Transportation

About 25% of 7350 patients hospitalized for scooter-related injuries between 2016 and 2021 were using substances such as alcohol, opioids, marijuana and cocaine when injured. The findings underscore the urgent need to strengthen safety regulations, enforce helmet use, and reduce substance use among scooter riders.

Researchers have developed a new catalyst design capable of pushing the projected fuel cell catalyst lifespans to 200,000 hours. The research marks a significant step toward the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology in heavy-duty vehicles, such as long-haul tractor trailers. While platinum-alloy catalysts have historically delivered superior chemical reactions, the alloying elements leach out over time, diminishing catalytic performance. The degradation is further accelerated by the demanding voltage cycles required to power heavy-duty vehicles. To address this challenge, the team has engineered a durable catalyst architecture with a novel design that shields platinum from the degradation typically observed in alloy systems.

A team has developed an explainable AI model for automatic collision avoidance between ships.

Risky driving by parents and other motorists who do the school run is putting children in danger, according to a new study.

New York City's automated speed cameras reduced traffic crashes by 14% and decreased speeding violations by 75% over time, according to new research. The research revealed most cameras achieve their safety purpose within six months, with violations dropping and staying low -- showing drivers have changed behavior to drive more slowly and the cameras are working as intended, to deter speeding.

A new study shows that people in Japan treat robots and AI agents more respectfully than people in Western societies.

Crashes on electric scooters are mostly due to the behavior of the riders, with one-handed steering and riding in a group being some of the largest risk factors. The researchers are also concerned about riders who deliberately crash or cause dangerous situations when riding, a phenomenon that seems to be specific to electric scooters.

Researchers have demonstrated that multicolored stickers applied to stop or speed limit signs on the roadside can 'confuse' self-driving vehicles, causing unpredictable and possibly hazardous operations.

A research team has developed a way for self-driving vehicles to share their knowledge about road conditions indirectly, making it possible for each vehicle to learn from the experiences of others even when they rarely meet on the road.

Combustion engines, the engines in gas-powered cars, only use a quarter of the fuel's potential energy while the rest is lost as heat through exhaust. Now, a study demonstrates how to convert exhaust heat into electricity. The researchers present a prototype thermoelectric generator system that could reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions -- an opportunity for improving sustainable energy initiatives in a rapidly changing world.

New research finds that electric vehicles generally produce less non-exhaust emissions compared with gasoline-powered vehicles.

There's a 26 per cent annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a recent study. While the chance of debris hitting an aircraft is very low, the research highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space rocket junk to disrupt flights and create additional costs for airlines and passengers is not.

Young adults are at higher risk for crashes due to inexperience, risk-taking, and impaired driving. A study examines the link between commuter college students' mental health and crash risk, highlighting the added impact on their education, especially in transit-limited South Florida.

Running out of gas in a remote area far from a gas station is every driver's worst nightmare. A similar stressor, known as "range anxiety," exists for owners of electric vehicles who worry about how far their EV's can drive without running out of battery. As EVs become more common on roadways -- annual EV sales are estimated to reach 7.2 million by 2030 -- innovative new methods are being developed to more easily charge them.

The development of vehicle components is a lengthy and therefore very costly process. Researchers have developed a method that can shorten the development phase of the powertrain of battery electric vehicles by several months. A team is combining simulation models of components with evolutionary optimization algorithms. This AI system automatically optimizes the entire powertrain -- from the power electronics to the electric machine through to the transmission -- in line with the manufacturer's technical requirements, taking into account targets such as production costs, efficiency and package space requirements in the vehicle.

A new study finds that prompts do a good job of getting drivers to engage with their environment and take over control of the vehicle when necessary while using partially automated driving systems -- with one exception. If drivers are deeply distracted, these system-generated prompts have little or no effect.

develop a model that can help municipalities choose optimal locations as they expand their cycling lane networks in response to growing demand.

A new study has found that drug screening practices may be inconsistent with potential downstream effects in reporting to the RMV.

Researchers have developed new measurement techniques and methods to measure emissions from category-L vehicles in realistic operation and to determine corresponding limit values.

