TY - CONF AN - 01568323 AU - Isaksson-Hellman, Irene AU - Lindman, Magdalena AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Real-World Performance of City Safety Based on Swedish Insurance Data PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - The number of passenger cars equipped with Auto Brake functionalities in traffic is increasing rapidly. Following this, the opportunity to study real world performance of these systems is growing. The low-speed Auto Brake system City Safety, launched in 2008 and a standard feature on all recent Volvo Cars’ models, is a technology designed to help the driver mitigate and in certain situations avoid rear-end collisions at low speed by automatically braking the vehicle. Previous analysis of the City Safety technology showed promising results in terms of reducing real world crashes. In this study, further evaluation of City Safety was performed based on insurance claims data. Using a unique dataset containing all new Volvo cars in traffic in Sweden from 2010 to 2014, including the possibility to control for other advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), forward collision warning (FCW) and Auto Brake functionalities, the rate of rear-end frontal collisions per insured vehicle years was studied. First, car models with and without City Safety were compared. Second, the same car model with and without City Safety was compared, thereby controlling for specific characteristics in different models. Finally, the second generation of City Safety, that operates at speeds up to 50 km/h, was compared to the first generation (<30 km/h). Results showed that the overall claim frequency of rear-end frontal collisions was 28% lower for City Safety equipped models than for other Volvo models without the system. The result of the comparison between the same models was similar while no significant collision avoidance effect of the upgraded system to speeds up to 50 km/h was found. The expected crash mitigating effect of City Safety can be added to these results, providing a further potential to be explored in future real world follow-up studies. This study confirms previous encouraging results of the crash reducing effect of the City Safety functionality. The findings of Auto Brake safety performance in real world traffic, shows the relevance of this type of vehicle systems for increased traffic safety and emphasizes the importance of the introduction of such systems on the market. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Autonomous intelligent cruise control KW - City Safety KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Insurance claims KW - Traffic safety KW - Vehicle performance UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358630 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568314 AU - Prasad, Priya AU - Dalmotas, Dainius AU - German, Alan AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Incidence and Severity of Small Overlap Frontal Crashes in NASS-CDS PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has recently introduced a small overlap frontal crash test in its frontal rating scheme. Another small overlap frontal crash test is under development by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Whereas the IIHS test is conducted against a fixed rigid barrier, the NHTSA test is conducted with a moving deformable barrier that overlaps 35% of the vehicle being tested and the angle between the longitudinal axis of the barrier and the longitudinal axis of the test vehicle is 15 degrees. The field relevance of the IIHS test and the NHTSA test has been the subject of papers by Prasad et al. (2014a,b). The current study is aimed at examining the combined relevance of the two tests as representing frontal corner impacts involving small overlap. The field relevance is indicated by the frequency of occurrence of real world crashes that are simulated by the test conditions, the proportion of serious-to-fatal real world injuries explained by the test conditions, and rates of serious injury to the head, chest and other body regions in the real world crashes resembling the test condition. The database examined for real world crashes is the National Automotive Sampling System- Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS). The frontal corner impacts as represented by the 25% Small overlap frontal and the NHTSA tests together address slightly less than 9% of all frontal crashes and 6% to 12% of all Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS3+F) injuries to the drivers in these crashes. The IIHS test has a somewhat higher contribution in both the incidence and severity. The two crash modes together address 4.6% to 8.2% of all MAIS3+F head injuries. Similarly, the proportion of all frontal MAIS3+F chest injuries addressed by the two crash modes or corner tests is estimated to be 6% to 10.6%. The available data for the passenger involved in driver-side frontal corner crashes indicate that elderly female occupants predominantly experience serious head and chest injuries. All, except one, injured passengers were females. The average age of injured females who had chest injuries was slightly over 65 years. Injury rates of the head and the chest are substantially lowered in far-side than in near-side frontal impacts. Crash test ATD rotational responses of the head in the tests substantially over predict the real world risk of serious-to-fatal brain injuries. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Aged drivers KW - Females KW - Frontal crashes KW - Head KW - Impact tests KW - Injury severity KW - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety KW - National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System KW - Thorax KW - Traumatic brain injuries KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358326 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568312 AU - Othman, Sarbaz AU - Carroll, Joseph AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A New Strategy to Enhance Traffic Safety in Developing Countries PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - The rapid expansion of motor vehicle use in developing countries resulted in a sharp rise in road traffic related deaths and injuries. The UN General Assembly recognized road deaths and injuries as a global epidemic since 2003. More than 90% of the 1.2 million people who die each year in traffic related crashes are from the developing countries in which more than 51% are vulnerable road users. The Kurdistan region in Iraq has been chosen for this study where the number of registered vehicles has increased exponentially in the last decade, and the official number of fatalities in 2013 was 1,114. This number, however, is highly under-reported; the actual figure of fatalities is estimated to be 100% more than the reported number according to World Health Organization. Pedestrians in the region are not separated from vehicles even on high speed roads, in front of schools, bus stops, parks and commercial areas. In addition, driving education and risk assessment is poor among drivers. A pre-study showed that only 5% of the current drivers in the largest city in Kurdistan, Erbil, know how to use a roundabout. Moreover, 0%, 1% and 12% could read and were knowledgeable about the signs of “One-way”, ”Give-Away” and“ No-Entrance” respectively. The driving test and training systems are inadequate and in consistent in the cities of Kurdistan. The test are performed in an isolated and controlled environment separate and far away from the everyday traffic. Moreover, the road network is non-standard and is lacking alignment and signs. This study evaluates current traffic safety conditions in Kurdistan, and then proposes a new strategy to change the current driving license test system to a more realistic and educational test that is fair and promotes safe traffic flow. The new approach, in this study, is based on a new standard driving test and training system based on the 4 E’s model which stands for: Engineering, Education, Enforcement, and Encouragement. The new proposed tests will be conducted on a limited, predefined, standardized and heavily monitored route within existing traffic environment. This new testing system will focus on educating large groups of university students how to operate their vehicles more efficiently and safely. Moreover, the route within the existing road infrastructure that will be upgraded to standard and heavily monitored also allows licensed drivers, optionally or through an enforcement program, to retrain and experience driving on standard routes gradually leading to an improvement in drivers’ awareness. The standard route can also be used as a model and starting point to successively standardize the current road network and when constructing new roads U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Developing countries KW - Driver education KW - Driver licenses KW - Driving tests KW - Fatalities KW - Iraq KW - Risk assessment KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357839 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568302 AU - Ida, Hitoshi AU - Aoki, Masashi AU - Asaoka, Michihisa AU - Ohtani, Kiyonobu AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Study of Gas Flow Behavior in Airbag Deployment Simulation PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - Airbag deployment simulation has been utilized as an important technique to predict the occupant protection performance in the development and design stages. One of the key elements of airbag deployment behavior is the gas flow behavior of jets from inflator. In this study, in order to understand the gas flow behavior of disk type inflator for driver side airbag, visualization experiments were conducted using the schlieren method. The gas flow from the inflator with a retainer has been found to have a strong directivity. Then, the gas flow simulation was conducted with a general purpose finite element program, LS-DYNA, it was possible to obtain a good reproducibility. For reproduction, it was found that jet direction and cone angle of gas diffusion were essential elements. Furthermore, comparison between simulation and experiments were conducted for deployment behavior of driver side airbag, the effect of gas flow on deployment behavior was analyzed. It was found from the results that the reproduction of gas flow from inflator was a major factor for reproduction on deployment behavior of driver side airbag. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Air bags KW - Finite element method KW - LS-DYNA (Computer program) KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Simulation KW - Vehicle design KW - Vehicle tests UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358339 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568290 AU - Un-chin, Park AU - Ganz, Florian AU - Ha-jong, Song AU - Sankar, Sudar AU - Hyun-chul, Kim AU - Wohlfahrt, Mario AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Force Measurement of Primary Parts in Frontal Vehicle Crash Test - by Strain Gauge Calibration - PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - In this research, the new calibration component test methodology and converted forces from strain gauge will be proposed about measuring real time force of frontal New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) crash powertrain mounting and structure like front side member. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Force KW - Frontal crashes KW - Impact tests KW - Measurement KW - Motor vehicle dynamics KW - National Car Assessment Program KW - Strain gages KW - Vehicle design UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358340 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568281 AU - Zellner, John W AU - Van Auken, R Michael AU - Silberling, Jordan Y AU - Kelly, Joseph AU - Hagoski, Brad K AU - Sugimoto, Yoichi AU - Urai, Yoshihiro AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of a Pre-Production Head-on Crash Avoidance Assist System using an Extended “Safety Impact Methodology” (SIM) PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - Objective: This paper describes the results of the Honda-DRI ACAT-II program initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop test and evaluation procedures and methods to assess the safety benefits and effectiveness of advanced driver assistance technologies. The objectives of the ACAT-II program were further development of a formalized Safety Impact Methodology (SIM) for estimating the capability of advanced technology applications installed in vehicles to address specific types of motor vehicle crashes, and to evaluate driver acceptance of the technologies. Methods: This particular ACAT study extended earlier work by Honda and DRI in the NHTSA ACAT-I program by extending the SIM so as to be able to analyze head-on crashes more completely, and by using the extended SIM to evaluate of a pre-production version of a Honda Head-on Crash Avoidance Assist System (HCAAS). More than 25 substantial SIM extensions and refinements were implemented, including: updated and extended FARS and NASS database extractions; improving the accident reconstruction process for NASS/CDS cases and developing a new special purpose reconstruction algorithm applicable to head-on cases with low lateral acceleration “drifts;” extending the driver-vehicle-ACAT-environment simulation to include a postconflict recovery phase; and further automating the overall safety benefits evaluation steps. The extended SIM and results from objective tests were used to evaluate the safety impact of Honda’s pre-production H-CAAS based on a large number of simulations of a sample of reconstructed real-world head-on crashes. Results: The effectiveness of the H-CAAS in reducing the number of two-vehicle “Same Trafficway, Opposite Direction” crashes (including non-H-CAAS technology relevant crashes) and fatalities if the H-CAAS were installed on one of the crash involved vehicles were estimated to be a 2.6% reduction in these types of crashes and a corresponding 11.3% reduction in fatalities based on simulation results. The overall benefits of the HCAAS, in terms of reduction in number of crashes and fatalities, when projected to the annual US level were estimated to be a 2,966 reduction in the number of US crashes and a corresponding reduction of 450 US fatalities per year. The results are based on various assumptions, approximations, and limitations that are summarized herein and further documented in the supporting references, such as the representativeness and accuracy of the supporting data and reconstructed accident pre-crash scenarios. Conclusions: Overall, this ACAT-II program was successful in extending and demonstrating a methodology that can be used to estimate the effectiveness and safety benefits and driver acceptance of frontal crash avoidance and mitigation countermeasures. The methods used are directly relevant to the test and evaluation procedures to assess the safety benefits and effectiveness of advanced driver assistance technologies. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Acceptance KW - Active safety systems KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Drivers KW - Frontal crashes KW - Safety Impact Methodology KW - Technological innovations KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358482 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568278 AU - Saunders, James AU - Parent, Dan AU - Ames, Eva AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - NHTSA Oblique Crash Test Results: Vehicle Performance and Occupant Injury Risk Assessment in Vehicles with Small Overlap Countermeasures PY - 2015 SP - 23p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been developing a research test protocol representative of real-world injury potential in frontal offset oblique impacts. This paper will address the vehicle and occupant responses from the latest research test series. In this series, the Oblique Moving Deformable Barrier (OMDB) impacted stationery vehicles in both left and right side impacts. Vehicles were selected only if their performance in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Small Overlap (SOI) test condition earned a “Good” or “Acceptable” rating and had side curtain air bags meeting the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 226, Ejection Mitigation. The vehicle responses studied included total velocity change (delta-V, DV), interior intrusion and steering wheel displacement, and the occupant responses studied included Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC), Multipoint Thoracic Injury Criterion, and Ankle Moment. Generally, delta-V (DV) in the X-direction decreased as the weight of the vehicle increased in both left and right side impacts, and the interior intrusion increased toward the center of the vehicle for both impact directions as well. A significant correlation between lap belt loads and vehicle mass was not found, but there was a general decreasing trend of peak lap belt loads with increase in vehicle mass. Occupant kinematics were generally mirror images for left and right side impacts, with the occupant’s head moving forward and toward the direction of impact. The near-side occupants’ heads moved toward the gap between the frontal and side curtain air bags, while the far-side occupants’ heads rotated off of the frontal air bag and impacted the center instrument panel. The Honda Accord showed the greatest difference between left and right side impact vehicle response. The highest probability of injury for both near- and far-side occupants was predicted to occur in the head, chest, and ankle, agreeing with the findings from previous real-world oblique crash injury analysis. The test mode predicted a high risk of ankle injury, primarily due to ankle inversion and/or eversion. Left and right side impacts resulted in similar magnitudes of vehicle response, but occupant responses differed enough that it may be important to consider both left and right side oblique impacts in restraint system design. The interior intrusions on the toe pan increased towards vehicle center, and toe pan point TP3 consistently showed the highest intrusion measurement. Vehicle deformation from left and right side impacts can differ due to the stack up of non-symmetrical vehicle component layouts. The latest NHTSA Oblique test series involving vehicles with a “Good” or “Acceptable” rating in the IIHS SOI test condition and with side curtain air bags meeting the requirements of FMVSS No. 226 suggest that additional countermeasures may reduce injury risk in this test mode. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Air bags KW - Crash injuries KW - Impact tests KW - Seat belts KW - Side crashes KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle performance UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358323 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568272 AU - Park, Chung-Kyu AU - Kan, Cing-Dao Steve AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Objective Evaluation Method of Vehicle Crash Pulse Severity in Frontal New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Tests PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - In this study, the available metrics for evaluating the crash pulse severity are reviewed and their accessibility is evaluated by using the frontal New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) test data. The linear regression analysis and sled test simulations are conducted. The new approach is proposed to evaluate the full vehicle crash performance by quantifying the crash pulse severity and restraint system performance separately and objectively. