Message Monday - Feb. 29, 2016 - Don't leap from your seat - buckle up

February 29, 2016

Here’s a little leap year math for you. Feb. 29 is a date that occurs in most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Now that you’ve had your math lesson, let’s move on to physics. Newton’s First Law of Motion says an object (your body) in motion will continue in motion unless a force (seat belt) is there to prevent it.

Math and science hypotheses can be proven true or false, but what about this statement? “I don’t wear my seat belt because if I crash it is safer to be thrown clear of the car than to stay buckled in.”

SimSpec group finalizing year-long revamp of asphalt specs

February 23, 2016

What could be more fun than sifting through decades of old asphalt specifications?  Since the task really doesn’t sound all that appealing to most people, it took a special group of Iowa Department of Transportation and our industry partners to tackle the job.  

Scott Schram, the Iowa DOT’s bituminous engineer, said, “For years, more and more specifications were added to our system without ever removing the ones that no longer applied. It was getting very difficult for our industry partners, especially new ones, to look at our specifications and understand which ones they were supposed to use.”

He continued, “Cities and counties are now using our specifications. The complexity of the system we had in place was starting to have a negative impact and it didn’t need to be that way. Some of the specifications were written in such technical language you would need an advanced engineering degree to understand them. Even our employees were overwhelmed with some of the specifications and that lead to asking a million questions. We needed to do better.”

Message Monday - Feb. 22, 2016 - Winter blues? Do not snooze while you cruise

February 22, 2016

Officially, we have less than a month of winter left. For the “glass-half-full” people, that means we’re on the downhill slide to spring. For the “glass-half-empty” folks…. well, you see more cold, gloomy days ahead.

While the days are getting longer, it still seems like you’re either leaving in the morning or returning home in the afternoon in the dark. Here a couple of tips from the National Sleep Foundation on how to stay alert behind the wheel.

Personnel Updates for Jan. 29- Feb. 11, 2016

February 19, 2016

Information provided by the Office of Employee Services

Regional truck parking information system gets major boost with federal grant

February 15, 2016

One trip down Interstate 80 in Iowa and you’ll quickly notice how much large truck traffic traverses our state. With the anticipated increase in the amount of freight shipped over the road, the need to better communicate information critical to driver success is driving a regional study on development of a truck parking information management system.

A recent $25 million federal grant is helping eight Midwest states develop a regional truck parking information and management system. The states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin are working together to find a solution that gets parking information to truckers in a timely and useful way.

Message Monday for Feb. 15, 2016 - To: Driver From: Seat belt - I think we click

February 15, 2016

What’s in a hug? According to Wikipedia, “Depending on culture, context and relationship, a hug can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship, brotherhood, or sympathy. A hug can show support, comfort, and consolation, particularly where words are insufficient.”

There are no words to console the family members of someone who has died in a vehicle crash. However, there is a hug that can help keep your loved one alive. That hug doesn’t come from a human, but from a seat belt.

Buckling up is the single most effective way to survive in the event of a vehicle crash.

Not convinced that a seat belt can hug you? Check this out https://youtu.be/h-8PBx7isoM