NEWSLETTER

Puente
2020
EL

Volume 34
Number 2

https://pixabay.com/photos/people-women-men-the-masks-5099118

Authorized by the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections (# CEE-SA-2020-2387)

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO Puerto Rico LTAP

www. prltap.org
MAYAGÜEZ CAMPUS
2 PUERTO RICO TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER • prltap.org

Puente
EL

Vol. 34 No. 2, 2020

CONTENTS PAGES

Message of the Director 3

Page 4
Auto Manufacturers Foresee Changes to
Address the New Normal for Safety Without 4
Sacrificing Comfort Amidst COVID-19

STEP Studio: Tools for Selecting and

Implementing Countermeasures for 5-6
Improving Pedestrian Crossing Safety

Pages 5-6
Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020:
7
Commit to Saving Lives Today!

Vol. 34 No. 2, 2020

The Puerto Rico Transportation Technology Transfer Center, PRLTAP/T2, is part of a network of 52 Centers throughout the
United States that comprises of a Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and one National Tribal Technical Assistance
Program (TTAP). The mission of the PRLTAP/T2 Center is to provide training and technical assistance to local transportation
officials in the 78 municipalities that comprises the Government of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Department of
Transportation and Public Works with emphasis on promoting highway safety and implementing the Every Day Counts (EDC)
initiatives of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
 prltap.org • EL PUENTE NEWSLETTER VOL.34 NO. 2, 2020 3

w Message from the Director

elcome to our second edition of the thirty-fourth anniversary of

the El Puente Newsletter! Two articles of interest to our local
transportation officials are presented: Auto Manufacturers
Foresee Changes to Address the New Normal for Safety Without Sacrificing Comfort Amidst COVID-
19, and STEP Studio: Tools for Selecting and Implementing Countermeasures for Improving
Pedestrian Crossing Safety.

The featured article titled Auto Manufacturers Foresee Changes to Address the New Normal for Safety
Without Sacrificing Comfort Amidst COVID-19, explains how the world of transportation will
significantly change regarding to how safety is perceived due to this worldwide, public health and life
threatening pandemic. The idea of new motor vehicle designs regarding clean and fresh air to regulate a
clean environment might be implemented to avoid any type of contamination. The auto manufacturers
will also be taking every driver or passenger’s mental health into consideration since the health
concerns have become traumatic during this historical pandemic, changing the views of safety
concerning their physical health during transportation.

The second article titled STEP Studio: Tools for Selecting and Implementing Countermeasures for
Improving Pedestrian Crossing Safety, presents six (6) steps to protect the human beings from future
crashes and fatalities while crossing. Some of these steps demand the recompilation of pedestrian
safety and crash data, explains the different options of how an agency can log field conditions and
screen the transportation network for high-crash and high-risk locations, mentions the different
methods for summarizing pedestrian crash types, and identifies different countermeasures.

This edition closes with the unwavering commitment for road safety, with ten fundamental pledges
which contribute to saving lives worldwide. Please share this pledge with friends and family, and help
save lives on the roads.

I hope that the articles presented in this edition will be of benefit to the readers, in our interest to share
and continuously update innovative news associated with highway transportation and safety.

Benjamín Colucci Ríos

4 PUERTO RICO TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER
Auto Manufacturers Foresee Changes to Address the New Normal
for Safety Without Sacrificing Comfort Amidst COVID-19
Since the proclamation on declaring a national emergency
concerning the outbreak and subsequent pandemic of
COVID-19, the public health inside privately-owned, ride
-sharing (TNC’s) and public transportation vehicles are a
major concern. Furthermore, auto manufacturers have a
challenge in addressing future vehicle designs without
sacrificing safety features.
The German Chief Design Officer for Daimler’s AG, who
created several Mercedes-Benz vehicles and Vision
Mercedes concepts, estimates that there
foreseeable changes on how drivers carry on their daily
lives in regards with this pandemic,
transportation will become part of the new normal for
safety. The Chief Designer, while quarantined, had time to
think of outside-the-box alternative designs as a regimen
for shelter, how safety and luxury overlap and will
continue their development. For this evolving and growing
pandemic, idealizations regarding the safety of the
community have surfaced due to the closure of many
factories and months of isolation.
Chief of Exterior Design for Rolls-Royce explained how
their expectations involving the future of the Coronavirus
will be about “the freedom of going to places safely”,
creating new vehicle designs that focus on their interior
and how they will regulate a clean environment, to avoid
any type of contamination. There was an emphasis that
“an interior has always been a safe space, people will do
all kinds of things in their vehicle that they would not do
on their own front lawn.”, (i.e. holding a business meeting,
applying makeup, have consultations, etc).
The idea of a secluded interior in vehicles, as a sanctuary
or a haven, has become extremely relevant and pertinent
as a topic to discuss, since transportation increases the
• prltap.org
chances of infections. Drivers and occupants want to
feel protected, especially in these dangerous and
difficult times. The Creative Director for Exterior
Design at Jaguar Land Rover explained how they are
working on a new vehicle design, which will resemble a
beautiful sanctuary.
The safety concerns in luxury vehicles, such as sport
cars, have always focused on the safeguard against
crashes. In other countries such as Colombia, Russia,
will be Mexico, and Brazil, their main focus for safety involves
the protection against theft, assault, and kidnapping.
and how However, safety concerns include a health factor now,
both physical and psychological.
With physical health concerns that regard clean air,
COVID-19 had encouraged auto manufacturers to take
into consideration the psychological well-being, since it
has become a trauma throughout and after this historical
pandemic, which has changed the views of safety
concerning their health. Drivers and occupants in the
near future will most likely expect utter isolation and
productivity inside these fully automated vehicles,
which will ultimately become the new norm for safety.
 prltap.org • EL PUENTE NEWSLETTER VOL.34 NO. 2, 2020 5