Researchers focus on enhancing the aerodynamic performance of autonomous vehicles by reducing drag induced by externally mounted sensors such as cameras and light detection and ranging instruments. After establishing an automated computational platform, they combined the experimental design with a substitute model and an optimization algorithm to improve the structural shapes of AV sensors. They then performed simulations of both the baseline and optimized models. After optimizing the design, researchers found a 3.44% decrease in the total aerodynamic drag of an AV.

Engineers have developed a new signal analysis technology that enhances radar range resolution and is applicable to various radar systems.

Using field sensors, various ecological modelling technologies and deep learning algorithms, a French research team has developed a method for mapping the risk of collisions between animals and vehicles along transport infrastructures. In the future, it could contribute to collision management in autonomous vehicles thanks to connected infrastructures.

To improve the riding experience and safety, the research team has identified several potential enhancements, including better suspension systems, redesigned seats to absorb vibrations more effectively, and driver monitoring systems to encourage smoother driving practices.

Scientists have presented work examining the circumstances surrounding the whale deaths off the coast of New Jersey in the winter of 2022-23, which prompted concern that survey work in the area somehow contributed to their deaths. The Marine Mammal Commission has stated there is no evidence linking the whales' deaths to wind energy development; many of them died from collisions with ships. Researchers, however, are concerned that the increased presence of survey ships in and around New Jersey waters may have exacerbated the situation.

'Cool' white lights -- such as those in modern car headlights -- endanger moths by causing them to fly erratically, new research shows.

Despite ongoing efforts to curb CO2 emissions with electric and hybrid vehicles, other forms of transportation remain significant contributors of greenhouse gases. To address this issue, old technologies are being revamped to make them greener, such as the reintroduction of sailing vessels in shipping and new uses for hydrogen in aviation. Now, researchers have used computer modeling to study the feasibility and challenges of hydrogen-powered aviation.

A team of engineers has published a study on how international air travel has influenced the spread of COVID-19, finding Western Europe, the Middle East and North America as leading regions in fueling the pandemic.

A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research team used computer simulations to show that aggressive electrification of the U.S. vehicle fleet, coupled with an ambitious rollout of renewable electricity generation, could result in health benefits worth between US$84 billion and 188 billion by 2050. Even scenarios with less aggressive grid decarbonization mostly predicted health benefits running into the tens of billions of dollars.

Global warming could increase the threat posed to whale sharks from large ships, according to a new study.

Liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new study.

The rate of e-bike and powered scooter injuries surged between 2019 and 2022 -- by 293 percent and 88 percent, respectively. The research adds to the existing information and gap in knowledge on the sociodemographic and risk factor variables that might be contributing to micro-mobility vehicle-related injuries.

Imagine simply telling your vehicle, 'I'm in a hurry,' and it automatically takes you on the most efficient route to where you need to be. Engineers found that an autonomous vehicle (AV) can do this with the help of ChatGPT or other chatbots made possible by artificial intelligence algorithms called large language models.

Researchers have discovered why lithium-ion batteries, which power most electronic devices, lose capacity overtime. The findings could enable the development of electric vehicles that go far longer without needing a charge.

When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced. A research group is now presenting an advance in so-called massless energy storage -- a structural battery that could halve the weight of a laptop, make the mobile phone as thin as a credit card or increase the driving range of an electric car by up to 70 percent on a single charge.

New research proposes a way to predict and prevent temperature spikes and fires in the lithium-ion batteries commonly used to power electric vehicles.

When it comes to purchasing and using electric vehicles (EVs), housing- and income-related factors significantly shape perceptions and preferences among potential buyers, finds a new study. This research is among the first to examine both EV adoption and charging infrastructure through an equity lens coupled with state-of-the-art original survey data.

Laws that let bicyclists treat stop signs as yield signs lead neither riders nor motorists to act unsafely, according to a groundbreaking study.

More efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells are essential for fuel cell-powered heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles to be an alternative to combustion fuelled counterparts. Researchers have developed an innovative method to study and understand how parts of fuel cells degrade over time. This is an important step towards the improved performance of fuel cells and them becoming commercially successful.

New findings document fewer ship tracks, reduced cloud cover, and boosted warming after ship emissions regulations took effect in 2020.

In the crowded urban landscape, where small electric vehicles -- primarily scooters and bicycles -- have transformed short distance travel, researchers are reporting a major national surge in accidents tied to 'micromobility.'

