GotBot

Hi everyone. We are the robotics team from Gold Trail School located in Placerville California. We are working on our project for the competition that is on November 15. Our project is on transportation and how to make the roads safer, more affordable, and more efficient. We choose to find a way to make the roads safer. We noticed how there are a lot more alcohol related accidents today then there were 50 years ago. A first time drunk driving offender on average has driven drunk 87 times prior to being arrested. Our device will reduce this number to 0. Our idea is to invent a special key that senses your blood alcohol level and shuts off the car if it sees that you are drunk. This will eliminate anybody driving drunk in the vehicles with this device.


We sent an email to a local transportation expert. We had him answer some questions.

1. What is the most important transportation question facing our area?

· Funding – Obtaining the money necessary to construct improvements to the multi-modal transportation system

2. How could our transportation network be made safer?

· By emphasizing the 3E’s: Engineering, education, and enforcement

3. How do you think transportation could be improved in our area?

· By encouraging multi-modal transportation options (public transit, bicycling, walking)

4. Do you think our community’s transportation system works well for children? The elderly? Adults?

· Providing transportation to transit dependent populations (disabled, low income, elderly) is a challenge for rural communities.

5. What can be done to make our community’s transportation network more efficient?

· Close gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle facilities

· Implement Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technology

· Constructing parallel capacity roadway facilities

6. What advice can you give the next generation about fixing transportation problems?

· Be an example: Bike to school, walk to school, use a “walking” school bus

7. What do you think transportation will be like in the future?

· Increased use of lower emission fuels and vehicles