S
afe Transportation for Every Pedestrian
Studio (STEP) is very well known for its
professionals that categorize suitable
countermeasures for improved pedestrian safety,
regarding a vast compilation of research,
resources, design guidance and even the best
practices.
STEP Studio has developed a six (6) step
selection process, described below:
Step 2. Inventory Conditions and Prioritize
Locations: Describes the options for how an
agency can log in field conditions (i.e. roadway
characteristics) and examine the transportation
network for high-crash and high-risk locations.
An agency can perform any of these analysis:
• Inventory Roadway Characteristics
• Conduct Crash Cluster Analysis
• Conduct a Systemic Analysis

Step 1. Collect Data and Engage the Public: Step 3. Analyze Crash Types and Safety Issues:

It demands the collection of pedestrian safety It explains the different methods for
and crash data, reviewing current highway safety summarizing pedestrian crash types and
plans, initiating a pedestrian safety action plan, observed traffic safety issues. This information is
pedestrian safety policy analysis, a request for pertinent for choosing the proper safety
and response of public input, and conducting a countermeasure:
walkability audit:
• Create a Crash Diagram
• Pedestrian Crash Data Collection • Identify Crash Factors
• Conduct a Pedestrian Road Safety Assessment
• Review Existing Highway Safety Plans
(RSA)
• Initiate a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan

• Pedestrian Safety Policy Analysis

• Request and Receive Public Input

• Conduct a Walkability Audit

Source: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov
6 PUERTO RICO TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER • prltap.org

Step 4. Select Countermeasures: Include the

different countermeasures regarding safety, by
specifying some considerations such as analyzing
the network, stopping sight distance, crosswalk
spacing, and both markings and patterns.

Step 5. Consult Design and Installation

Resources: Includes further resources that refine
countermeasure options for priority sites:

• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

(MUTCD)

• American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

• Local orientation and other types of information

Source: https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov

Step 6. Identify Opportunities and Monitor Outcomes:

It describes possible options for funding and implementation

of the countermeasures described in the Studio:

• Identify implementation opportunities

• Consider funding options Source: http://www.pedbikesafe.org/pedsafe/

• Construct improvements

• Supervise results of implementation

 prltap.org • EL PUENTE NEWSLETTER VOL.34 NO. 2, 2020 7

Together we can save millions of lives!

I, ___________________________, pledge to do my part to help save lives on the road.
I pledge to:
____ 1. Not text while driving.

____ 2. Obey the traffic laws applicable to drivers.

____ 3. Comply with the speed limits.

____ 4. Pass the key if I am under the influence of alcohol.

____ 5. Have no distractions while driving a motor vehicle.

____ 6. Share the road with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

____ 7. Always fasten my safety belt.

____ 8. Require my vehicle occupants to always buckle the safety belt.

____ 9. Always buckle my children with a safety belt.

____ 10. Use the protective safety devices while on a motorcycle,

bicycle or motor vehicle.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Luis A. Señeriz Foundation

http://prltap.org/

Traffic Safety Automobile Accident

Commission Compensation Administration
 PRLTAP/T2 Center Staff
PUERTO RICO TRANSPORTATON TECHNOLOGY Director & Editor
TRANSFER CENTER Benjamín Colucci-Ríos
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying
Assistant Editors
Call Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00681 Natalia A. Alzate-Pérez
Raquel Ramírez-Torres
787.834.6385 PHONE
787.265.5695 FAX Keryliz Pérez-Luciano
www.prltap.org
Administrative Staff

Puente
EL Irmalí Franco-Ramírez
Ciara Toro-Rosario
Grisel Villarubia-Echevarría

Student Support
Krystal M. Franco-Ramírez
Marhía A. Pérez-Martell
Emily M. Silva-Brenes

El Puente Newsletter
Vol. 34, No. 2, 2020

EL PUENTE is published by the Puerto Rico Transportation Technology Transfer

Center at the Civil Engineering and Surveying Department of the University of
Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

The opinions, findings or recommendations expressed in this edition of the El Puente newsletter are those of the Center Director and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the Federal Highway Administration, the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works or the Puerto Rico Highway and
Transportation Authority.

Puerto Rico LTAP