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Track and Structures - FRA

Active

Determine the sensitivity (probability of detection) of various inspection methods and technologies

ID: 9436

Track and Structures - FRA

Active

Control of rail temperature in order to prevent extreme compression and tension and thereby reduce the chances of track buckles and rail breaks.

ID: 9443

University Transportation Centers Program - OST

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - USD232,060.00

Active

This proposal aims at developing an integrated connected and autonomous truck routing model that simultaneously considers interdependency between traffic lane/track use, platooning, and pavement deterioration and rehabilitation, such that the total life-cycle societal costs due to infrastructure investment, traffic delay, and pavement life-cycle costs are minimized. The outcome of the study will be a recommendation about how to implement active sensors such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and multi-functional piezoelectric sensors into existing roadways and to assess long-term durability. The outcome of the study will help achieve near-zero maintenance during service life and resilience over a range of extreme weather conditions during day and night. Successful implementation would optimize lane use of heavy trucks over the planning horizon, such that the deterioration process of pavements can be decelerated. In addition, the investigation of the wheel wander of trucks following each other in way that damage accumulation is uniformly distributed over a lane will allow healing of the pavement and alternate compression/tension of loaded points and, therefore, excessive damage accumulation on a specific point(s) over a lane will be better controlled and pavement service life will be prolonged. When implemented, the research would result in guiding vehicles in a way that their tires would pass over existing cracks at the pavement surface, so that while crack development at the pavement surface is controlled by minimizing the tension strain/stresses applied on the cracks, transverse compressive strains/stresses can potentially minimize the width of the cracks.

ID: 14726

Produce Safer Drivers - FMCSA

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute - USD1,498,969.00

Active

This study will collect additional data to answer important questions related to driver schedules and how these factors impact overall driver performance and fatigue. This study is being completed in phases. In Phase I, the research team collected HOS and crash data. In Phase II, the research team will use the data collected in Phase I to analyze crash risk as it relates to various aspects of the HOS provisions. This study will analyze: Relative crash risk by hour of driving. Relative crash risk by hour of driving per week. Relative crash risk of driving breaks. Relative crash risk as a function of recovery periods. How each of the HOS provisions is being used. In addition, the study will design, develop, and deliver a database so that the data collected in this study can be used for future research efforts.

ID: 10698

Behavioral Safety Research - NHTSA

Preusser Research Group, Incorporated - USD711,626.00

Active

The 2014 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) found observed seat belt use to be 14 percent lower in the backseat than in the front. The rear seat occupant protection problem is also underlined by the fact that in 2014 the percentage of people dying unrestrained in the backseat was 11 percent higher than for people dying in in the front. Part of the explanation appears to be attributable to differences in State laws. In 2016 there are 22 States without laws requiring all occupants to buckle up, and NOPUS found observed rear seat belt use in States without a rear seat law was 14 percent lower than in States requiring belt use in all seating positions. The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the effect of an all positions seat belt law. This evaluation will include how the law is implemented, public awareness surrounding the law, the effect of the law on seat belt use, and its effect on crashes, injuries, and fatalities. A secondary objective is to monitor legislative activity and describe the legislative process relating to all seating positions seat belt laws. Conducting the current research could provide evidence for legislators to support the passing of more rear seat belt laws.

ID: 9967

Track and Structures - FRA

Active

Develop probabilistic models for optimizing track inspection methods, thereby minimizing risk

ID: 9437

Track and Structures - FRA

Active

Investigate the spatial variability of neutral temperature as well as its decay over time

ID: 9435

Behavioral Safety Research - NHTSA

Preusser Research Group, Incorporated - USD132,859.00

Active

Distracted driving laws vary across the States in how they are written and how they can be enforced. Some laws specify particular behaviors, such as reading, writing, or sending a text message, but dont include the many other actions that could be completed on a hand-held device, such as dialing a phone number, searching the internet, or emailing. Laws like this require enforcement to differentiate between particular actions, a requirement identified as challenging by States. This project will analyze distracted driving laws to identify clusters of law types, and use information available in the existing literature to describe law enforcement experiences enforcing these types of laws. This project will also Conduct a survey of law enforcement attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, motivations, and experiences associated with enforcement of the distracted driving law types identified. Due to the increasing number of law enforcement agencies that are mobilizing to enforce State legislation restricting hand-held phone and texting use, and the apparent challenges faced by States to enforce such laws, providing a comprehensive picture of the laws across the States, including the strategies used to overcome challenges, will help produce feasible enforcement actions and stimulate the issuance of citations for drivers who engage in distracted driving.

ID: 10752

Pipeline Safety Research - PHMSA

Pipeline Research Council International - USD386,204.00

Active

This project intends to supplement guidance from API RP 1133, and to expand and improve the capabilities of existing tools available to assess and monitor pipeline riverine crossings. Additionally, the project aims to develop and adapt risk screening tools through advances in engineering analysis that are field validated. As a PRCI-organized project, this project will benefit from the broad participation of pipeline companies that are focused on enhancing pipeline integrity.

ID: 14878

Behavioral Safety Research - NHTSA

Dunlap and Associates, Incorporated - USD6,468,991.00

Active

In 2010 and 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the first large-scale carefully controlled study in the United States (U.S.) designed to estimate the relative crash risk associated with drug use by drivers. Using a case-control design, researchers collected information from more than 3,000 crash-involved and 6,000 non-crash involved (control) drivers in Virginia Beach, Virginia. While the sampling approach used in the Virginia Beach crash risk study was representative of crashes across the country in terms of severity, it is possible that the inclusion of such a large proportion of property damage crashes affected the resulting crash risk estimates. In order to remove this possible effect and to further refine our understanding of the risk of alcohol and drug use by drivers, this crash risk study will focus solely on drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes and will not be examine property-damage only crashes. The objective of this research is to estimate the crash risk associated with alcohol and drug use by drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes and matched non-crash involved control drivers in one or more site(s). The study shall include over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs; as well as alcohol. Data will include breath, oral fluid and blood samples and will be collected from one or more Level 1 Trauma Center(s) or System(s). To obtain a large enough sample size, the Center(s) will need to be large enough to receive a large volume of drivers involved in traffic crashes. The Trauma Center(s) will likely serve large metropolitan areas; however, they may also receive patients from a larger geographical area. The targeted sample size is 2,500 crash-involved drivers and 5,000 control drivers.

ID: 10762