November 2, 2020
COMMUNITY
Road hazard app designed at OSU
played a big role during wildfires
A web application created by Oregon
State University (OSU) students and staff
for the Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion (ODOT) to alert drivers about real-
time road hazards played a significant role
with the flow of information during
Oregon’s historic wildfires in September.
Developed by the OSU College of
Engineering’s Center for Applied Systems
and Software and released in 2019, the
TripCheck Local Entry app had mostly
been used to alert drivers about road
construction, but it also works for other
events such as weather hazards, car
accidents, and fires.
The app is used by 38 city and county
organizations in Oregon to enter events
that cause road closures or slowdowns. In
response to the recent wildfires, agencies
used the app as a quick and easy way to
alert the public about roads that were
impacted by blazes.
In September, 233 events were added by
local agencies — the highest number ever
in one month. In comparison, there were
53 events added in September 2019.
The interactions with local events on
TripCheck increased from 8,700 in Sep-
tember of last year to 644,000 this year.
TripCheck use of local entries began to rise
on September 7, dramatically increased
the next day, and peaked on September 9
as local agencies gathered information
from the fire lines and posted closures.
“Our collaboration with OSU has
resulted in new outlets to communicate
with the public in innovative ways using
established and proven methods,” said
Brent Atkinson, the business systems
manager at ODOT for the TripCheck
project and other collaborations with
Oregon State. “In the case of the recent
wildfires, our efforts reached hundreds of
thousands of people who otherwise would
have had to go to other websites to obtain
information on local road closures.”
Other collaborative projects between
ODOT and OSU include RealTime signs,
<www.tripcheck.com/RealTime>,
that
gives information on travel time based on
current traffic flow, and a system to
dispatch emergency road crews that has
improved response to calls by five minutes,
WILDFIRE WARNINGS. A web application cre-
ated by Oregon State University students and staff for
the Oregon Department of Transportation to alert driv-
ers about real-time road hazards played a significant
role with the flow of information during Oregon’s his-
toric wildfires in September. Pictured are a damaged
guardrail (top photo) on Oregon Highway 22 near
Gates and a closed road at Exit 19 in Ashland (bottom
photo). (Photos courtesy of the Oregon Office of
Emergency Management)
according to ODOT.
“The numerous projects with ODOT
have given hundreds of undergraduates
hands-on experiences over the last 14
years,” said Mark Clements, senior devel-
opment and quality assurance manager
for OSU’s Center for Applied Systems and
Software.
Phi Luu started working on projects for
ODOT as a second-year student in
computer science. Over the last year and a
half, he contributed to software assisting
ODOT operators in handling road and
weather events.
“Working on ODOT projects gave me a
glimpse of how large-scale software was
developed and maintained,” Luu said. “My
experience was wonderful. Not only did I
receive incredible mentorship and
guidance to develop my software
engineering skills, but I was able to apply
my knowledge to solve real-world
problems.”
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
PPB reminds drivers to avoid
distracted driving, help save lives
Distracted driving is one of the fastest
growing safety issues on U.S. roads today.
Distracted drivers aren’t just a threat to
themselves, they’re a danger to everyone
else on the road, according to the Portland
Police Bureau (PPB) and other traffic
safety officials.
National distracted driving efforts held
last month focused on ways to change the
behavior of drivers through legislation,
enforcement, public awareness, and
education in an effort to help save lives.
While participating in the safety effort,
the PPB Traffic Division reminded drivers
of five important statistics:
1) Texting while driving is equivalent to
driving after consuming four beers.
2) Texting while driving increases by 23
times, the chances of being involved in a
crash.
3) Texting while driving results in a
delay of an additional 5 seconds to react to
an incident occurring in front of you.
4) Texting while driving gives drivers
the reactionary skills of a 70-year-old
adult.
5) Texting while driving is the cause of
25% of all crashes.
In addition, they pointed out that the
first-time violation for Operating a Motor
Vehicle
while
using
a
Mobile
Communication Device costs up to $270.00
in Multnomah County. A driver receiving
a second citation for the same violation
results in a fine of up to $445.00. If caught
a third time, the distracted driver has
committed a Class B Misdemeanor with a
minimum fine of $2,000 that could be
imposed.
Traffic safety officials ask all drivers to
do their part by learning from the
statistics and helping educate others
about the dangers of distracted driving.
“Stay ALIVE … Don’t Text and Drive!!!”
To learn more about driving safely and
distracted driving laws, visit <www.
oregon.gov/odot/safety/pages/distracted.a
spx>.
Department of Consumer & Business Services
Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace
Open enrollment runs from
November 1 to December 15
It’s the only time of year most people can buy their own health insurance.
If you don’t get health insurance through your job or the Oregon Health Plan,
you may qualify for coverage at OregonHealthCare.gov .
You might also get help paying for your insurance.
Find out what coverage and savings are available to you at OregonHealthCare.gov
Visit OregonHealthCare.gov/gethelp or call
1-855-268-3767 to find FREE local help from an expert.
We provide free interpretation services in any language.
Act soon! The deadline is December 15.
OregonHealthCare.gov
A legacy to honor,
roots to remember.
Oregon Employment Department expands website accessibility
The Oregon Employment Department
last month announced that its unemploy-
ment website, <www.unemployment.
oregon.gov>, is now available in 15
languages other than English.
The new site, which provides timely
information about new unemployment
programs, instructions for how to apply for
benefits, and answers to frequently asked
questions, should be easier to navigate and
more accessible to mobile device users.
The website is now available in English,
Spanish,
Vietnamese,
Farsi,
Lao,
Simplified Chinese, Khmer, Korean,
Hmong, Mien, Marshallese, Chuukese,
Arabic, Somali, Russian, and Romanian.
Some functionalities and external
pages, including the Online Claim System,
online
Pandemic
Unemployment
Assistance (PUA) form, Contact Us form,
and chatbot, are currently only available
in a limited number of languages. The
department is working to make the online
PUA form, currently available in English,
Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and
Korean, available in all 16 languages. The
PUA form is expected to soon be available
in Simplified Chinese and Arabic.
Translated application forms for
regular unemployment insurance, PUA,
and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation (PEUC) are also available
on the “Filing a Claim” pages.
Claimants who need additional claim
assistance in languages other than
English should send their name, requested
language, and phone number to
<OED_LanguageAccess@oregon.gov>.
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