AnnuAl RepoRt - University of Alabama at Birmingham

Products, Technologies,
and Research Results
UAB UTC has Positive Impact on
Traffic Safety and Injury Control
Although UAB is quite new, being among the
most recent universities to become part of the 60
centers comprising RITA’s national UTC network;
and, despite the fact UAB is among those with the
smallest amount of funding, our efforts are already
having a positive impact on
traffic safety and injury control.
A number of important
and illuminating findings resulting
from research projects
being conducted in both of our
major research domains are
described in detail elsewhere
in this document. However, the
UAB UTC’s contributions to
traffic safety and injury control
have not been limited to
findings growing out of those
research projects.
Specifically, it is a source of
significant pride that meaningful
regulatory contributions
have already resulted from
data analysis and subsequent educational / translational
efforts following the Alabama Distracted
Driving Summit. By adopting ordinances to ban
texting while driving within their local police
jurisdictions (after the Alabama Legislature failed
to pass state-wide legislation), nine municipalities
– including Alabama’s largest, second largest and
fourth largest cities – Birmingham, Montgomery
and Huntsville – benefitted from the important
role the UAB UTC played in
bringing attention to the magnitude
of the distracted driving
problem and by providing irrefutable
data enabling proponents
to “prove their case.”
In addition, Mobile, Alabama,
the State’s third largest city
anticipates becoming the tenth
municipality to pass a similar
ordinance by mid-October of
this year.
Other Alabama municipalities
banning texting while
driving include Adamsville,
Lipscomb, Midfield, Springville
and Vestavia Hills. The
City of Trussville, in Jefferson
County, went even further by not only banning texting
but by including reading or applying makeup,
all of which have been proven to be distracting to
vehicle operators.
Products, Technologies, and Research Results 31