansas City and Joplin already consists of 30 percent trucks. The route connects Kansas City's interstates with Interstate 44. As freight volumes are expected to increase, we believe upgrading U.S. 71 to interstate standards makes sense.
Future projects in Arkansas are expected to complete I-49's path from New Orleans to Kansas City, making road transport of freight to and from the Port of New Orleans more efficient. This has exciting implications.
In 2014, the expansion of the Panama Canal will be complete. Super container ships that are now unable to squeeze through the canal will be able to bring their cargo into the Port of New Orleans. The drive from New Orleans to Kansas City is shorter than the drive from the west coast ports, so the cost to bring goods to the midwest should fall. That's good news for consumers.
The transformation is more than just a name change. In order to be classified as an interstate, a route must meet stringent requirements. U.S. 71 largely met the requirements from Kansas City to Missouri's southern border. However, because no at-grade intersections are allowed on an interstate, several interchanges were either built or are underway. Intersections with ramps and overpasses are much safer than those that occur at-grade (without overpasses or underpasses). They virtually eliminate T-bone-type crashes.
We believe the investment made to transform U.S. 71 into Interstate 49 will pay off both economically and in safety for Missourians in decades to come.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Except on the Third Tuesday of the Month
Okay, I admit it. Sometimes I include waaaaay to much detail in the pieces I write. I've learned to write, walk away and come back to edit later - saving many forests worth of trees in the process.
I bet the person or group who ordered this sign for a school zone in Oakland County, Michigan wishes for a do-over with the editing pen. Maybe stating that the 25 mph limit applied from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. would get the point across better.
Thanks to ABC news for the photo.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Not Your Father's Oldsmobile
Today's Wall Street Journal included an article about cars that have touchscreen technology, Internet access and Twitter functionality built in.
It's interesting how quickly we've gone from, "No, he's on his way to Springfield. I'll call that office and ask them to give him a note to call you." to folks scheduling conference calls during drive time and parents texting kids from parking lots.
Having phone and computer access on the road makes handling work and family business more efficient. The safety aspects continue to be debated.
What do you think?
It's interesting how quickly we've gone from, "No, he's on his way to Springfield. I'll call that office and ask them to give him a note to call you." to folks scheduling conference calls during drive time and parents texting kids from parking lots.
Having phone and computer access on the road makes handling work and family business more efficient. The safety aspects continue to be debated.
What do you think?
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Digging for a Story
When I first started at MoDOT, I was surprised to hear someone say they’d spoken with “one of our archaeologists”.
What?
MoDOT is about highways and bridges, airports and barges, bikes, walkers, transit and the like. What was this nonsense about archeologists on staff?
I soon learned that historical research is a vital part of receiving federal funding and permits for construction and building projects. Funds aren’t approved until MoDOT proves it complies with the National Historic Preservation Act.
Tim Porter and Brianne Greenwood work in MoDOT’s Historic Preservation unit. You can think of them as cold-case detectives. They piece together the stories of people and activities from prehistoric times to near-current day periods.
Last week, we found Tim processing artifacts excavated in St. Louis prior to the start of the earthwork for a new Interstate 70 Mississippi River bridge.
The excavated areas were formerly residential, commercial and industrial in nature. Evidence of foundries, factories, homes and parks was uncovered. Some artifacts, like the bottle and china doll pictured here, were brought back to the office for further study.
Piece by piece, Tim and his colleagues are telling the story of those who lived and worked in the area during the 1800s and early 1900s. Find some of those stories here: http://www.modot.org/ehp/sites/NewMissRiverProject.htm
Brianne is helping to process artifacts recovered from two sites near the 80-year old North River Bridge west of Palmyra.
The bridge, located on Route 168, is to be replaced this spring. Because it and the nearby archaeological sites are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, data must be collected before construction could start.
Excavations at a site southeast of the old bridge believed to be dated 3000 to 1000 B.C. – known as the Late Archaic period – yielded evidence of people considered to be hunters and gatherers who did not raise crops.
A more recent encampment site located north of Route 168 dated between 500 and 850 A.D. Here, evidence was found of groups of people living in structures much like wigwams, indicating they did not move around as much.
Learn more about the work near the North River Bridge here: http://www.modot.org/northeast/virtualmeetingcomments.htm
Many thanks to Tana Akright for her contributions to this blog post.
What?
MoDOT is about highways and bridges, airports and barges, bikes, walkers, transit and the like. What was this nonsense about archeologists on staff?
I soon learned that historical research is a vital part of receiving federal funding and permits for construction and building projects. Funds aren’t approved until MoDOT proves it complies with the National Historic Preservation Act.
Tim Porter and Brianne Greenwood work in MoDOT’s Historic Preservation unit. You can think of them as cold-case detectives. They piece together the stories of people and activities from prehistoric times to near-current day periods.
Last week, we found Tim processing artifacts excavated in St. Louis prior to the start of the earthwork for a new Interstate 70 Mississippi River bridge.
The excavated areas were formerly residential, commercial and industrial in nature. Evidence of foundries, factories, homes and parks was uncovered. Some artifacts, like the bottle and china doll pictured here, were brought back to the office for further study.
Piece by piece, Tim and his colleagues are telling the story of those who lived and worked in the area during the 1800s and early 1900s. Find some of those stories here: http://www.modot.org/ehp/sites/NewMissRiverProject.htmBrianne is helping to process artifacts recovered from two sites near the 80-year old North River Bridge west of Palmyra.
