Katy B. Olson
Katy B. Olson's Latest Posts
Hawaii Governor strengthens distracted driving and seat belt laws
On May 20, the Governor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie, signed two important bills for traffic safety. One mandates that all occupants in a vehicle, whether sitting in the front or the back, must wear seat belts. The other bill prohibits drivers from using handheld mobile phones and texting (whether with a mobile phone or other […]
Seat belt law tightens in West Virginia
West Virginia drivers may now be pulled over for seat belt violations – by themselves, without any other infractions – if a new measure recently approved by the state’s House of Delegates 55-44 is passed by the Senate.
Parking app roundup
The latest crop of parking apps delivers remote car access, a map of cheap fuel options, and access to private parking spots. The only catch? Most of these innovative apps are only available in certain locales; the parking app market remains sadly fragmented: FordPass Happily, the app isn’t just for Ford drivers. Through a partnership […]
Talking distracts pedestrians more than texting on phone
Distracted driving has been ingrained in most drivers’ (and passengers’) minds since the advent of smartphones. But what about distracted walking? A new study, “The effects of mobile phone use on pedestrian crossing behaviour at unsignalized intersections,” out of the University of Belgrade, aims to investigate the influence mobile phone use, including talking, texting and listening […]
Digital signage is a distracted driving hazard
Even without smartphones, screaming kids, backseat drivers and in-vehicle displays, driving can be dangerous. The open road may pose one of the biggest — and, incidentally, legal — distractions of all. LED billboards, as a recent study, “A field study on the effects of digital billboards on glance behavior during highway driving,” suggests, may pose […]
Parking app ParkMe now takes Android Pay
Stop the circling! ParkMe, the app that provides users with realtime on- and off-street parking data, is now inviting drivers to reserve and pay for parking via Android Pay. The latest version of the ParkMe Android app is equipped with the feature. “We want to make it easier for businesses like ParkMe to offer a […]
Parking report: L.A. needs infill (badly)
How can parking impact traffic in one of the country’s most notoriously congestion-plagued cities? Plenty of cities maintain minimum parking requirements, yet, as certain researchers are pointing out, there is lacking data on how much parking infrastructure has expanded. In the recent study, “Parking Infrastructure: A Constraint on or Opportunity for Urban Redevelopment? A Study […]
Washington, D.C. parking becomes demand-responsive
Washington, D.C. parking has been on the media radar for a number of reasons, perhaps most prominently among them a pilot initiative called ParkDC, which will adjust the prices of 1,300 parking meters via a demand-based system that will bounce time of day, location and other factors to calculate pricing. ParkDC is first targeting traffic […]
What new automotive tech actually interests drivers?
Plenty of new technologies, fuel alternatives and smart vehicle options are out on the market. The result: a better driving experience, and a cleaner, greener carbon footprint. But are consumers actually opting for these options? A new study from researchers hailing from the Korea Environment Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of technology, […]
Recent study finds reasons to walk to school, and why certain kids aren’t
Everyone has that one relative who can’t wait to regale them with stories of “When I was your age, I trudged to school in the middle of a snowstorm…” These days, kids are walking to school less and less. The results have greater implications than just a lack of stories to tell their future grandkids […]
Motion sickness a stumbling block for autonomous vehicles
Self-driving cars are set to reduce traffic congestion, spur environmental improvements, and lower mobility costs for (former) drivers. As recent study “Self-driving Carsickness” shows, autonomous vehicles may also be linked with an uptick in carsickness — and fully autonomous vehicles may cause symptoms profound enough to limit the impact of these otherwise life-changing vehicles. But there is hope: The study also […]