2009 UTC News

December

The UAB-UTC and UTCA hosted the 2009 Alabama Distracted Driving Conference on December 3rd. Click here for more information

 

 

 

 

 

Driven with Distraction- by Sec. Ray LaHood

By all accounts, Joe Teater was a youngster with tremendous promise: smart, popular, interested in making movies and videos. But the 12-year-old Michigan boy was killed in 2004 when a driver ran a red light and smashed into the car in which Joe and his mother were riding. The driver who hit Joe's car didn't see the red light because she was talking on her cellphone.

more>>

November

October

September

UAB-UTC leadership participates in National Distracted Driving Conference

Click here for more information

August

UAB researchers find drivers need more information about affect of medication on ability to drive safely

Some 77 percent of drivers age 75 and older surveyed were unaware of the impact that medications may have on their driving performance, according to research from the UAB Center for Injury Sciences. Yet this group was most likely to have multiple medical conditions and be taking multiple medications. Paul MacLennan, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery at UAB and the lead study author, said increased knowledge and awareness by health professionals who can offer suggestion on modifying behavior and increased patient education by pharmacists will help reduce risks.

more >>

July

UAB UTC CO-SPONSORS DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SEMINAR

Are we ready in the event of a disaster? 

"Disaster Preparedness from Multiple Perspectives" is the theme of the most recent seminar/webinar sponsored by the UAB University Transportation Center (UAB UTC) and the South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness (SCCPHP).
 
UAB emerge from various disciplines made presentations on wide ranging topics and how they relate to transportation safety in a disaster situation. The seminar concluded with a roundtable discussion moderated by UAB UTC Principal Investigator Dr. Gerald McGwin (School of Public Health).
 
The event was held on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on the UAB campus. Click here for access to the archived presentations.

Video of the seminar will be available soon!

DVD copies of the 2008 UAB-UTC Advisory Board Meeting are now available.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy please contact Dr. Andrea Underhill @ 205-934-2862 or by email @ moonpie@uab.edu

Cameron Dianne Underhill-7/22/09

April

Dr. Cynthia Owsley named 2009 ARVO FellowDr. Owsley received her undergraduate degree from Wheaton College,

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc. (ARVO) was founded in 1928 in Washington, DC by 73 ophthalmologists. Its mission is to encourage and assist research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology.

March

UTC Showcases Transportation Research at National Conference

The UAB UTC was able to help promote transportation-related research by providing modest financial support for several participants in the 2009 National Injury and Violence Prevention Research Conference, "From Discovery to Practice: Innovative Translational Approaches to Injury Prevention and Care."

The conference, held March 5-6, 2009, in Atlanta, Ga., was sponsored by the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, The Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, and the Emory University Center for Injury Control. The target audience included injury researchers and those with a close association with injury research, including epidemiologists, biostatisticians, engineers, economists, psychologists, clinicians, other health professionals and students.

In its continued efforts to support students in research and to encourage those students to pursue transportation-related careers, the UAB UTC provided support for six students and two faculty/staff researchers to attend the conference.

The UTC-sponsored presentations at the conference were (student names in bold):

Risky driver/passenger intentions across elementary, middle and high school students.
Nita Hestevold, Nancy Rhodes, Debra McCallum

Social norms predict students' intention to drink and drive.
Debra McCallum, Nita Hestevold, Nancy Rhodes

The social dynamics of teen driver/passenger interaction. (Podium presentation)
Nita Hestevold, Nancy Rhodes, Kelly Pivik, Amie Edison

Influence of carrying a backpack on pedestrian safety.
Danielle D. Pitts, Despina Stavrinos, David Schwebel

Visual inattention in ADHD and risky pedestrian behavior.
Megan Knauss, Despina Stavrinos, Shandrea Pendleton, Desiree de Jong, David Schwebel

How temperament and ADHD predict child pedestrian injury.
Shandrea Pendleton, Despina Stavrinos, Renea Cotney, Kevin Bridgmon, David Schwebel

Injury behavior checklist validation: Children with ADHD.
Renea Cotney, Despina Stavrinos, Megan E. Knauss, Krystle White, David Schwebel

The role of cell phones in college pedestrian injury risk.
Despina Stavrinos, Katherine W. Byington, Tiffany Davis, David Schwebel

Information discovery support for the translation approach.
Dana Steil, David Brown

 

February

January

This month in UTC Spotlight the focus is on the work being done by The National Center for Freight & Infrastructure Research and Education (C.F.I.R.E) to solve the the large truck parking shortage problem.