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash severity KW - Impact tests KW - Linear regression analysis KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Restraint systems KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358346 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568261 AU - Adolph, Thorsten AU - Ott, Julian AU - Eickhoff, Burkhard AU - Johannsen, Heiko AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - What is the Benefit of the Frontal Mobile Barrier Test Procedure? PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Frontal impact is still the most relevant impact direction in terms of injury causation amongst car occupants. Especially for car-to-car frontal impacts the mass ratio between the involved vehicles has a significant impact on the injury risk (the heavier the opponent car the higher the injury risk). In order to address this issue frontal Mobile Deformable Barrier test procedures have been developed world-wide (for example the MPDB procedure that was fully described during the FIMCAR Project). The objective of this study was to investigate how vehicles of different weight classes perform in a mobile barrier test procedure compared to a fixed barrier test procedure (the full width rigid and offset deformable barrier test). Beyond that, the influence of vehicle mass and vehicle deformation on injuries was evaluated based on real world accident data. Five vehicle types were selected and tested in a fixed offset test procedure (ODB), a full width rigid barrier test procedure (FWRB) and a mobile offset test procedure (MPDB). For the accident analyses data from the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) was evaluated with a focus on MAIS 2+ injured belted front row car (UN-R 94 compliant cars) occupants in frontal impact accidents. Test data indicates higher dummy loadings, in particular for the head acceleration and chest acceleration, in the MPDB test for the vehicles with a mass lighter than the trolley (1,500 kg) compared to the FWRB test. The trend of increased vehicle stiffness (especially illustrated by tests with the MPDB and small cars) shows the need of a further improvement of passive restraint systems to reduce the occupant loading and with it the injury risk. The analyzed GIDAS data confirm the higher injury risk for occupants in cars with an accident weight of less than 1,500 kg compared to those with a crash weight above 1,500 kg in car-to-car and car-to-object or car-toHGV, respectively. Furthermore the injury risk increases with decreasing mass ratio (i.e., the opponent car is heavier) in car-to-car accidents. Independent from the higher injury risk, the risk for passenger compartment intrusion in frontal impact appears not to be independent on the crash weight of the car. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash data KW - Crash injury research KW - Frontal crashes KW - German In-Depth Accident Study KW - Head KW - Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale KW - Passive restraint systems KW - Thorax KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle weight UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358330 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568260 AU - Johnson, Taylor T AU - Gannamaraju, Raghunath AU - Fischmeister, Sebastian AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Survey of Electrical and Electronic (E/E) Notifications for Motor Vehicles PY - 2015 SP - 15p AB - Performance measures are essential for managing transportation systems and demonstrating agency accountability. Probe vehicles are an effective means for gathering vast amounts of information about highway networks. This paper presents a scalable methodology for analyzing arterial travel times that considers both the central tendency and the reliability of the travel time. A pilot analysis was carried out for 28 arterials with a total of 341 signalized intersections across Indiana. Starting from individual minute-by-minute speed records, the data were converted into travel times and aggregated into time series cohorts that correspond to typical traffic signal time-of-day periods. The data were normalized for the ideal travel time (based on the speed limits on each route) to account for individual route lengths and speeds. The data were compiled for all Wednesdays from January through July 2014 for investigation of arterial characteristics. The results show that a greater density of traffic signals on a route loosely corresponds to higher average travel times and less reliability. A composite index incorporating both the average values and reliability characteristics of travel time is developed and is used to rank the arterials by performance. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Canada KW - Driver support systems KW - Europe KW - Highway safety KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Motorist aid systems KW - United States KW - Vehicle electronics KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358353 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568242 AU - Hartlieb, Markus AU - Mayer, Christian AU - Richert, Julien AU - Öztürk, Abdulkadir AU - Mayer, Florian AU - Pal, Satyajit AU - Chitteti, Ravikiran AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Implementation of New Rib Material Models to a FE - Human Body Model for Evaluation of the PRE-SAFE Impulse Side Restraint System for Side Impact Protection PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - "Integrated“, "Smart“ and "Individual“ are new characteristics of future safety systems. Furthermore, side crashes are still dominant in terms of high injury risk for car occupants and are predicted to become even more relevant in future. Earlier studies on pre-conditioning the occupant during pre-crash phase have shown the potential to reduce injury risk in such accident scenarios. To evaluate and optimize such advanced safety systems to provide a high safety level for the occupant, finite element human body models were used. Especially integrated safety systems which interact with the occupant in the pre-crash phase require these new and supplementary evaluation tools. With specific focus on the use case, the thorax and rib material of the FE human body model THUMS-D were modified and validated. Two different rib material properties have been defined for two different age groups, one for the young population and one for the elder population based on quasi static and dynamic 3-point bending test set-up. Furthermore, a damage model for the rib fracture was created and implemented to the THUMS-D model. The validation process of the complete thorax followed pendulum impact standards set by GESAC 2005 and ISO/TR 9790:1999. Finally the PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side system was evaluated and optimized applying this upgraded THUMS-D model in FE car crash environment. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injury research KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Dummies KW - Finite element method KW - Restraint systems KW - Ribs KW - Side crashes KW - Thorax UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358643 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568232 AU - Whyte, Thomas AU - Gibson, Tom AU - Brown, Julie AU - Milthorpe, Bruce AU - Eager, David AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Mechanisms of Head and Neck Injuries Sustained by Helmeted Motorcyclists in NSW, Australia PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - The wearing of a standard-approved motorcycle helmet has been the most significant step in reducing fatal and serious injury among motorcyclists worldwide. Mandatory helmet use for motorcyclists is now in place in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, some researchers have observed a high percentage and duration of hospitalisations in helmet-protected motorcyclists with the long-term outcome considerably influenced by head injury severity. The objective of this study was to investigate head and neck injuries sustained by helmeted motorcyclists in real world crashes and define the circumstances which result in injury. Data were collected by in-depth crash investigations of motorcyclist crashes in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The crash investigations included inspections of the accident scene, the crash involved motorcycle and the helmet. Where possible, detailed helmet examination including helmet disassembly was performed to identify all crash related damage. The type of damage, damage location and damage severity on the helmets were recorded. The major head and neck injury types sustained by these helmeted riders were analysed for crash and helmet damage related factors which influenced the incidence of injury. Due to the recruitment procedures used, participants in this study were biased towards lower severity head injuries. A head injury was sustained in 23.9% of cases but serious (AIS 3+) head injury was sustained in only 2.3%. There was neck injury in 9.1% of cases but no serious (AIS 3+) neck injuries. The main head and neck injury types by frequency were superficial injury (13.6%), “diffuse” type brain injury (13.6%), facial/dental fracture (4.5%) and cervical spine fracture (4.5%). Helmet damage was observed in the majority of cases (86.4%) suggesting successful injury prevention in many instances. A high proportion of observed impact damage was to the front of the helmet (78.5% of cases), particularly the chin bar and visor of full-face helmets. Impact damage associated with a predominantly tangential force onto the head was more common than radially directed force damage. Superficial head injury and facial/dental fractures was significantly more common (p < 0.01) in riders who were wearing open face helmets, where the face and chin are exposed to direct impact, compared to full face protected riders. There were significantly more cervical spine fractures in cases with damage indicative of a radially directed force (p = 0.036) than where damage indicated a tangentially applied force. The circumstances resulting in “diffuse” brain injuries could not be clearly defined by the data in this study due to the small number of riders with this injury. The results highlight potential areas for improving the head and neck protection offered to motorcyclists including extending the required region of coverage, particularly to the face, and through mitigating the effect of tangential impacts on the helmet. Given the high frequency of diffuse intracranial injury even in lower severity head injury cases, assessment of helmet effectiveness should use performance criteria reflecting the mechanisms of this type of injury. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Head KW - Motorcycle crashes KW - Motorcycle helmets KW - Neck KW - On the scene crash investigation KW - Traumatic brain injuries UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358009 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568229 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV): Traffic Safety Through Integrated Technologies PY - 2015 SP - v.p. AB - The proceedings include over 220 papers divided into fifteen technical sessions: (1) Protection of Vulnerable Road Users; (2) Testing and Modeling of Structural Performance in Frontal Crashes; (3) Crash Avoidance #1: Safety Performance and Effectiveness of Driver Assistance Technologies, Test & Evaluation Procedures, Benefits Assessment; (4) Biomechanics #1: Development, Validation and Use of Human Body Models in Assessment of Crash Injury; (5) Testing and Modeling of Structural Performance in Side Impact and Rollover Crashes; (6) Crash Avoidance #2: Challenges for a Safe Human-Machine Interface Design; (7) Biomechanics #2: Advances in Crash Test Dummies, Instrumentation and Data Analysis; (8) Restraint System Design and Performance Challenges: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Populations (Age, Gender, Stature); (9) Crash Avoidance #3: Connected and Automated Vehicles; (10) Advanced Fuels Crash Safety; (11) Consumer Information Approaches to Improve Global Safety; (12) Technologies and Policies of Driver Monitoring; (13) Integrated Safety from Pre-Crash to Crash to Post-Crash; (14) Assessment of New and Improved Field Data Collection, Analysis and Benefits Assessment Methods; (15) CONTINUATION Crash Avoidance #1: Safety Performance and Effectiveness of Driver Assistance Technologies, Test & Evaluation Procedures, Benefits Assessment. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Conferences KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Driver support systems KW - Dummies KW - Frontal crashes KW - Human machine systems KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Restraint systems KW - Rollover crashes KW - Side crashes KW - Vehicle safety KW - Vulnerable road users UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357624 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568217 AU - Dux, Ernö AU - Eckstein, Lutz AU - Wolkenstein, Maja AU - Antonio d‘Addetta, Gian AU - Luttenberger, Peter AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Mobile Deformable Barrier Test for the Front Crash Assessment of Future Urban Microcars PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - A rising share of electric microcars (with mass well below 800kg) is predicted for the future urban vehicle fleet. Therefore the relevance of safety hazards due to mass incompatibility in case of front crashes will increase significantly. The front crash test according to ECE regulation no.94 initially defined for M class vehicles does not allow to reproduce the predicted real-world crash severity for light vehicles. This paper describes an alternative test for front crash assessment of microcars using a mobile progressive deformable barrier (MPDB) with adjusted mass properties. Since the long term development of the vehicle fleet is unclear, a test set-up with parameterized barrier mass properties having the potential to reproduce variable car-to-car front crash constellations is proposed. The relevant test parameters for a microcar front crash test are chosen based on predicted future trends from literature, expert surveys and car-to-car crash sensitivity tests. Based on that, a finite element (FE) model of a parametric MPDB is proposed, reproducing the mass properties of various possible front crash opponents. To quantify the use potential of the test, a comparison of MPDB test outputs for three types of possible microcar concepts with car-to-car crash outputs using FE Generic Car Models from the FIMCAR project as opponents is carried out. The main focus of this comparison is on structural crash performance and occupant injury. In order to bridge these two, an adequate crash restraint system triggering based on the acceleration sensing system is proposed. As conclusion general use recommendations for the parametric MPDB test configuration are formulated.The study presented within this document was executed within the EC co-financed project SafeEV (Safe Small Electric Vehicles through Advanced Simulation Methodologies) –www.project-safeev.eu U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash severity KW - Electric vehicles KW - Finite element method KW - Frontal crashes KW - Vehicle tests UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358321 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568213 AU - Poulard, David AU - Subit, Damien AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Unveiling the Structural Response of the Ribcage: Contribution of the Intercostal Muscles to the Thoracic Mechanical Response PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - Current finite element (FE) models of the human body do not properly include the contribution of the intercostal muscles (ICM), which is believed to limit their rib fracture prediction capabilities. In the present study, an existing full body model for a seated 50th-percentile male was evaluated under five cases of loading: point loading of the denuded ribcage, frontal pendulum impact tests, lateral and oblique pendulum impact tests and table top tests. The sensitivity of the model to changes in material model of the ICM was evaluated by using two material models: an isotropic linear elastic material model and a foam model defined by a single uniaxial load curve extracted from a recent literature. The performance of these models compared to the experiments was assessed quantitatively through a correlation analysis on the force and chest deflection time histories. The simulations found that that the material properties of the ICM have little effect on the externally measured impact force and chest deformation except in point loading U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Dummies KW - Finite element method KW - Impact tests KW - Ribs KW - Simulation KW - Thorax UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358642 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568178 AU - Fujishiro, Ryo AU - Takahashi, Hiroyuki AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Research on Driver Acceptance of LDA (Lane Departure Alert) System PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - The purpose of this research is to identify whether the road departure accident reduction performance of the Lane Departure Alert (LDA) system is consistent with driver acceptance. If a vehicle deviates from the lane, the LDA system warns the driver and/or automatically steers the vehicle back into the lane to help avoid an accident. However, the system cannot perform as expected if the driver feels that the system is annoying and turns it off. Therefore, the consistency between the accident reduction performance and driver acceptance of LDA was studied by investigating driving behavior based on a new form of two-dimensional analysis using the distance to the lane boundary (DTLB) and the lateral velocity of the vehicle. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Behavior KW - Driver support systems KW - Drivers KW - Europe KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Japan KW - Lane departure warning systems KW - Ran off road crashes UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358468 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568175 AU - van der Made, Robin AU - Tideman, Martijn AU - Lages, Ulrich AU - Katz, Roman AU - Spencer, Martin AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Automated Generation of Virtual Driving Scenarios from Test Drive Data PY - 2015 SP - 5p AB - Intelligent vehicle systems such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and automated driving systems consist of increasing numbers of sensor technologies as well as increasingly advanced algorithms for sensor fusion, object tracking, object classification, risk estimation, driver status recognition and vehicle control. It is rapidly becoming infeasible to check the performance of each new (sensor) system in the traditional way: By performing test drives, storing data, manually labelling the data for reference, and manually evaluating the results. One of the approaches to address these difficulties is to install a reference sensor system on the test vehicle in addition to the prototype sensor system (device under test). The recorded data from the reference sensor system are processed – partly or fully-automatically to create reference scenarios, based on automatic object labelling and automatic event identification. Based on these reference data, the device under test can be automatically and objectively evaluated. The reference data from the reference sensor system can now be converted into a set of virtual scenarios which can be used within a CAE environment. These simulated “ground-truth reference scenarios” offer a platform for engineers to quickly check the consequences of design changes to the device under test, and allow engineers to subject the device under test to a wide variation of virtual traffic scenarios. