Imagine trying to drive a car where your entire view was a giant rear-view mirror. You have a great view of everything behind you, but you cant see a thing in traffic ahead. What are the odds you will get where you are going? Now while that may sound a little foolish, surprisingly it’s the [...]
How to avoid being overwhelmed by your work
24 Apr 2011 By
It happens to all of us at some time. You get overwhelmed by your work, by the things than need to get done. You get to the point where you don’t know what to do next. This can have serious consequences. It slows you down, frustrates you, causes you stress and you don’t end up [...]
The 80/20 Principle
13 Mar 2011 By
Would you like to learn how to get more done with less effort, eliminate wasteful activities? The 80/20 Principle or Pareto Principle or the Law of the Critical Few has been described in all sorts of ways by many different people, but the central idea is the same: a few things are responsible for most [...]
Optimism Bias in Transport Planning
24 Feb 2011 By
In 2005, Professor Bent Flyvbjerg identified two main causes of misinformation in policy and management: strategic misrepresentation (lying) and optimism bias (appraisal optimism). Strategic misrepresentation is the planned, systematic distortion or misstatement of fact—or lying—in response to incentives in the budget process. Optimism bias or appraisal optimism is the demonstrated systematic tendency for people to [...]
Should we consider prevention of traffic incidents?
12 Feb 2011 By
Rising traffic congestion in urban areas has resulted in an increased focus on the economic, financial and travel reliability impacts. Understanding traffic incident causation and then an increased emphasis on prevention, has the potential to significantly reduce the number and impact of traffic incidents. It is instructive to look at the extensive research in the [...]
Why You Should Be A Life-Long Learner
08 Feb 2011 By
You finish high school, go on to university, and maybe pursue graduate education – all with the plan of preparing yourself for a career. When you are in your early 20’s, school feels like a means to an end – you have been at school for 16 years or more. Once you have a few [...]
Can technology make trips more reliable?
04 Feb 2011 By
Traffic information services have evolved from delivering basic guidance to users (such as the location of specific incidents or major congestion) to offering real-time traffic flow data and now to helping drivers make better decisions by providing real time and predictive information. As car drivers we don’t like everyday traffic congestion, but we become used [...]
How to Read a Book!
02 Feb 2011 By
How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren (1972) But do you know how to really read well? Reading well is what How To Read A Book is all about. Adler identified four levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical and synoptical reading. Each of these reading levels is cumulative, meaning [...]
Can quick clearance solve the challenge of congestion gridlock?
30 Jan 2011 By
Mitigating traffic congestion is a major challenge being faced by highways agencies worldwide. A major portion of the congestion is due to major traffic incidents, and dealing with these can provide significant short solutions, but barriers to successful implementation pose major challenges to be overcome. Congestion is a major economic, social and environmental issue in [...]
How to get things done, today!
25 Jan 2011 By
Some days you begin with the best intentions … and end with the feeling that you achieved nothing of substance. You sit down at your desk, determined to get things done. Then you answer a dozen emails… take a few phone calls… answer a question from your boss… help a colleague solve a problem… And [...]