Professional Ethics and the Transportation Engineer

Professional ethics in engineering, their relationship to transportation engineering or transportation planning, and the issues of transportation environmental impact and transprotation safety are presented and discussed in a panel discussion held at a joint meeting of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, New York Metropolitan section, and the Polytechnic Institute of New York. The danger of trade offs between cost and effectiveness are emphasized. The role of the engineer in controlling and guiding technology is also considered. Other issues raised include the difference between a code of ethics and a legal code, the role of an engineer as an employee on a public works project and the professional engineer's role in the decision making process.