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Algorithms KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Driver support systems KW - In vehicle sensors KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Vehicle tests KW - Virtual reality UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358447 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568168 AU - Chen, Huipeng AU - Poulard, David AU - Crandall, Jeff R AU - Panzer, Matthew B AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Pedestrian Response with Different Initial Positions During Simulated Impact with a Mid-Sized Sedan PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - Real-world pedestrian impacts occur with highly-variable or unknown initial conditions of the pedestrian. However, experimental pedestrian tests and computational pedestrian impact simulations mainly focus on the response of the subject using specific initial conditions. The objective of this study is to investigate computationally the influence of posture and impact direction angle on pedestrian response during an impact. The 50th male THUMS pedestrian model was integrated with a mid-sized sedan finite element model initially travelling at 40 km/h. The influence of the pedestrian position during impact was investigated by varying 9 orientations (relative to the vehicle) and 3 standing/gait postures, for a total of 27 impact configurations simulated. Pedestrian kinematics and injury were assessed and compared across all simulations. Substantial variations were observed on the pedestrian torso rotation (-68.9°~57.6°), and head impact conditions (head impact time 111~139 ms, and head impact velocity 10.7~15.3 m/s). The head impact velocity was found to correlate with the impact direction angle, where facing towards or away from the vehicle would result in greater head impact velocity than when struck in a purely-lateral impact. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Finite element method KW - Head KW - Kinematics KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Posture KW - Simulation UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358010 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568158 AU - Page, Yves AU - Fahrenkrog, Felix AU - Fiorentino, Anita AU - Gwehenberger, Johann AU - Helmer, Thomas AU - Lindman, Magdalena AU - Op den Camp, Olaf AU - van Rooij, Lex AU - Puch, Stefan AU - Fränzle, Martin AU - Sander, Ulrich AU - Wimmer, Peter AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Comprehensive and Harmonized Method for Assessing the Effectiveness of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems by Virtual Simulation: The P.E.A.R.S. Initiative PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - The assessment of real-world effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is gaining importance as more and more systems enter the market. Many different approaches have been developed. Therefore, the automobile industry, universities, and automotive research institutes in Europe have started an initiative for cooperative research. A ‘Harmonization Group’ was established in 2012 whose motivation is the development of a comprehensive, reliable, transparent, and thus accepted methodology for quantitative assessment of these systems by virtual simulation. The harmonization group focuses on prospective analysis, which has the objective to estimate the expected safety benefits of current and beyond-state-of-the-art applications. Commonly used methods for prospective analyses are FOT's, subject studies in driving simulators, on closed test tracks or on open roads, and virtual analyses by means of simulation. Currently, the basis for an assessment by virtual simulation can be obtained either from reconstructed real-world crashes or from generic synthetic scenarios derived from realistic distributions of pre-crash conditions and traffic. Simulations allow for large number of cases and thus are capable of fulfilling the requirements posed by a sound sample size calculation. Simulation is certainly not a sole generic solution for all kinds of research questions, but it represents an integrative method to combine different knowledge areas in order to achieve an overall effectiveness result. It offers a promising combination of speed, flexibility, reproducibility, and experimental control. The expected outputs of the group activities are the following: (1) Identification of research questions (e.g. what changes in traffic safety can be expected due to the introduction of system X in country Y?); (2) Definitions and metrics of the effectiveness (e.g. % reduction in fatal/injury crashes in a specific country/Europe; total reduction in fatalities over a period depending on a penetration rate); (3) Structure for the assessment procedures including a description of the required sub-processes and the procedures to be followed; (4) Description of the basic abstract models that are used in the simulation: driver, vehicle, road, traffic, and safety systems. The driver model is used to simulate various driver responses to inputs from the environment and the signals of the ADAS in various driving situations, traffic conditions, cars, and environments; (5) Examples of the assessment of several ADAS (e.g. Lane Departure Warning, Advanced Cruise Control, Automated Emergency Braking). The paper is a methodological paper presenting on-going activities of the Harmonization Group, so-called P.E.A.R.S. (Prospective Effectiveness Assessment for Road Safety), that involves more than 30 institutions in Europe. Applied results will come once the harmonized framework is completed and the validation tests on several driving assistance systems have been shown successful. Further the document is set up to deliver the appropriate input for a draft proposal of an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard. This activity is an opportunity to harmonize methodologies used for assessment of ADAS in Europe. The involvement of non-European based stakeholders allows for a worldwide harmonization impact. A comprehensive assessment theoretical framework as well as concrete techniques should become available for wide usage by all stakeholders involved in ADAS effectiveness assessment. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash reconstruction KW - Driver support systems KW - Europe KW - International Organization for Standardization KW - Lane departure warning systems KW - Simulation KW - Society of Automotive Engineers KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic safety KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358349 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568154 AU - Fong, Cameron K AU - Bilston, Lynne E AU - Paul, Gunther AU - Brown, Julie AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Is Comfort Important for Optimal Use of Child Restraints? PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - Suboptimal restraint use, particularly the incorrect use of restraints, is a significant and widespread problem among child vehicle occupants, and increases the risk of injury. Previous research has identified comfort as a potential factor influencing suboptimal restraint use. Both the real comfort experienced by the child and the parent’s perception of the child’s comfort are reported to influence the optimal use of restraints. Problems with real comfort may lead the child to misuse the restraint in their attempt to achieve better comfort whilst parent-perceived discomfort has been reported as a driver for premature graduation and inappropriate restraint choice. However, this work has largely been qualitative. There has been no research that objectively studies either the association between real and parental perceived comfort, or any association between comfort and suboptimal restraint use. One barrier to such studies is the absence of validated tools for quantifying real comfort in children. The authors aimed to develop methods to examine both real and parent-perceived comfort and examine their effects on suboptimal restraint use. The authors conducted online parent surveys (n=470) to explore what drives parental perceptions of their child’s comfort in restraint systems (study 1) and used data from field observation studies (n=497) to examine parent-perceived comfort and its relationship with observed restraint use (study 2). The authors developed methods to measure comfort in children in a laboratory setting (n=14) using video analysis to estimate a Discomfort Avoidance Behaviour (DAB) score, pressure mapping and adapted survey tools to differentiate between comfortable and induced discomfort conditions (study 3). Preliminary analysis of the authors recent online survey of Australian parents (study 1) indicates that 23% of parents report comfort as a consideration when making a decision to change restraints. Logistic regression modelling of data collected during the field observation study (study 2) revealed that parent-perceived discomfort was not significantly associated with premature graduation. Contrary to expectation, children of parents who reported that their child was comfortable were almost twice as likely to have been incorrectly restrained (p<0.01, 95% CI 1.24 - 2.77). In the laboratory study (study 3) the authors found the adapted survey tools did not provide a reliable measurement of real comfort among children. However our DAB score was able to differentiate between comfortable and induced discomfort conditions and correlated well with pressure mapping. The authors results suggest that while some parents report concern about their child’s comfort, parent-reported comfort levels were not associated with restraint choice. If comfort is important for optimal restraint use, it is likely to be the real comfort of the child rather than that reported by the parent. The method the authors have developed for studying real comfort can be used in naturalistic studies involving child occupants to further understand this relationship. This work will be of interest to vehicle and child restraint manufacturers interested in improving restraint design for young occupants as well as researchers and other stakeholders interested in reducing the incidence of restraint misuse among children. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Australia KW - Child restraint systems KW - Children KW - Comfort KW - Crash injuries KW - Perception KW - Questionnaires UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358007 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568141 AU - Ferenczi, Izabella AU - Helmer, Thomas AU - Wimmer, Peter AU - Kates, Ronald AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Effectivity Analysis and Virtual Design of Integrated Safety Systems PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Design, optimization, and assessment of integrated safety systems (combining active and passive elements) pose considerable challenges. For example, the spectrum of potential situations in the field in which active elements might be triggered is considerably larger than one can achieve under controlled testing conditions. In this context, it is crucial to evaluate quantitative metrics relating as closely as possible to human risks and benefits, such as avoidance of injuries or reduction of injury severity. The consequences of unnecessary interventions and other side effects on passengers or traffic also need to be quantified. This paper describes a generic approach to assessment of field effectiveness and evaluation of active and integrated safety systems. The approach, based on virtual experiments, is holistic, in that both active and passive safety elements are evaluated using a common metric while seeking the most effective solutions regarding overall improvement of vehicle safety. The complexity of process models and their interactions utilizes an advanced knowledge base. In order to achieve this goal, the whole sequence of events in a hazardous situation is virtually implemented in a tool chain. The tool chain includes stochastic (or “Monte-Carlo”) traffic simulation, generating large samples of accident sequences but also near-misses, as well as detailed, high-resolution crash simulations of resulting accidents. The methods are useful not only for assessment of existing integrated safety designs, but also for comparing different system concepts or optimizing performance within a complex design concept. The potential of this approach is illustrated for several key accident scenarios. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Crash analysis KW - Crash severity KW - Injury severity KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Optimization KW - Simulation KW - Traffic simulation KW - Vehicle design UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358450 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568137 AU - Pütz, Andreas AU - Eckstein, Lutz AU - Zlocki, Adrian AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Tools and Methods for Current and Future Controllability Assessment PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Driver related evaluation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) needs to address controllability, effectiveness and user acceptance, which are to some extend interfering with each other. The state of the art in the controllability assessment is currently defined by the Code of Practice of the RESPONSE 3 project which focuses on the driver-system-interaction with single assistance functions like ACC or LKA. However, the controllability evaluation of new assistance functionalities such as ADAS of automation level 2 or automated driving on level 3 (according to SAE definitions) requires a review of the existing methods and tools with regard to necessary adaptations and new developments. For controllability evaluation of future ADAS and systems of higher automation levels the existing methodology needs to be adapted. Aspects to be considered in this context are the increasing amount of information with regards to the automation level. This information needs to be perceived and processed by the driver when interacting with multiple parallel operating assistance functions and complex information and communication systems. The controllability of urban assistance functions and their failures is subject of discussion especially focusing on tools and methods for an urban controllability assessment. To that end, driving simulator experiments, vehicle-in-the-loop and real vehicle studies are conducted analyzing existing controllability methods on their suitability for urban assistance functions. The results show the specific advantages of each applied testing tools and suggest that an overall system evaluation addressing controllability, effectiveness and acceptance combines the advantages of the different testing environments. Next to acceptance and effectiveness the controllability analysis is embedded in the overall evaluation process with focus on the driver and the interaction with the vehicle. The controllability analysis process for higher levels of automation is described. An overview of state of the art controllability evaluation is provided. The problem for future systems is analyzed and possible methods and tools are proposed. The necessary methods and tools are described focusing on next generation ADAS and higher levels of automated driving. The results are limited to the driver interaction with assisted driving. For the assessment of the driver reaction to higher automation levels the use of a high-fidelity driving simulator seems reasonable to achieve a high reproducibility of the driving scenario and a good representation of the driving dynamics. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Acceptance KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Automation KW - Driver support systems KW - Driver vehicle interfaces KW - Driving simulators UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358448 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568131 AU - Bendjellal, Farid AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Countermeasures to Address Misuse in Child Restraint Installations: From Technical Solutions to Real World Evaluation PY - 2015 AB - Misuse has been reported in various studies as an important issue in countries where local legislation requires a mandatory use of child restraint systems. It has been shown that the rate of incorrect fitting of the child restraint systems (CRS) to the car may vary between 60 to 80% (1 Bendjellal, 2006). However research has not confirmed that all misuse scenarios result in critical occupant loading but a combination of several misuse situations may lead to an improper occupant restraint (2 Bilston, Brown, 2011). It is therefore important to develop technical solutions aiming at reducing the risk of misuse in real-world. Slack in vehicle seat belts when securing the CRS to the vehicle and improper occupant restraint within the CRS are among the top 5 misuse situations according to Bennett study (3 Bennett, 2011) and in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2005 survey (4 NHTSA, 2006). Two technical solutions are presented in this paper, these are: (1) A system (called A) that enables improving the attachment of the CRS to the vehicle by assisting the user to tighten properly the vehicle seatbelt; and (2) A system (called B) that was developed: to improve the attachment of the CRS to the vehicle by tightening the vehicle seat-belt (mechanical solution); and (for harness seats) to reduce slack in the harness in riding conditions (electronic solution). Operating modes of both systems are described. User trials were conducted to assess further the functionality of the systems as well as getting consumer feedback when utilizing them in real world. Key findings from these are also provided in the paper. Both systems show promising results in terms of assisting the users in installing CRSs. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Child restraint systems KW - Countermeasures KW - Installation KW - Seat belts KW - Shoulder harnesses KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358008 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568124 AU - Han, Il Song AU - Han, Woo-Sup AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Real-Time Pedestrian & Driver Analysis by Neuromorphic Visual Information Processing PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - The safety enhancement of road users has begun to gain more attention, in particular the innovation and application of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The accurate and timely detection of the risk of accident has become an active area of research, with the focus on the drivers and other vulnerable road users. The neuromorphic visual information processing method, inspired by Hubel and Wiesel’s experiments on mammalian visual cortex, is proposed as a possible solution to these tasks. The proposed method replicates the performance of visual cortex in practical computing settings. By applying the orientation feature extraction and subsequently applying the neural network ensured robustness and accuracy. The proposed system has been evaluated on pedestrians/cyclists detection and driver monitoring, with a particular focus on emotion/stress detection. The tests have been carried out with video data sets of various conditions, with the experimentation and data set generation at public roads in every day settings. The neuromorphic visual monitoring of drivers for the attentive or emotional status has been also evaluated, as approximately 15% of road accidents have been caused by the dangerous driving in ‘anger and or/frustration’. The driver monitoring system by detecting the emotional state from the limited facial image of driver would make the measures of early warning against possible dangerous or inattentive driving. The neuromorphic system was evaluated to determine the warning signal based on the emotional state detection, based on the key feature extracted from the face images. The test was based on the facial database (JAFFE) of six basic emotional states. The performances of neuromorphic visual information system were measured to the success rate 99% of pedestrian/cyclist detection, and the successful recognition 91% of facial emotional states. The real-time performance was evaluated with the neuromorphic ASIC, fabricated by the automotive CMOS technology. The processing speed of neuromorphic ASIC alone was tested for the speed of 30 frames per second, without the latency or external memory. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Distraction KW - Driver support systems KW - Drivers KW - Image processing KW - Real time data processing KW - Road rage KW - Vulnerable road users KW - Warning signals UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358453 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568115 AU - Eggers, Andre AU - Schnottale, Britta AU - Ott, Julian AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Sensitivity of Q10 and Q6 Chest Measurements to Restraint and Test Parameters PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - Upcoming test procedures and regulations consider the use of Q-dummies. Especially Q6 and Q10 will be introduced to assess the safety of child occupants in vehicle rear seats. Therefore detailed knowledge of these dummies is important to improve safety. As recent studies have shown, chest deflection measurements of both dummies are influenced by parameters like belt geometry. This could lead to a non optimized design of child restraint systems (CRS) and belt systems. The objective of this study is to obtain a more detailed understanding of the sensitivity of chest measurements to restraint parameters and to investigate the possibilities of chest acceleration as an alternative for the assessment of chest injury risks. A study of frontal impact sled tests was performed with Q6 and Q10 in a generic rear seat environment on a bench. Belt parameters like modified belt attachment locations were varied. For the Q6 dummy, different positioning settings of the CRS (booster with backrest) and of the dummy itself were investigated. The Q10 dummy was seated on a booster cushion. Here the position of the upper belt anchorage point was varied. To simulate the influence of vehicle rotation in the ODB crash configuration, the bench was pre-rotated on the sled in additional tests with the Q10. This configuration was tested with and without pretensioner and load limiter. Chest deflection in Q6 showed a high sensitivity to changes in positioning of the CRS and the dummy itself. A more slouched position of the CRS or dummy resulted in a reduction of measured chest deflection, whereas chest acceleration increased for a more slouched position of the CRS. Chest deflection in Q10 is sensitive to belt geometry as already shown in other studies. In a more outboard position of the shoulder belt anchorage the measured chest deflection is higher. Chest acceleration shows the opposite tendency, which is highest for the rearmost location of the upper belt anchorage. On a pre-rotated bench the highest chest deflection within this test series was observed without load limiter/pretensioner and an outboard belt position. By optimizing the belt location and the use of pretensioner/load limier the chest deflection was significantly reduced. For the Q6 a criterion based on chest acceleration as well as deflection measured at two locations might be the most reliable approach, which requires further research with an additional upper deflection sensor. In the Q10 the measured chest deflection does not always correctly reflect the severity of chest loading. The deflection is depending on initial belt position and restraint parameters as well as test conditions, which result in different directions of belt migration. A3ms chest acceleration might be a better indicator for severity of chest loading independent of different conditions like belt geometries. However, in some cases the benefit of an optimized restraint system could only be shown by deflection. These findings suggest that further research is needed to identify a chest injury assessment method, which could be based on deflection as well as acceleration or other parameters related to belt to occupant interaction. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Child restraint systems KW - Crash severity KW - Dummies KW - Rear seat occupants KW - Seat belts KW - Sled tests KW - Thorax UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357858 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568110 AU - Gschwendtner, Klaus AU - Kiss, Miklós AU - Feig, Philip AU - Lienkamp, Markus AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Prospective Estimation of the Effectiveness of Driver Assistance Systems in Property Damage Accidents PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - Projects for the analysis of traffic accidents are focused mostly on personal damage. But analyses show that property damage occurs 42 times more often than personal damage. Officially registered accidents on German roads result in mere damage to property (2.1 mio accidents). A significantly higher number of property damage accidents are not reported to the police. Some of which are reported to the insurers. A significant number of minor damage does not appear in the statistics. The number of minor damage cases amounts to 4.8 mio cases per annum. 35% of full comprehensive cover accidents occur at low speeds and pose a high potential for future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Details of accidents involving minor damage cannot be found in official statistics. In “In-Depth” property damage analysis, the conflict leading to damage is of high relevance. Uncertainties need to be settled by means of an expansion of the existing accident conflict situations. Currently, equipment rates of ADAS are low requiring a purchase incentive for customers. This paper describes how damages of vehicles can be classified and brought into relationship with ADAS functions and the vehicle itself. Various configurations and different materials of outer attaching parts (OAP), e.g. aluminum, CFRP or plastics induce variable costs of repair. For a prospective evaluation method of the monetary effect of ADAS it is necessary to know all influence parameters and to quantify them. The evaluation of vehicle concepts in combination with an ADAS is possible. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Driver support systems KW - Germany KW - Insurance claims KW - Loss and damage KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic conflicts KW - Traffic crashes KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358501 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568106 AU - Guillaume, Anne AU - Hermitte, Thierry AU - Hervé, Véronique AU - Fricheteau, Romain AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Car or Ground: Which Causes More Pedestrian Injuries? PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - The aim was to study the cause of the injuries of pedestrians when hit in frontal impacts by a vehicle. Depending on the impact speed, the type and severity of the injuries may be due partly to the vehicle and partly to the road/ infrastructure, when falling down. The study took into account the projection distance and the age of pedestrians. The work has been supported by FSR (Fondation Sécurité Routière) All the accident cases were reviewed by an expert committee composed by physicians and accident analysis experts. For each wounded pedestrian, the injuries were reviewed in order to determine their causing mechanism taking into account the accident occurrence circonstances, the vehicle deformations and the clues on the road or infrastructure. The data base was a sample of 100 in-depth investigations and reconstructions of accidents from years 2009 to 2011 involving at least one injured pedestrian hit by a vehicle and continuously collected in a 20 km diameter area in the south of Paris (France). The accident analysis team was called with the emergency team on field where the data were collected. In the sample, 89 pedestrians were injured in a frontal impact. For 83 of them, it was possible to evaluate the vehicle speed during the impact. In 12% of the cases the speed exceeded 50 km/h and all the pedestrians were severely injured (MAIS3+: pedestrian with at least one injury scored above AIS3) with a high projection distance. Therefore, we focused on frontal impact with vehicle speed below 50 km/h. In this configuration , considering injuries AIS2+, the head was the most often injured (53%) and then the lower limbs (21%). Among the wounding elements, the ground was incriminated in 27.5% of the cases, then the bonnet (22%), the windshield (17%) and the bumper (15.5%). When the vehicle speed was below 30 km/h, more than half of the injuries AIS2+ observed were caused by an impact with the ground. There was a compounding effect of age. Though the sample is not representative of all French pedestrian accidents, it allows categorizing these accidents depending on the impact speed. For each speed range, the main causal factor of the injuries was determined. The vehicle speed was the major factor in the determinism of the injury severity of pedestrians involved in frontal impact, firstly by direct impact secondly by increasing the projection distance and thus the severity of injuries due to ground impact. Primary safety systems should reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries by decreasing the impact speed. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash reconstruction KW - Crash severity KW - Frontal crashes KW - Injury severity KW - Paris (France) KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Speed UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357840 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568100 AU - Grover, Colin AU - Avery, Matthew AU - Knight, Iain AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Development of a Consumer Test Procedure for Pedestrian Sensitive AEB PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - In Europe, nearly 20% of all road deaths are pedestrians (Pace et al, 2012). Pedestrians have been protected only by the requirements for passive protection at the front of passenger cars and there has been little evidence to show that this measure has been effective. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems have been clearly demonstrated to substantially reduce the incidence of car-to-car rear crashes and manufacturers have now extended the functionality to pedestrian, and in some cases pedal cyclist, collisions. If a comparable level of effectiveness is proven, then these systems will offer substantial reductions in the number of those killed and seriously injured on our roads. The research challenge described by this paper was the development of a test procedure that could be used to encourage the fitment of these systems and the development of high levels of performance in a way that could be linked to real world safety. Thatcham Research led the AEB Group (a partnership of insurance research centres, OEMs and Tier ones) in the development of test procedures. This contributed substantially to the Harmonisation Platforms in a major collaboration with the vFSS group and the EU funded ASPECCS project. Work began with studies of realworld accident data. A cluster analysis identified the most prevalent collision scenarios and smaller samples of more detailed data were used to characterise each scenario in terms of speeds, impact points, relative positions and sight lines. Physical testing identified the characteristics required of the pedestrian test target and the performance of production and advanced prototype vehicles as well as establishing the conditions required for repeatability and reproducibility. In Europe almost 75% of serious pedestrian crashes can be characterised by three scenarios: walking from the nearside of the road with open sight lines; running from the far side of the road; and walking out from behind a parked vehicle. In the vast majority of crashes the vehicle involved was travelling at 60 km/h or less. To ensure the systems worked well in the real world it was found that the test should involve adults and children, different impact points and different pedestrian speeds. The pedestrian target found to be most effective was the 4A design, and this was further tuned to optimise the radar and visual signatures to ensure consistent function across different sensor types and proving ground locations. AEB has considerable potential to reduce the frequency and severity of vulnerable road user collisions. Robust test procedures, representative of real world collisions, have been developed and adopted by Euro NCAP for implementation in the 2016 ratings. However, VRU collisions are a problem in many areas of the world and the harmonisation of these tests and assessments in other NCAP regimes remains a priority, alongside the continuous technical development to expand the tests to include night-time performance and functionality in pedal cycle collisions. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Cluster analysis KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash data KW - Driver support systems KW - Europe KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Test procedures KW - Vulnerable road users UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358640 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568098 AU - Nuss, Frederic AU - Eckstein, Lutz AU - Teibinger, Andreas AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Guidelines for Pedestrian Friendly Windscreen Designs Considering Probabilistic Fracture Behaviour of Glass PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - If adult pedestrians are being struck by passenger cars with short bonnets, head contact usually occurs in the wind-screen area. In test procedures for regulation and consumer protection, this impact type is being assessed using so-called pedestrian head impactors. The head injury risk is being evaluated based on the acceleration signal using the so-called Head Injury Criterion (HIC). Corresponding experimental impactor tests in the windscreen center show large scatter. Main reason for the observed scatter is the fracture initiation of glass as already published in several studies. Thus, for a head impact in the windscreen center an early fracture initiation results in a small head injury risk, while a late fracture initiation increases the injury risk significantly. In the design of measures for the enhancement of vehicle sided pedestrian safety, this scatter is currently neglected. Based on a theoretical description of the probabilistic fracture mechanics of glass, a methodology for designing pedestrian friendly windscreens considering the probabilistic fracture mechanics of glass will be described in the present paper. This methodology consists of two steps. First, the probability for certain fracture initiation times are assessed, considering probabilistic fracture mechanics and the tensile stress distribution on the glass surfaces during head impact. In a second step, the head injury risks for the different fracture initiation times are evaluated. In order to show the potential impact of the described methodology, a windscreen of a vehicle model is being assessed and optimized. The findings of this optimization process are being used to derive guidelines for pedestrian friendly windscreens. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Fracture properties KW - Head KW - Head Injury Criterion KW - Injury severity KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Vehicle safety KW - Windshields UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357860 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568097 AU - Savino, Giovanni AU - Giovannini, Federico AU - Piantini, Simone AU - Baldanzini, Niccolò AU - Pierini, Marco AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Autonomous Emergency Braking for Cornering Motorcycle PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) has been indicated as a potential safety application not just for passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles, but also for motorcycles and powered two-wheelers (PTWs) at large. Motorcycle AEB (MAEB) was designed to produce autonomous deceleration of a host PTW in case of inevitable collision. Previous studies limited MAEB to the case of a PTW travelling along a straight, as the activation of AEB was considered hazardous for a leaning vehicle. This study aims to extend the applicability of MAEB to cornering scenarios. A virtual PTW in a simulated environment was equipped with MAEB and Active Braking Control (ABC). MAEB consisted of a virtual obstacle detection device, triggering algorithms that identify inevitable collision states, and an automatic braking device. When an inevitable collision is detected for the host PTW and at the same time the rider is applying some braking force, MAEB deploys enhanced braking, which assists the rider reaching the maximum feasible deceleration. ABC consisted of control algorithms for the automatic braking device that stabilise the vehicle along the curved path. The complete system named MAEB+ was tested using detailed computer simulation reproducing real world crashes. The crash cases used for the simulations were selected from the in-depth crash dataset “InSAFE”, which collects severe road crashes in the metropolitan area of Florence. The selection criteria were the following: a) the PTW crashed into another vehicle; b) the PTW was travelling along a curved path with roll angle above 15 deg; c) the rider applied some braking force prior to impact; d) PTW loss of control was not the main contributing factor. In the simulation, MAEB+ was able to assist the rider in reducing the motorcycle speed prior to impact with higher deceleration compared to baseline MAEB and in maintaining the stability of the motorcycle. The potential benefits of the proposed system, expressed in terms of impact speed reduction or avoidance of fall events, cannot be directly correlated with actual benefits for the rider in terms of injury mitigation. In fact, risk curves expressing the level of injury for the rider as a function of kinematic quantities (such as impact speed) are not currently available for riders. Previous studies showed that MAEB would typically apply to situations where the motorcycle is travelling along a straight path. However, this paper shows that MAEB associated to ABC can apply also to those cases where the PTW is leaning, thus contributing to prove and extend the robustness of MAEB. