roadway safety

Portrait: Glenn Washer

MU Professor Appears in Federal Code

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Glenn Washer has earned a unique distinction: appearing by name in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

Looking over the shoulder of a person driving a car at sunset.

Mizzou research aims to improve driver alerts through science

If researchers can predict how drivers will react, they can better tailor systems either broadly or potentially to individual motorists. Mizzou Engineering Assistant Professor Jung Hyup Kim’s research opens the door to potentially creating a more interactive system.

truck mounted attenuators (TMAs) in mobile work zones

Lighting the way to safer driving

A team of MU Civil and Environmental Engineering researchers discovered as much when they studied response to different types of lights on what are called truck mounted attenuators (TMAs) in mobile work zones — for example, road striping zones. TMAs are attached to a construction vehicle and typically contain lights alerting drivers to upcoming work zones and additional items such as lane closures, upcoming lane mergers, etc.

Various road signs closing off a street. They read

Driver distractions in work zones can be costly

Distractions in the car are everywhere. Texting, taking a call, changing the radio, attending to passengers, picking up a dropped item — all of them can cause us to lose sight of the road for a few seconds. But mere seconds can be the difference between life and death.