Highway Transportation System

1
Chapter 2

• Highway Transportation System

2

• People
• Vehicles
• Roadways

3
Purpose of the HTS

• Move people and cargo safely and efficiently

4

• People
• Use the HTS by walking, driving, or riding and
  are called roadway users
• Vehicles
• There are a wide range of vehicles
• Mopeds and Motorcycles
• Tractors and Semi-trucks
• Cars, SUVs, Vans
• Farm Vehicles
• Emergency Vehicles
• Bicycles

5

• Roadways
• Varies from dirt roads to complex multi-lane
  expressway
• Problems with roadways are
• Rain
• Night time
• Rough pavement

6
HTS Breakdowns

• Traffic tie-ups
• Collisions

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Motor Vehicles Deaths Involving Alcohol

• United States
• 1999- 34000 deaths
• 12000-alcohol related
• 6000-drug related

• North Carolina
• 2009- 11,253 crashes
• 394 fatalities
• 8736 injuries
• This means while alcohol a part in just 5 of the
  total crashes, it accounted for 30 of all
  fatalities

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Sports Utility Vehicles

• Advantages
• Bigger, higher and safe for occupants
• Ford SUV weighs 7,000 pounds
• In accidents the bigger, higher survive
• 
  

• Problems
• Poor gas mileage
• High center gravity easier to roll over

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Sharing the road with trucks and buses

• No Zone- represents the danger area around the
  trucks and buses where crashes are likely to occur

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Motorcycles

• Most dangerous form of transportation
• 37 deaths per 100,000,000 miles driven, compared
  to 1.7 for all motor vehicles
• 70 of deaths are failure to yield to motorcycles.

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Mopeds

• Part of the US highways
• They are not bicycles or motorcycles
• Often operated by persons without a license.
• Travels slow-lane position three
• Only requirement- 16 years old and wear a DOT
  helmet

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Farm Vehicles

• Farm vehicles have a right to use the roads
• They move slow usually 15-18 mph
• Can be operated by unlicensed persons
• They cause drivers to take unnecessary risk

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Pedestrians

• 4100 pedestrian/vehicle deaths each year in the
  US
• 147 fatalities and 1,682 injuries in North
  Carolina in 2009
• Scan harder around alleys, driveways, residential
  areas, jogging areas, parking lots

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Move Over Law

• It is the responsibility of the driving public to
  yield to emergency vehicles
• The law requires motorist to slow down and
  approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is
  stopped on the shoulder with its lights on
• On multi-lane highway- move over to another lane
  or slow down on a two lane highway

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Three Skills of Driving Task

• Physical skill- the person coordination with the
  vehicle
• Social skill- interaction with others on the
  highway. Be positive. Road rage is on a rise.
  Drivers are often rude
• Mental skill- five mental skills
• Understand your vehicle
• Perception based on stored knowledge
• understand traffic laws
• Judge time and space relationship
• Concentration study the traffic

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Six means of management of HTS

• DMV- Regulates drivers licenses, truck weight,
  license plates, fees, registration
• Enforcement agencies- each police unit, highway
  patrol help maintain safe travel
• Traffic court- assure proper enforcement of law
• Engineering-highway and vehicle
• Medical aid- reduces the losses caused by
  collisions
• Education- high school drivers education