A new study suggests that the U.S. government's push to increase heavy-duty trucks' energy efficiency could encourage more shipping by truck instead of rail, reducing the policies' anticipated effectiveness by 20%.

The possibility of hydrogen-powered flight means greater opportunities for fossil-free travel, and the technological advances to make this happen are moving fast. New studies show that almost all air travel within a 750-mile radius (1200 km) could be made with hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2045, and with a novel heat exchanger currently in development, this range could be even further.

While not yet on the market, fully autonomous vehicles are promoted as a way to make road travel dramatically safer, but a recent study found that knowing more about them did not improve people's perception of their risk. They needed to have more trust in them too. This study adds to the evidence from other research that knowledge alone is not enough to sway people's attitudes toward complex technology and science, such as gene editing or climate change. In this case, researchers found that trust in the autonomous vehicles' reliability and performance played the strongest role in improving perceptions of the technology's risk.

Drivers are optimistic about 'on road' dynamic wireless charging that allows EV users to charge their batteries while driving -- but there are concerns.

Green hydrogen often, but certainly not always, leads to CO2 gains.

Researchers conducting a study at a high-traffic intersection in a Jersey Shore town have found that the installation of a bike lane along the road approaching the convergence reduced driving speeds.

As more and more people drive electric cars, congestion and queues can occur when many people need to charge at the same time. A new study shows how AI-controlled charging stations, through smart algorithms, can offer electric vehicle users personalized prices, and thus minimize both price and waiting time for customers. But the researchers point to the importance of taking the ethical issues seriously, as there is a risk that the artificial intelligence exploits information from motorists.

Artificial intelligence (AI) combined with a novel bio-inspired camera achieves 100 times faster detection of pedestrians and obstacles than current automotive cameras. This important step for computer vision and AI and can greatly improve the safety of automotive systems and self-driving cars.

A team has analyzed the risk and damage potential of hydrogen vehicles in tunnels and derived recommendations. Their conclusion? Any damage would be extensive, but its occurrence is unlikely.

Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current U.S. policy guidelines to transition the country's electricity and vehicle infrastructure to renewable energy, according to a new study.

Driving at night might be a scary challenge for a new driver, but with hours of practice it soon becomes second nature. For self-driving cars, however, practice may not be enough because the lidar sensors that often act as these vehicles' 'eyes' have difficulty detecting dark-colored objects. New research describes a highly reflective black paint that could help these cars see dark objects and make autonomous driving safer.

Electric bicycle rebates have exploded in popularity in North America as transportation planners try to get people out of their cars and into healthier, more climate-friendly alternatives. However, questions remain: Are new cycling habits sustainable? Who benefits most from these incentives? And are they worth the cost? Researchers now have some answers.

Two of the biggest challenges faced by new and potential electric vehicle (EV) drivers are range anxiety and speed of charging, but these shouldn't have to be challenges at all. Researchers discovered that a change in refueling mindset, rather than improving the size or performance of the battery, could be the answer to these concerns.

As early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) trade up for the latest models, the used EV market is beginning to mature in the United States. Yet many potential buyers, particularly low-income drivers, are skeptical of EV's conveniences and are put off by the price.

From heatwaves to pandemic diseases, the urban environments of the world face numerous challenges. Researchers are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and informatics to address emerging concerns related to environmental changes and urban growth.

Using a cell phone, driving while tired and driving on unfamiliar roads increased the likelihood of a crash.

Existing ship control systems using Model Predictive Control for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) do not consider the various forces acting on ships in real sea conditions. Addressing this gap, researchers developed a novel time-optimal control method, that accounts for the real wave loads acting on a ship, enabling effective planning and control of MASS at sea.

Researchers are taking cleaner transportation to the skies by creating and evaluating new batteries for airborne electric vehicles that take off and land vertically. Researchers are developing new energy-dense materials, learning how these materials degrade under extreme conditions, and developing battery control systems.

Adding a fourth light to traffic signals -- in addition to red, green and yellow -- would shorten wait times at street corners for pedestrians, as well as improve traffic flow for both autonomous vehicles and human drivers. And the more autonomous vehicles there are in the traffic network, the shorter the wait times for everyone.

Scientists have pioneered a method for using semiconductor technology to manufacture processors that significantly enhance the efficiency of transmitting vast amounts of data across the globe.