The bridge, located on Route 168, is to be replaced this spring. Because it and the nearby archaeological sites are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, data must be collected before construction could start.
Excavations at a site southeast of the old bridge believed to be dated 3000 to 1000 B.C. – known as the Late Archaic period – yielded evidence of people considered to be hunters and gatherers who did not raise crops.
A more recent encampment site located north of Route 168 dated between 500 and 850 A.D. Here, evidence was found of groups of people living in structures much like wigwams, indicating they did not move around as much.
Learn more about the work near the North River Bridge here: http://www.modot.org/northeast/virtualmeetingcomments.htm
Many thanks to Tana Akright for her contributions to this blog post.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Instilling Skills
Aaron Cox instructs MoDOT’s construction and maintenance employees on the finer points of their jobs. He takes care of workers when they are new on the job and when it’s time to review and renew their skills.
Lately, he’s had every five-year old boy’s dream job – crawling around big dump trucks while instructing the folks who drive them for MoDOT on how to conduct a thorough pre-trip inspection.
Inspections help identify defects before they become problems.
Just like commercial truck drivers, our folks check headlamps, signals, tires, mechanical and braking systems and such for anything that’s not just right before and after every trip. Aaron reminds employees to monitor the performance and handling of the truck on the road, too.
If they find a hint of a problem, mechanics can take care of it before it becomes expensive to repair or, more importantly, before it results in a crash.
He knows that by keeping our vehicles in good shape, our workers can help folks that share the highways with our big yellow trucks to ARRIVE ALIVE.
The little boy that lives inside Aaron thinks that’s way cool.
Lately, he’s had every five-year old boy’s dream job – crawling around big dump trucks while instructing the folks who drive them for MoDOT on how to conduct a thorough pre-trip inspection.
Inspections help identify defects before they become problems.
Just like commercial truck drivers, our folks check headlamps, signals, tires, mechanical and braking systems and such for anything that’s not just right before and after every trip. Aaron reminds employees to monitor the performance and handling of the truck on the road, too.
If they find a hint of a problem, mechanics can take care of it before it becomes expensive to repair or, more importantly, before it results in a crash.
He knows that by keeping our vehicles in good shape, our workers can help folks that share the highways with our big yellow trucks to ARRIVE ALIVE.
The little boy that lives inside Aaron thinks that’s way cool.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tweets from the Passenger Seat
This morning, MoDOT Customer Relations Manager Marisa Ellison hopped in the passenger seat of one of our snowplows and gave a running commentary of what she saw in the Hannibal area via Twitter. Here's her account:
Snow plowing is serious business, so when I mentioned to Maintenance Superintendent Butch Mundle I wanted to tweet from a snow plow, he humored me.
Jamie Gottman was my capable snow “chauffeur,” and we took out onto US 61 north of Palmyra January 12 at 7 a.m. Snow was flying, wind blowing, and it was downright cold. Not in the plow, though. I could safely “tweet” the experience in a comfortable, heated setting while listening to country music on the radio. I tried not to distract Jamie; he was excellent at paying attention - and you have to be in a snow plow. I tweeted “there are several controls used in the cab, such as one for the gears, one for the blade, and one for the wing plow.” I forgot to mention the spreader control panel on the dashboard that distributes salt and other chemicals from the bed of the dumptruck. Jamie never missed a beat, or an intersection, or a shoulder.
We saw several accidents, which wasn’t surprising considering it was the first time many drivers had been in snow this year. I tweeted about one accident, which had traffic backed up, then tweeted about the next accident right up the road. Emergency responders had their work cut out for them in the frigid temps. But so did Jamie. Because the crashes caused traffic to stop, the unused lanes ahead were quickly covered by snow. Then it started snowing harder. Jamie made quick work of those flakes.
Soon, he asked if I was ready to go back to the office, and I was. Tweeting for two hours could have been challenging, yet Jamie and our surroundings kept it interesting. MoDOT's regional and statewide Twitter accounts pick up dozens of new followers with each winter weather event and this morning was no exception. I hope our followers found the tweets from a snowplow as educational as I did.
Snow plowing is serious business, so when I mentioned to Maintenance Superintendent Butch Mundle I wanted to tweet from a snow plow, he humored me.
Jamie Gottman was my capable snow “chauffeur,” and we took out onto US 61 north of Palmyra January 12 at 7 a.m. Snow was flying, wind blowing, and it was downright cold. Not in the plow, though. I could safely “tweet” the experience in a comfortable, heated setting while listening to country music on the radio. I tried not to distract Jamie; he was excellent at paying attention - and you have to be in a snow plow. I tweeted “there are several controls used in the cab, such as one for the gears, one for the blade, and one for the wing plow.” I forgot to mention the spreader control panel on the dashboard that distributes salt and other chemicals from the bed of the dumptruck. Jamie never missed a beat, or an intersection, or a shoulder.
We saw several accidents, which wasn’t surprising considering it was the first time many drivers had been in snow this year. I tweeted about one accident, which had traffic backed up, then tweeted about the next accident right up the road. Emergency responders had their work cut out for them in the frigid temps. But so did Jamie. Because the crashes caused traffic to stop, the unused lanes ahead were quickly covered by snow. Then it started snowing harder. Jamie made quick work of those flakes.
Soon, he asked if I was ready to go back to the office, and I was. Tweeting for two hours could have been challenging, yet Jamie and our surroundings kept it interesting. MoDOT's regional and statewide Twitter accounts pick up dozens of new followers with each winter weather event and this morning was no exception. I hope our followers found the tweets from a snowplow as educational as I did.
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