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Algorithms KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash injuries KW - Deceleration KW - Florence (Italy) KW - Motorcycles KW - Simulation KW - Steering KW - Two wheeled vehicles UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358627 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568090 AU - Song, Lailong AU - Fender, Johannes AU - Duddeck, Fabian AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Semi-Analytical Approach to Identify Solution Spaces for Crashworthiness in Vehicle Architectures PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - In an early design phase for vehicle crashworthiness, the use of classical optimization is limited. One reason for this is that development of structural components is distributed over different departments. Additionally, crash performance depends on several components and their interaction. Common components in vehicle architectures are subject to various load cases in multiple vehicles. Thus, the entire vehicle architecture has to be considered during optimization. In order to enable distributed development the system needs to be decoupled, which means that a variation in one component does not require modifications of other components in order to reach the global structural performance goal. The objective of this paper is to introduce a method to define the component-wise force-deformation requirements of vehicle architectures for front crash structure design. The force-deformation properties of the components are subject to constraints, from which an analytical description of the design space of the vehicle architecture is derived. The optimal orthogonal solution space within this design space is identified via optimization process. This results in maximal intervals for variations of the component forces over their deformations under the given boundary conditions. The validity of the solution space is proven through explicit finite element method (FE) simulation. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crashworthiness KW - Finite element method KW - Frontal crashes KW - Impact tests KW - Simulation KW - Vehicle design KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358327 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568081 AU - Thomas, Pete AU - Talbot, Rachel AU - Reed, Steve AU - Barnes, Jo AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Fatal Urban Cyclist Collisions with Lorries: An In-Depth Study of Causation Factors and Countermeasures Using a System-Based Approach PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - In the UK and other countries cyclists are the only group of road users with increasing fatalities and cyclist protection has become a high priority both to reduce the risks of cycling and the perception of risks amongst cyclists. The objective of this study is to apply a systems approach to a causation analysis of fatal crashes in order to identify key risk factors and countermeasures associated with all vehicles involved, the infrastructure, road users and road safety management. The paper presents an analysis of fatal cyclist collisions that took place in London in the years 2007 to 2011. Case materials included police reports, witness statements, vehicle inspections, scene plans and photographs, collision reconstructions, post-mortem and other medical reports. The sample comprised a total of 53 fatal cyclist collisions that occurred during the five year period. The most common collision type resulting in a fatal cyclist was an impact with a large vehicle >3.5T including 27 lorries and 3 buses. The most common manoeuvre involved the large vehicle turning left resulting in a low speed interaction with the cyclist. Generally impacts occurred to the front left side or left front side of the truck (24 cases, 89%). Insufficient direct vision of the cyclist was a factor in all of these cases with additional risks associated with driver attention and mirror limitations. The availability of Class V side and Class VI front mirrors did not prevent all fatalities.12 (45%) of the lorries were equipped with side guards while 11 were exempt, however all of the fatally injured cyclists were on the ground before any side-guard interaction could have occurred and side guards were not seen to be effective in this sample. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Buses KW - Countermeasures KW - Crash causes KW - Cyclists KW - Fatalities KW - Greater London KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trucks KW - United Kingdom UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357856 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568075 AU - Silberling, Jordan Y AU - Zellner, John W AU - Kelly, Joseph AU - Lenkeit, John F AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Development of a Standardized Method for Making Characteristic Radar Measurements of Example Vehicles and Surrogate Targets PY - 2015 SP - 17p AB - Testing of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) often requires the use of a surrogate vehicle to represent a real vehicle in conflict scenarios. Use of a surrogate vehicle is required if there is a potential for a collision during testing. In order to ensure that the test results are representative of what will occur on the road, the surrogate vehicle should appear to the test vehicle as a real car. This paper describes a method and equipment developed for measuring and analyzing the radar signature of typical vehicles and surrogate targets. The method was then applied to eight small passenger cars to better understand what the radar signature of representative passenger vehicles are. A special-purpose trolley was designed to serve as a portable, self-contained measurement, data acquisition and power platform. It consists of a wheeled trolley base and a vertical structure to which the various equipment are attached. The sensor trolley has 3 retractable feet that are used to make it a stationary device during measurements. The front two feet can be used for fine roll adjustment and the rear foot can be used for fine pitch adjustment. Mounted to the trolley are a commercial production 6-77 GHz RADAR sensor, a sensor bracket with roll angle level and scope sight, a data acquisition system, a laptop computer, a 12 volt battery and a power distribution box. Eight small passenger cars were measured, three sedans, three hatchbacks, and two microcars. Small passenger cars may represent a worst case in terms of vehicle visibility. The representative vehicle radar measurements were made taken from five viewing angles and at three distances for each angle. The data from these measurements are presented. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic test equipment KW - Crashes KW - Driver support systems KW - Measurement KW - Radar KW - Vehicle tests KW - Visibility UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358483 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568041 AU - Larsson, Bengt AU - Bakker, Joerg AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Small Overlap Frontal Impact – Experience and Proposal for a Future Approach PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - This paper examines the field relevance regarding frequency and severity of small overlap accidents by comparing accident data from German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS), National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) and Mercedes-Benz accident research and from this perspective shows a proposal of a more realistic small overlap test configuration. The result shows a field relevance of approx. 7% in relation to all frontal impact accidents. With respect to an occupant injury severity of the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS3+) the field relevance is reduced to approx. 3%. Detailed investigations regarding vehicle deformations and occupant loadings on a Mercedes Benz C-Class (MJ 2013 and earlier) show significantly higher severity in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) load case compared to a typically small overlap field accident. Furthermore, a better severity correlation between field accidents and a car-to-car small overlap or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) small overlap research load case has been observed. In case of the IIHS small overlap test mode some preferential vehicle concepts related to the results has been observed. Investigations show that front wheel drive vehicles with a “east-west” (lateral) engine mount design seem to have some advantage compared to rear wheel drive vehicles with a “north-south” (longitudinal) engine mount design. Accident data analysis confirms that small overlap accidents have field relevance, although the severity of the accidents is lower compared to the IIHS small overlap test mode. In order to obtain a more realistic test configuration the proposal is to use a deformable barrier in order to simulate this kind of accidents. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash data KW - Crash rates KW - Crash severity KW - Frontal crashes KW - German In-Depth Accident Study KW - Injury severity KW - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety KW - Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale KW - Overlap crashes KW - Simulation KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358328 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568038 AU - Jänsch, Michael AU - Johannsen, Heiko AU - Otte, Dietmar AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Aspects of Age Related Accident Causation Factors and Implication for Safety Measures PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - The ageing society increases the requirements to focus on safe mobility for elderlies. It is expected that in Germany the population with an age above 65 years will reach more than 30% of the total population by 2060. In the same time the number of people above 80 years will double. In addition the relative share of driving license holder amongst the elderly will increase. In order to maintain the active role in mobility it is essential to identify specific risk factors of elderly and to develop countermeasures. The objective of this paper is to analyse specific accidents causes of elderly car drivers and to assess different measures such as improvement of the infrastructure, training measures, driver assistance systems etc U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Aged drivers KW - Countermeasures KW - Crash causes KW - Driver licensing KW - Driver support systems KW - Germany KW - Infrastructure KW - Mobility UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358456 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568033 AU - Scanlon, John M AU - Kusano, Kristofer D AU - Sherony, Rini AU - Gabler, Hampton C AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Potential Safety Benefits of Lane Departure Warning and Prevention Systems in the U.S. Vehicle Fleet PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - Road departures account for nearly one-third of all fatal crashes. Lane departure warning (LDW) and lane departure prevention (LDP) have the potential to mitigate the number of crashes and fatalities that result from road departure crashes. The objective of this study was to predict the effectiveness of LDW and LDP in preventing road departure crashes if all vehicles in departure crashes in the U.S. fleet were equipped with either system. A set of 478 road departure crashes extracted from NASS/CDS 2012 were used to formulate a simulation case set. Each of these crashes were than simulated with and without LDW and LDP systems. The LDW system was assumed to alert the driver at the instance the leading wheel touched the lane marking. A steering-based LDP system was assumed to operate in conjunction with LDW (i.e. by alerting the driver of a lane departure) and directly modulate steering wheel angle at the instance the leading wheel touched the lane marking. Four hypothetical LDP designs were evaluated, using typical evasive maneuvering behavior from a lane departure, to be representative of “light”, “moderate”, “aggressive”, and “autonomous” steering. The LDW system was estimated to reduce the number of crashes by 26.1% and the number of seriously injured drivers by 20.7%. In contrast, the light steering to aggressive steering LDP systems were estimated to reduce the number of crashes by 32.7% to 37.3% and the number of seriously injured drivers by 26.1% to 31.2%. The LDP system with autonomous driving characteristics were estimated to reduce the number of crashes by 51.0% and the number of serious injuries by 45.9%. This study shows that LDW and LDP could mitigate a large proportion of crashes and injuries in lane departure crashes. This paper is directly relevant to the design and evaluation of LDW and LDP systems. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Driver vehicle interfaces KW - Highway safety KW - Lane departure warning systems KW - Ran off road crashes KW - Simulation KW - United States KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358478 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568023 AU - Seiniger, Patrick AU - Gail, Jost AU - Schreck, Benjamin AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Development of a Test Procedure for Driver Assist Systems Addressing Accidents Between Right Turning Trucks and Straight Driving Cyclists PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - Accidents between right turning trucks and straight riding cyclists often show massive consequences. Accident severity is much higher than in other accidents. The situation is critical especially due to the fact that, in spite of the six mirrors that are mandatory for ensuring a minimum field of sight for the truck drivers, cyclists in some situations cannot be seen or are not seen by the driver. Either the cyclist is overlooked or is in a blind spot area that results from the turning manoeuvre of the truck and its articulation if it is a truck trailer or truck semitrailer combination. At present driver assistance systems are discussed that can support the driver in the turning situation by giving a warning when cyclists are riding parallel to the truck just before or in the turning manoeuvre. Such systems would generally bear a high potential to avoid accidents of right turning trucks and cyclists no matter if they ride on the road or on a parallel bicycle path. However, performance requirements for such turning assist systems or even test procedures do not exist yet. This paper describes the development of a testing method and requirements for turning assist systems for trucks. The starting point of each development of test procedures is an analysis of accident data. A general study of accident figures determines the size of the problem. In-depth accident data is evaluated case by case in order to find out which are representative critical situations. These findings serve to determine characteristic parameters (e.g. boundary conditions, trajectories of truck and cyclist, speeds during the critical situation, impact points). Based on these parameters and technical feasibility by current sensor and actuator technology, representative test scenarios and pass/fail-criteria are defined. The outcome of the study is an overview of the accident situation between right turning trucks and straight driving cyclists in Germany as well as a corresponding test procedure for driver assistance systems that at this first stage will be informing or warning the driver. This test procedure is meant to be the basis for an international discussion on introducing turning assist systems in vehicle regulations U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash severity KW - Cyclists KW - Driver support systems KW - Germany KW - Right turns KW - Trucks UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357857 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568022 AU - Lattke, Benedikt AU - Eckert, Alfred AU - Feifel, Harald AU - Fröhlich, Dominik AU - McClain, Jeremy AU - Adireddy, Ganesh AU - Janda, Florian AU - Fuchs, Erich AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Road Departure Protection - A Means for Increasing Driving Safety Beyond Road Limits PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - Despite great technical progress in vehicle safety, according to the WHO approximately 1.2 million fatalities occur on the world’s roads every year. Thus great efforts are undertaken to reduce the number of road fatalities and serious accidents, or at least to mitigate their impact on road users. The introduction of environment perception based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in road vehicles is expected to improve traffic safety significantly. In today’s vehicles, the prevalent ADAS focus primarily on the longitudinal driving direction, e.g. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems and Adaptive Cruise Control. Whilst the functional range of these systems continues to expand, there exists a very large portion of critical vehicle crashes which are not addressed, mainly caused by vehicles leaving the roadway laterally. Today, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is one of the only established Active Safety Systems covering emergency situations in the lateral direction, and always dealing within the physical limits of vehicle dynamics. Despite the very high effectiveness of ESC systems, there remain many cases in which it is not possible to prevent unintended lateral roadway departures, especially in cases of driver drowsiness or inattention, e.g. on American highways or European rural roads. Preventing roadway departure crashes, which cannot be covered by today’s lateral guidance/lane keeping ADAS, is motivation behind developing a system for road departure protection. Road Departure Protection systems expand today’s lateral ADAS by active road keeping in emergency situations before reaching the physical limits of vehicle dynamics. Based on environment perception means like road edge detection or road course preview, the system should actively intervene when unintentionally leaving the roadway. By automated vehicle control, the system keeps the vehicle on the roadway, thereby protecting against roll-over accidents or collisions with roadside obstacles or oncoming traffic. This paper presents the roadway departure problem are faced today via accident data and different use cases and gives insight into the state of the art Active Safety functions and research activities. The functionalities to address the selected use cases will be described, including functional architectures, a road edge detection algorithm, approaches to preview the course of the road, sensor fusion concepts, a function cascade, and activation strategies. First test data will illustrate the function and working area of a Road Departure Protection system. A reliable and real-time capable perception algorithm will be demonstrated. For this algorithm, different image processing techniques are applied to mono camera images to estimate the parameters of a geometric model of the road edge. It works without any supplementary know ledge about the road infrastructure. Two system architectures will be presented, which differ in the used surrounding sensors, actuators, functional capabilities, and system cost. One variant uses a radar sensor, stereo camera and an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system, whereas another solution uses a mono camera and an ESC system. The vehicle steering capabilities and limitations of the ESC based steering are discussed in the paper. Finally, an outlook to future work and possible extensions will be given. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Automatic braking KW - Autonomous intelligent cruise control KW - Driver support systems KW - Edge detection KW - Europe KW - Motor vehicle dynamics KW - Ran off road crashes KW - Rollover crashes KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - United States KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358457 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568008 AU - Brolin, Karin AU - Östh, Jonas AU - Svensson, Mats AU - Sato, Fusako AU - Ono, Koshiro AU - Linder, Astrid AU - Kullgren, Anders AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Aiming for an Average Female Virtual Human Body Model for Seat Performance Assessment in Rear-End Impacts PY - 2015 SP - 15p AB - The female part of the population suffers more Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD) in car crashes than males. Several studies have illustrated the need to consider the female population when developing and assessing the WAD prevention performance of advanced restraint systems in rear-end collisions. Presently only one crash test dummy is available, the average sized male BioRID. Recently a virtual dummy model of an average female, EvaRID, was developed and used in rear impact simulations. The results stressed the need for models representing the female part of the population, as well. Virtual crash simulations have become essential in traffic safety and with models of both an average male and female, further steps in addressing improved assessment of WAD prevention can be taken. The present paper presents a starting point of research aiming to develop an open-source average female Finite Element (FE) model with an anatomically detailed cervical spine. This paper provides a review of the literature to identify gender specific neck biomechanics and anatomical differences, followed by a review of published FE models of the cervical spine. Data on vertebral body dimensions (height, width, depth, spinal canal diameter, facet joint angles) have been compiled from biomechanical literature. Significant gender differences exist for the vertebral body depth and width, the spinal curvature in the seated posture, and the spinal stiffness and range of motion. All have the potential to influence the outcome of an impact and should be accounted for in the development of WAD prevention. The review of FE models of the cervical spine presented 17 models based on male geometry but only one model scaled to represent a female. An overview of the models are given with respect to the solver, geometry source, number of elements, and implementation of the facet joints, ligaments, and muscles. It is recommended that an average female model is developed with focus on; 1) the shape of the female vertebral body, especially the depth and width that provides less support area than for males, 2) defining the spinal curvature representative of seated female volunteers who generally display less lordosis than males, 3) the dimensions of the spinal ligaments, rather than the material properties, to capture the larger range of motion and less spinal stiffness of female subjects compared to males, and 4) validation to female volunteers and PMHS tests for range of motion, while failure prediction seem less gender sensitive. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Dummies KW - Females KW - Finite element method KW - Rear end crashes KW - Restraint systems KW - Traffic safety KW - Whiplash UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358644 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01568005 AU - Östh, Jonas AU - Brolin, Karin AU - Ólafsdóttir, Jóna Marín AU - Davidsson, Johan AU - Pipkorn, Bengt AU - Jakobsson, Lotta AU - Törnvall, Fredrik AU - Lindkvist, Mats AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Muscle Activation Strategies in Human Body Models for the Development of Integrated Safety PY - 2015 SP - 15p AB - Human Body Models (HBMs) have been used in crash safety research for some time, and are now emerging as tools for the development of restraints systems. One important challenge in the development of advanced restraint systems is to integrate sensory information about the pre-crash phase (time to collision, impact speed and direction, occupant position) to alter restraint activation parameters. Restraint activation can begin even before the beginning of an impact, providing additional time to reposition or restrain the occupant. However, any such pre-crash intervention would invoke a muscle response that needs to be taken into account in HBMs used in simulation of integrated restraints. The objective of this paper is to provide an update on state-of-the-art modeling techniques for active musculature in HBMs. Examples of applications are presented, to illustrate future challenges in modeling of car occupants muscle responses to restraint activation. The most common approach for modeling active muscle force in HBMs is to use Hill-type models, in which the force produced is a function of muscle length, shortening velocity, and activation level. Active musculature was first implemented in cervical spine models. These models were applied to study occupant kinematic responses and injury outcome in rear-end, lateral, and frontal impacts; it was found that active musculature is essential for studying the response of the cervical spine. One approach utilized to represent muscle activity in HBMs is to use experimentally recorded muscle activities or activity levels acquired through inverse optimization in open-loop. More recently, in order to represent car occupant muscle responses in pre-crash situations, closed-loop control has been implemented for multibody and finite element HBMs, allowing the models to maintain their posture and simulate reflexive responses. Studies with these models showed that in addition to feedback control, anticipatory postural responses needs to be included to represent driver actions such as voluntary braking. Current HBMs have the capacity to model (utilizing closed-loop control) active muscle responses of car occupants in longitudinal pre-crash events. However, models have only been validated for limited sets of data since as high quality volunteer data, although it exists, is scarce. Omni-directional muscle responses have been implemented to some extent, but biofidelity of the simulated muscle activation schemes has not been assessed. Additional experimental volunteer muscle activity measurements (with normalized electromyogram recordings) in complex 3D-loading scenarios are needed for validation and to investigate how muscle recruitment depends on occupant awareness and varies between individuals. Further model development and validation of muscle activations schemes are necessary, for instance startle responses, and individual muscle control. This could improve assessment of restraint performance in complex accident scenarios, such as multiple impacts, far-side impacts and roll-over situations. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Anthropometry KW - Crash victim simulation KW - Dummies KW - Muscular forces KW - Occupant kinetics KW - Restraint systems KW - State of the art KW - Time to collision KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358645 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567996 AU - Páez, Francisco Javier AU - Furones, Arturo AU - Badea, Alexandro AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Benefits Assessment of Autonomous Emergency Braking Pedestrian Systems Based on Real World Accidents Reconstruction PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Despite the success in reducing Spanish traffic fatalities by 65 percent in the past decade (2004 - 2013), pedestrian fatalities only have diminished by 45% (decreased by 35% in urban areas). This paper describes the main findings of a coordinated study performed by INSIA-UPM aimed to assess the potential influence of two active safety systems, a brake assist system (BAS) and an autonomous emergency braking system (AEB), in vehicle-pedestrian collisions through reconstruction of real-world accidents occurred in the city of Madrid (Spain). A total number of 50 vehicle-pedestrian collisions have been in-depth investigated following a common methodology, including on the spot data collection, analysis and reconstruction to estimate the collision speed and the pedestrian kinematics. Every single case has been virtual simulated twice using PC-Crash® software: the first is a reconstruction of the real accident and the second is a simulation in which the operation of active safety systems is emulated. The performance of the BAS system acts together with the antilock braking system (ABS). The AEB system emulated in this paper through computer simulations is based on the DaimlerChrysler’s PROTECTOR system. The benefit is assessed in terms of both collision speed and Injury Severity Probability (ISP) by comparing the reduction of their values from the real conditions to the virtual simulations. The pedestrian ISP was estimated, depending on the collision speed and the pedestrian head impact point, using a specific application to calculate its value based on the results of head form impact laboratory tests. The findings show that in several cases the collision could be avoided by implementing the active safety systems (12% if the vehicle was fitted with BAS+ABS system; 42% with PROTECTOR system); and it would reduce their consequences in terms of the estimated ISP. It was also found that in few cases a low reduction of the collision speed would increase the head injury severity (10%). Further research should include injury information and/or estimation (HIC). Other limitations are the sample size (only one city and frontal collisions) and no unhurt accidents have been included. The injury severity assessment within this study only considers head impacts to the front surface of the vehicle, injuries provoked by subsequent impacts were not taken into account. Hence it can be an interesting subject for further research. This is new because: it is a prospective assessment of active safety systems and autonomous emergency braking systems; it is based on accurate reconstructions, highly detailed parameters; the behavior of the system is simulated according to design parameters. Multi-disciplinary approaches such as this study make the identification of critical parameters easier and simplify the development of practical solutions by quantifying their potential impact on future actions to improve pedestrian safety. The active safety braking pedestrian systems have a potential benefit in real conditions. It also has limitations so the authors cannot rely just on it. It has to act together with other passive features and the driver has to keep aware. This methodology can serve to test the benefit of forthcoming active safety technologies. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Brake assist system KW - Braking KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash reconstruction KW - Frontal crashes KW - Injury severity KW - Madrid (Spain) KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357849 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567991 AU - Park, Yeonggeol AU - Kwon, Jaejoon AU - Park, Kihong AU - Jeong, Jay AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Unmanned Target Vehicle for Active Safety Evaluation in Cut-in Test Scenarios PY - 2015 SP - 6p AB - In recent years, active safety systems are introduced to the markets and many of them are adopted to improve the possibility to avoid the accidents. These active safety systems include AEBS (Automatic Emergency Braking System,) LKAS (Lane Keeping Assistant System,) BSD (Blind Spot Detection,) and so on. The evaluation methods for those systems also have been developed and determined as international standards. Additionally, target systems for evaluation have been developed too. However, they are usually designed for testing straight rear collision scenarios. To reproduce other scenarios such as cut-in situations, a new concept of the target system is needed. So, in this work, the unmanned target vehicle are designed and developed. The target vehicle is developed as an unmanned vehicle for accurate path following performance. A Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) with 2cm accuracy and heading angle inertial measurement unit (IMU) are installed for the path following function. A soft dummy which resembles a typical SUV is attached on the unmanned target vehicle. To reproduce accident scenarios safely, the target vehicle should be designed to protect the hunter vehicle and the target vehicle itself from the crash shock of the collision situation. The target vehicle in this work is developed with a shock absorber system in the rear part of the target vehicle. The rear part of the target vehicle is designed to have similar characteristics with a real vehicles in visual shape for vision systems and radio frequency reflection for radar systems. The shape and the material of the part is selected for the hunter vehicle to recognize the target vehicle as a real SUV. The structural and dynamic analysis are carried out for the target performance. Also, evaluation experiments of the cut-in scenarios are carried out to test the hunter vehicle with the AEBS. The dynamic performance results of the target vehicle will be presented. The results include the limit of impact speed, maximum speed, maximum lateral speed and accuracy of path following logic. The AEBS performance results of the hunter vehicle will be presented in the test cut-in situation. In this work, test scenarios to evaluate the hunter vehicles are carried out especially for the 'Rear collision and Cut-in' situations. Frontal collision and accidents in intersection situation are excluded. The hunter vehicles with AEBS are only tested for the evaluation experiments. The test speed is set less than 40km/h. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Automatic braking KW - Blind spots KW - Global Positioning System KW - Lane departure warning systems KW - Rear end crashes KW - Robots KW - Test vehicles KW - Vehicle dynamics UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358500 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567989 AU - Un-chin, Park AU - Ganz, Florian AU - Ha-jong, Song AU - Sankar, Sudar AU - Hyun-chul, Kim AU - Santos, Christian AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Tracking Method of Vehicle Point or Dummy Point in the Vehicle Crash by Calculating Linear Accelerometer and Angular Velocity PY - 2015 SP - 6p AB - From the mathematical equations the authors can get the point coordinates with 3 axis linear accelerometer and 3 axis angular velocity by integration. In this research, the authors will introduce two unique algorithms-acceleration method and velocity method of Hyundai-Kia motors and ACTs and prove the accuracy from many kinds of dummy inboard or outboard tracking case and vehicle body point. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Acceleration (Mechanics) KW - Accelerometers KW - Algorithms KW - Angular velocity KW - Crash analysis KW - Dummies KW - Hyundai automobile KW - Kia automobile UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358344 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567986 AU - Doyle, Murray AU - Edwards, Alix AU - Avery, Matthew AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - AEB Real World Validation Using UK Motor Insurance Claims Data PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - City Safety is a low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology, first made available as standard by Volvo on their XC60 model series, and released in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2008. This technology has since been made available on a growing number of models, including the high volume seller Volkswagen Golf 7. This paper presents an analysis of the impact of AEB in the UK on claim losses using real world Insurer claims data. Statistical regression was used to compare the claims losses for the XC60 to that of a SUV control cohort of vehicles without any such system, and quantify any AEB effects identified. The influences of calendar year and vehicle age on claim risk were accounted for in the analysis. Estimated claim frequencies for the XC60 were lower than those of the control cohort, in all liability types: 8% lower for Third Party Damage, 6% lower for Own Damage, and 21% lower for Third Party Injury. More recently this approach has been employed to compare claim frequencies for the Golf 7 with the Front Assist AEB system with that of a Small Family car control cohort of vehicles, with similar qualitative results observed from an analysis of the initial data available. Furthermore a study of claim damage severity based around claim costs and repair times estimated lower severity levels for the XC60 relative to control cohorts, for own damage liability, of the order of 10%-15%. This study is the first of its kind using UK claims and indicates the potential benefit of AEB technology. Further statistical analysis is intended with additional risk information for the XC60 and Golf 7, and other AEB study vehicles. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - City Safety KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash severity KW - Insurance claims KW - Liability KW - Statistical analysis KW - United Kingdom KW - Vehicle tests KW - Volkswagen automobile KW - Volvo automobile UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358629 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567985 AU - Fujishiro, Ryo AU - Liu, Chao AU - Christopher, Lauren AU - Zheng, Jiang Yu AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Bicyclist Behavior Analysis for PCS (Pre-Collision System) Based on Naturalistic Driving PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - In recent years, automakers have introduced the PCS (Pre-Collision System) which is designed to warn a driver or to brake automatically to help avoid or mitigate accidents. One of the significant aspects of this system is to help protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. In this paper, the research is introduced which analyzes normal bicyclist behavior in order to design and evaluate PCS systems. The attributes of normal bicyclist behavior investigated are: TTC (Time-To-Collision), lateral position, vehicle speed and bicycle speed. This behavior was analyzed using TASI’s (IUPUI’s Transportation Active Safety Institute) naturalistic driving data from 110 cars. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Behavior KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Cyclists KW - Vehicle design KW - Vulnerable road users UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358451 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567810 AU - Hartmann, Christoph AU - Harlapur, Sakheen AU - Brandmeier, Thomas AU - Rajendra, Akshay AU - Faisst, Holger AU - Lauer, Peter AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - New Integrated Assistance Functions for Real World Accident Scenarios PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - Investigation of several accident databases consistently identified guardrail and embankment accidents as highly relevant in the context of real world accident scenarios that are not in the focus of today’s vehicle safety functions. This work demonstrates the potential of future vehicle safety functions to reduce the severity of such accidents. To achieve this, two vehicle lateral controllers are in development that assist the driver in guardrail and embankment accident situations. A Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) approach, based on a single track model, is used to stabilize the vehicle in these situations with the goal to reduce the risk of secondary collisions and a rollover of the vehicle. Simulation results demonstrate the potential of the vehicle lateral controllers to stabilize the vehicle after a guardrail collision and to keep it in a safe area next to the guardrail. It is also demonstrated that the risk of a rollover in an embankment due to erroneous driver steering can be reduced. Further research is required to investigate the influence of driver inputs to the controllers in the mentioned accident situations. It needs to be discussed how the new controllers could be incorporated in the existing and future vehicle safety architecture. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic controllers KW - Automatic steering control KW - Embankments KW - Forecasting KW - Guardrails KW - Rollover crashes KW - Simulation KW - Traffic crashes KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358387 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567800 AU - Zaouk, Abdullatif K AU - Wills, Michael AU - Traube, Eric AU - Strassburger, Robert AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) – A Status Update PY - 2015 SP - 15p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) began research in February 2008 to try to find potential in-vehicle approaches to the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. Members of ACTS comprise motor vehicle manufacturers representing approximately 99 percent of light vehicle sales in the U.S. This cooperative research partnership, known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, is exploring the feasibility, the potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated with a more widespread use of non-invasive technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. The 2008 cooperative agreement between NHTSA and ACTS for Phases I and II outlined a program of research to assess the state of detection technologies that are capable of measuring blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) and to support the creation and testing of prototypes and subsequent hardware that could be installed in vehicles. This paper will outline the technological approaches and program status. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Detection and identification KW - Drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Safety programs KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358350 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567791 AU - Hicks, David AU - Mongiardini, Mario AU - Grzebieta, Raphael AU - Rechnitzer, George AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Analysis of Quad-Bike Loss-of-Control Using Experimental and Simulated Dynamic Bump Tests PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Quad-bikes, also known as all-terrain vehicles in the United States of America, continue to be a major contributor to fatal and serious injuries in Australia as well as in many other countries all over the world, both for recreational use and in the workplace. There have been over 150 fatalities caused by quad-bike incidents in Australia since 2000 with around 70 percent of these attributed to rollovers. In 2011, quad-bikes overtook tractors as the leading cause of injury and death on Australian farms. There is a significant portion of quad-bike fatalities that are identified as being caused by riding over a raised obstacle (i.e. bump, log, tree stump, etc.), which causes the vehicle to lose control and rollover. However, the authors are not aware of any research that has been published to date in regards to identifying the mechanism that causes this loss-of-control situation in the case of quad-bikes. This paper details a novel method used to identify this mechanism. Preliminary testing conducted with a human test rider, identified that a rider can be significantly displaced across the seat when riding a quad-bike over a semi-circular raised obstacle placed on one side of the vehicle wheel track. A formal test procedure was then developed to measure the pelvis kinematics of an Anthropomorphic Test Device mounted on a quad-bike moving over a 150mm high bump obstacle placed on one side of the vehicle wheel track. This procedure was then simulated using a Finite Element (FE) model of a quad-bike that was validated against experimental tests. The analysis of both experimental and FE simulation results presented here clearly demonstrate how a quad-bike loss-of-control event, leading to rollover, can be triggered by a bump-like raised obstacle. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - All terrain vehicles KW - Australia KW - Loss of control KW - Obstructions (Navigation) KW - Rollover crashes KW - Simulation KW - Speed control humps UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359034 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567789 AU - Han, Il Song AU - Han, Woo-Sup AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Application of Biologically Inspired Visual Information Processing in Affective Driver Status Monitoring PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Recent times have seen an increased interest in technologies of driver assistance. Understanding the driver’s current status is crucial for the implementation of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and Driver Status Monitoring (DSM). Emotional factors such as anger have been long attributed to aggressive driving behaviours and increased likelihood of road accidents. Therefore, being able to accurately detect the affective states of the vehicle occupant will be critical for enhanced safety and comfort. In this paper, the authors present a methodology for the evaluation of the emotional states of vehicle drivers. The proposed approach performs an assessment of the emotional states by using combination of biologically inspired visual information processing and neural networks coupled with feedback mechanisms. The system consists of the following stages: (1) biologically inspired image pre-processing; (2) facial feature extraction; (3) multilayer perceptron for classification; and (4) feedback mechanism. The system has been preliminary validated by using data available from Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) database. Four affective states were identified and tested, which includes anger, sadness, and happiness. Subsequent tests have shown the successful detection rate of 91.3% with test images, and over 70% correct classification in images with Gaussian noises, respectively. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Driver monitoring KW - Driver support systems KW - Emotions KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Face KW - Human information processing KW - Visual perception UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358386 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567788 AU - Zander, Oliver AU - Gehring, Dirk-Uwe AU - van Ratingen, Michiel AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Beyond Safety Legislation: Contribution of Consumer Information Programmes to Enhanced Injury Mitigation of Pedestrians During Accidents with Motor Vehicles PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - During the past five years, a Euro NCAP technical working group on pedestrian safety has been working on improving test and assessment procedures for enhanced passive pedestrian safety. After harmonizing the tools and procedures as much as possible with legislation, the work was mainly focused on the development of grid procedures for the pedestrian body regions head, upper leg with pelvis and lower leg with knee. Furthermore, the test parameters for the head and the upper leg were revised, a new lower legform impactor was introduced and the injury thresholds were adjusted or, where necessary, the injury criteria were changed. Finally, the assessment limits and colour scheme were refined, widening the range and adding two more colours in order to provide a more detailed description of the pedestrian safety performance. By abstaining from an assessment based on a worst point selection philosophy, the improved test point determination procedures that were introduced during the years 2013 and 2014 give a more homogeneous, high resolution picture of the pedestrian safety performance of the vehicle front ends. By using a uniform grid for each test zone approximately 200 test points, evenly distributed within each area, can now be assessed per vehicle. The introduction of the flexible pedestrian legform impactor in 2014 enables a more realistic injury prediction of the knee and the tibia using a biofidelic test tool. With the new upper legform test that has been launched in 2015 the assessment in that area is now focusing on the injured body region instead of the injury causing vehicle part and thus is aligned with the approach in the remaining body regions head and lower leg. At the same time, a monitoring test with the headform impactor against the bonnet leading edge is closing the possible gap between the test areas to identify injury causing vehicle parts that moved out of focus due to the introduction of the new upper legform test. The paper describes the new test and assessment procedures with their underlying philosophy and gives an outlook in terms of open issues, specifying the needs for further improvement in the future. In parallel to the work of the pedestrian subgroup, a Euro NCAP working group on heavy vehicles introduced a set of protocol changes in 2011 that were related to the assessment of M1 vehicles derived from commercial vehicles, with a gross vehicle weight between 2.5 and 3.5 tons and 8 or 9 seats. The paper also investigates the applicability of the new pedestrian test and assessment procedures to heavy vehicles. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Consumer protection KW - Crash injuries KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Hazard mitigation KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Performance measurement KW - Test procedures UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358293 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567786 AU - Jakobsson, Lotta AU - Axelson, Anders AU - Björklund, Magnus AU - Nilsson, Pär AU - Victor, Trent AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Run Off Road Safety PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - Run off road events are frequent and can result in severe consequences. The reasons for leaving the road are numerous and the sequence the car is subjected to differs in most events. The aim of this study is to holistically address safety improvement in run off road events, presenting methods for evaluation as well as examples of countermeasures for the whole sequence from normal driving to post-crash. Real world data, comprising statistical and in-depth crash data as well as driving data from Volvo Cars’ database in Sweden, forms the basis for understanding of influencing factors and mechanisms related to occurrence of the event as well as occupant injury. Countermeasures are presented along with the test methods which were developed based on the mechanisms identified. The test methods include road off road avoidance test methods, complete vehicle crash tests, and rig tests; such as occupant positioning using a robot rig and vertical loading tests using a drop tower rig. Countermeasures addressing run off road safety are developed and verified using the identified test methods and integrated into vehicle design. Examples of systems addressing road departure avoidance aspects are Driver Alert Control and Lane Keeping Aid. Countermeasures specifically addressing occupant protection are occupant positioning by detecting run off road events and activating an electrical reversible safety belt pretensioner, as well as unique energy-absorbing functionality in the seat. Post-crash measures are enhanced by added activation of eCall in some run off road scenarios. Optimally, avoiding the run off road is most beneficial and this study provides some initial steps illustrated by production systems. However, if run off road occurs, one priority is to reduce vertical occupant loadings when landing on the wheels after a free-flight, a rollover or when going into a ditch and impacting an embankment. This type of loading could result in thoracic-lumbar spine fractures. The design of the unique energy absorbing functionality in the seat, put into production 2015, will help provide important enhanced occupant protection. Additionally, injury outcome is influenced by the occupant position during the event: head and arms flinging around impacting the interior, bent postures reducing the tolerances of spinal injuries, and sub-optimal occupant positioning relative to protection systems. The unique run off road detection and safety belt pretensioning early in the events, together with the seat backrest’s side supports, will assist the occupant to stay positioned during the event and help improve protection. This study is based on a holistic approach to safety, covering the whole event from normal driving to crash care, introducing world first production technology enhancing occupant protection in these diverse and complex events. It goes beyond standardized safety evaluation of today and it provides an illustrative example on how safety systems can take action across the entire crash sequence and the interaction of different types of systems adding to the effect of addressing real world protection needs. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Highway safety KW - Holistic approach KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Ran off road crashes KW - Vehicle design KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358390 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567782 AU - Zuby, David AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Consumer Safety Information Programs at IIHS PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - Since 1969, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began publishing results of low-speed crash tests to highlight differences in vehicle bumpers, it has been a significant source of information about how the safety of different vehicle designs varies. Currently, IIHS maintains crashworthiness ratings covering five crash modes along with ratings of front crash prevention (FCP) systems and children’s booster seats, as well as annual updates of insurance loss reports from its affiliate, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). This report describes the experience with IIHS’s latest consumer information efforts and identifies the next areas of consumer information to come online. It presents information about the number of vehicle models and booster seats evaluated; their ratings assigned as well as media, consumer, and manufacturer response; and small overlap crashworthiness and FCP ratings. Research underpinning future rating programs addressing Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) and advanced head lighting systems also is summarized. Since launching its booster seat ratings, IIHS has evaluated 200 designs for their ability to adjust rear seat belt fit to booster-age children across a wide variety of rear seat belt configurations. The number of models rated Best Bet, indicating they will provide good belt fit in common passenger vehicles, has increased from a low of 10 in 2008 to 69 in 2014. Media coverage of these annual ratings announcements is estimated to average an audience of 88 million people in the United States. IIHS internet pages with booster ratings are among the most viewed, with an average of 102,800 page views monthly. IIHS began rating vehicle front crashworthiness on the basis of a 64 km/h small overlap crash against a rigid barrier in 2012. Of the 118 currently rated 2015 models, 49 are good, 25 acceptable, 23 marginal, and 21 poor. Several models have been tested in two design iterations with improved performance in the second test, indicating automakers are able to design vehicles to better protect occupants in similar crashes. It is estimated that the media coverage across all small overlap ratings announcements has achieved 1.1 billion views. Surveys of automobile dealers indicate that good ratings in this test have led to increased sales, at least in the short term. IIHS ratings of vehicle FCP systems include both warning and autobraking functions. The proportion of new models available with FCP of any kind has increased from 30 to 60 percent. The combined media coverage of three announcements featuring FCP ratings were viewed 212 million times. While not as strong as for crash test ratings, there was indication that these announcements positively affected sales of vehicles with these systems. Large audiences for IIHS consumer information programs have prompted manufacturers of rated products to make changes in ways indicated by IIHS tests. Based on this experience with current programs, there is good reason to believe that IIHS ratings of LATCH and advanced head lighting systems can also improve vehicle safety. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Booster seats KW - Consumer protection KW - Crashworthiness KW - Frontal crashes KW - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety KW - Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) KW - Safety programs KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358341 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567781 AU - Funcke, Michael AU - Lovski, Sebastian AU - Schäfer, Sebastian AU - Sturk, David AU - Dufaut, Dominique AU - Sundmark, Hakan AU - Vavalidis, Kyriakos AU - Gustafsson, Per AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Protection of Lithium-Ion Traction Batteries in the Electric Car PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - The storage elements in an electric vehicle (EV) remain a key challenge to wide-scale, successful deployment of EVs that are appealing to customers and are adequately functional (e.g. in terms of range and drivability). State-of-the-art electric storage systems are lithium-ion batteries, offering approximately 0.5 km driving range per 1 kg of battery pack mass (see Funcke et al [1]). However, these battery packs require high level safety measures to avoid e.g. mechanical damage of the cells, which increases the pack mass again. In order to make a reliable statement about the battery safety at an early stage of development, detailed knowledge of the mechanical behavior of the cells as well as its reproduction in the virtual development process is necessary. Based on a sample design of a main battery structure, the development process of the cell model is explained. The first steps are the integration of the design in a full vehicle and the determination of the dominant cell deformations, which are transferred to cell load cases. These mechanical abuse tests of cells deliver the input data for generating an adequate finite-element (FE) model, which offers the opportunity to dimension the battery pack and to add safety measures. With this simulation model inflatable structures as well as passive reinforcements for the traction battery are investigated. To validate the simulation results, component tests on system level, i.e. complete battery packs, are conducted. The test is based on the full vehicle reference design load case, in this case the EuroNCAP pole side impact with a modified pole position and an impact velocity of 50 km/h. An analysis of the impact position is needed since the vulnerabilty to intrusion of the battery pack and the stiffness of the vehicle structure varies along the vehicle longitudinal axis. These component tests confirm the simulation results and show the potential of inflatable structures and passive protection systems. Furthermore, it is possible to generate a FE model for lithium-ion batteries, which is applicable to full vehicle simulations. Although it is possible to map the mechanical characteristics to the generated cell model, this model is limited to the investigated load cases, which have been the result of the battery position within the vehicle and the corresponding critical design load case. Since the battery may be placed in another position within the vehicle and the arrangement of the cells may change, the cell model is not universal. However, it is extensible to other load cases. Overall, the results from the study with the inflatable elements show clearly the benefit of those structures. With low additional mass a high positive effect (e.g. lower intrusion) is achieved, which means the ratio of the incorporated mass to the reached protective effect is lower than with passive protection systems. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Electric vehicles KW - Energy storage devices KW - Finite element method KW - Lithium batteries KW - Mechanical properties KW - Protection KW - Safety KW - Simulation UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357877 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567779 AU - Battaglia, Salvatore AU - Kietlinski, Kajetan AU - Unger, Michiel AU - Tijssens, Martin AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Occupant Protection in Rear-End Collisions Preceded by Autonomous Emergency Braking Deployment PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - The safety of vehicle occupants has evolved recently due to the market implementations of new sensing technologies that enable predicting and identifying hazardous road traffic situations and thus actively prevent or mitigate collisions. The obvious benefits of the active safety systems has also been recognized and acknowledged by the regulatory and consumer bodies responsible for transportation, and as a result, the new standards, regulations and public rewards are being introduced. The active safety systems can prevent or mitigate collisions by controlling the motion of the vehicles through autonomous actuation of either: braking, steering or both simultaneously. The autonomous control of the vehicle inevitably affects the motion of the travelling occupants with respect to the vehicle interior. Depending on the severity of the maneuver, the occupant motion may lead to non-optimal postures for the in-crash phase if the collision is unavoidable. This consideration creates the direct need for developing the active systems together with passive systems with the ultimate objective to best protect the occupants. This paper presents a simulation methodology for developing new automotive safety systems in an integrated manner that ensures optimal exploitation of benefits of predictive sensing and occupant restraints. It also demonstrates the application of the above methods, to investigate and optimize the occupant whiplash protection in rear-end collisions occurring during the autonomous emergency braking of the collided vehicle. The investigation was performed using simulation techniques (MADYMO software). The driver occupant is initially exposed to the low-g longitudinal acceleration resulting from emergency braking, during which the rear-end acceleration pulse is applied, representing the collision conditions (following the High Severity Sled Pulse of Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Whiplash testing protocol). Two different models of anthropometric test devices are used and compared: BioRID-II facet Q model and Active Human Model (AHM) to predict occupant motion while braking and assess injury risk as a result of the rear-end collision. The results obtained showed the severity of the out-of-position occupant posture created by the autonomous braking maneuver, and its effect on injury risk in the consecutive collision. It was observed that the occupant motion resulting from braking is more pronounced in case of AHM than BioRID-II. Increased occupant travel during prebraking impairs significantly the effectiveness of occupant rear-end protection restraint systems, thus increasing the whiplash injury risk. Further study demonstrates conceptual, pre-crash deployed safety solutions that alleviate the negative effects of the out-of-position postures created by pre-braking. The study shows the need for developing the new safety systems in an integrated manner. It was performed based on the numerical simulations and some of the model components were not fully validated. The simulation methods and techniques will play a significant role in the integrated safety systems development processes, allowing testing the conditions of high complexity in order to represent the real life scenarios and thus ensuring better occupant protection. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Anthropomorphic test devices KW - Automatic braking KW - Driver support systems KW - In vehicle sensors KW - Rear end crashes KW - Simulation KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358631 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567770 AU - Kreiss, Jens-Peter AU - Feng, Gang AU - Krampe, Jonas AU - Meyer, Marco AU - Niebuhr, Tobias AU - Pastor, Claus AU - Dobberstein, Jan AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - EXTRAPOLATION OF GIDAS ACCIDENT DATA TO EUROPE PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - In the paper it is investigated to what extend one can extrapolate the detailed accident database GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study), with survey area Hanover and Dresden region, to accident behavior in other regions and countries within Europe and how such an extrapolation can be implemented and evaluated. Moreover, it is explored what extent of accident data for the target country is necessary for such an extrapolation and what can be done in situations with sparse and low accident information in a target region. It will be shown that a direct transfer of GIDAS injury outcomes to other regions does not lead to satisfactory results. But based on GIDAS and using statistical decision tree methods, an extrapolation methodology will be presented which allows for an adequate prediction of the distribution of injury severity in severe traffic accidents for European countries. The method consists essentially of a separation of accidents into well-described subgroups of accidents within which the accident severity distribution does not vary much over different regions. In contrast the distribution over the various subgroups of accidents typically is rather different between GIDAS and the target. For the separation into the subgroups meaningful accident parameters (Like accident type, traffic environment, type of road etc.) Have been selected. The developed methodology is applied to GIDAS data for the years 1999-2012 and is evaluated with police accident data for Sweden (2002 to 2012) and the United Kingdom (2004 to 2010). It is obtained that the extrapolation proposal has good to very good predictive power in the category of severe traffic accidents. Moreover, it is shown that iterative proportional fitting enables the developed extrapolation method to lead to a satisfactory extrapolation of accident outcomes even to target regions with sparse accident information. As an important potential application of the developed methodology the a priori extrapolation of effects of (future) safety systems, the operation of which can only be well assessed on the basis of very detailed GIDAS accident data, is presented. Based on the evaluation of the presented extrapolation method it will be shown that GIDAS very well represents severe accidents, i.e. accidents with at least one severely or fatally injured person involved, for other countries in Europe. The developed extrapolation method reaches its limits in cases for which only very little accident information is available for the target region. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash analysis KW - Crash data KW - Decision trees KW - Europe KW - Extrapolation KW - German In-Depth Accident Study KW - Germany KW - Outcome (Medical treatment) KW - Sweden KW - United Kingdom UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359028 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567768 AU - Klausen, Andreas AU - Tørdal, Sondre Sanden AU - Karimi, Hamid Reza AU - Robbersmyr, Kjell G AU - Ječmenica, Mladen AU - Melteig, Ole AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Optimization of Three Vehicle Crashes Using a Single-Mass Lumped Parameter Model PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - In this paper mathematical modelling of a vehicle crash based on a lumped parameter model is studied. The vehicle is modelled as a single mass connected to a non-linear spring and damper system. The characteristics of the non-linear behaviour of the model is identified with a hybrid Firefly/Harmony Search optimization algorithm that minimizes the deviation between experimental test data and a simulated response. The experimental data is taken from three crashes of an identical vehicle that crashes into a wall at different initial velocities. The aim of this paper is to find a piecewise-linear function for the spring and damper coefficients which is scaleable to reconstruct the three different experimental crashes at different impact velocities. Numerical results are provided to illustrate the applicability of the proposed algorithm. Three data sets will be used for parameter identification and a fourth data set will be used for verification U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crashworthiness KW - Mathematical models KW - Optimization KW - Simulation KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358924 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567762 AU - Lloyd, Louise AU - Cuerden, Richard AU - Wallbank, Caroline AU - Seidl, Matthias AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Predicting the Impact of Vehicle Safety Developments in Emerging Markets following the Industrialised Countries’ Experience PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Vehicles in emerging markets are not typically regulated to the same extent as seen in industrialised regions. Casualty rates are considerably higher in these emerging markets, and the lack of vehicle safety regulation is responsible for at least some of the difference. With rapid growth in passenger cars expected, the number of road deaths and casualties in emerging markets is likely to rise, unless targeted and efficient interventions are planned and initiated urgently. The objective of this work was to quantify the casualty benefit that could be realised in an emerging market, if the experiences and lessons learned in the Europe Union (EU), including minimum car safety standards and consumer testing, were efficiently applied. Malaysia was selected as the emerging market for study in this paper, because it is a Contracting Party to the United Nations (UN) 1958 Agreement and has recently applied the major UN vehicle safety regulations. Clear differences in vehicle safety developments in Britain compared with Malaysia were identified through analysis of New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) results and accident data. Frontal impact performance varied, with some cars tested in New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) performing to levels similar to those seen in Euro NCAP today, whilst others were significantly worse. Based on this evidence, in broad terms, this study assumes that new car models sold in Malaysia are approximately 10 years behind today’s (2014/15) equivalent European cars, in terms of vehicle safety developments. However, the fleet in Malaysia is older than that seen in Britain, so it is possible that the entire fleet (with many older cars) could reflect a level of safety more like Britain before 2004. Therefore, the Malaysian casualty benefits predicted by this study represent a conservative estimate. By taking the vehicle safety development experience witnessed in the European Union (EU) and applying it to the situation in an emerging market, this work quantifies the casualty reduction potential could be a saving of between 1,200 and 4,300 Malaysian fatalities by 2030. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Britain KW - Casualties KW - Developed countries KW - Emerging economies KW - European New Car Assessment Program KW - European Union countries KW - Impacts KW - Malaysia KW - Markets KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Standards KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358338 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567758 AU - Schonlau, Benedikt AU - Krumbiegel, Klaus AU - Seidel, David AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Safety Layer for Intelligent Transport Systems PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - Intelligent Transport Systems are currently being developed in many different industry sectors. These developments range from highly automated land vehicles, robots for mail delivery, agricultural drones up to ships automating vehicle ferry operations or automating the transportation of oil from the corresponding platforms. Virtual drivers are a big challenge for implementation of these systems, and there is currently much activity in this area. But this is not the major challenge; which is making those systems safe and reliable. The following article shows an approach to realize safety and reliability of Intelligent Transport Systems by separating the functional components into a driver model with limited safety and reliability, and an additional safety layer. In this approach, the driver model takes care of putting the required application case into practice and tries, similarly to a human driver, to continuously optimize the driving task. It is also possible to use training programs in productive operations for such driver models. The driver model is supported by a static safety layer. This safety layer implements all safety targets that have been defined in the development phase and ensures that all safety targets are continuously being adhered to during the operation. This article shows an overview of the relevant safety targets for Intelligent Transport Systems and demonstrates strategies for implementing the security layer. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Reliability KW - Strategic planning UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357831 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567753 AU - Hök, Bertil AU - Pettersson, Håkan AU - Ljungblad, Jonas AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Unobtrusive Breath Alcohol Sensing System PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Although the vast majority of vehicle drivers are sober, drunk driving remains to be a major contributor to fatal accidents. Massive deployment of unobtrusive breath alcohol sensing systems could potentially save tens of thousands of lives worldwide every year by preventing drunk driving [1]. The work reported here is ultimately aiming at such a system. The technical performance of the present sensing system with respect to automotive requirements is summarized, and new results towards unobtrusive breath alcohol determination within vehicle compartments are presented. Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) can be determined unobtrusively if (i) the sensing system provides real-time signals with adequate accuracy corresponding to the local concentrations of both alcohol and a tracer gas, e g CO2, (ii) the dilution of the breath is not excessive in relation to background concentrations, (iii) the sensor location can be seamlessly integrated into the interior of a vehicle cabin. All three of these aspects are addressed in the present paper. More than a hundred prototypes based on infrared spectroscopy were fabricated and subjected to automotive qualification tests in the full temperature range -40 … +85⁰C. In the majority of tests, adequate performance was noted. Measures are now being taken to fill remaining performance gaps. Test results with human subjects were positive and in accordance with expectations with respect to physiological variations. In-vehicle tests showed that for the best sensor position, passive breath samples allowed BrAC to be determined at a resolution of 2-4% of the US legal limit, providing proof-of-principle for unobtrusive testing. Nevertheless, vehicle integration remains to be the major technological challenge to the objective of deployment on a large scale of unobtrusive driver breath alcohol determination. The feasibility of unobtrusive breath alcohol determination in vehicles, and adequate performance of a sensor system based on infrared spectroscopy have been experimentally demonstrated. The alcohol sensing system may advantageously be integrated into vehicles, and may also be combined with other technologies to monitor driver impairment. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Alcohol breath tests KW - Driver monitoring KW - Drunk driving KW - Prototype tests KW - Sensors UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358374 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567749 AU - Juergens, Gunnar AU - Klumpp, Bernhard AU - Schnupp, Ralf AU - Staehlin, Ulrich AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Safety 2.0 – Potentials of Cooperative Safety by Vehicle-to-X Communication PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - Safety Technology has evolved significantly over the last decades. The technological progress, based on the continuous advances in vehicle crash worthiness, restraint systems and active safety functions have made traffic safer than ever before. Latest development has led to a sharp increase in the equipment rates for advanced surrounding sensors, so that onboard surrounding sensors such as camera, radar and lidar sensors have become standard equipment in modern vehicles. Surrounding sensors can provide safety critical information to a vehicle and are thus a pre-requisite for new integrated safety functions such as Forward Collision Warning (FCW) or Emergency Brake Assist (EBA). What if vehicles could communicate with each other and create a network for safety critical information in traffic? What if my vehicle gets realtime information on sudden braking maneuvers 500 meters ahead? What if a vehicle camera detects a cyclist approaching at an urban intersection and shares the cyclist position information with other vehicles? What if vehicles share their mass, velocity and position before a crash to optimize the strategy of airbag deployment? Wouldn't all this open a new dimension of safety in future traffic – Safety 2.0? This paper promotes cooperative safety as a new approach based on the exchange of safety critical information in traffic. The underlying thesis is that cooperative safety would dramatically increase the safety for a large number of traffic participants, including vehicles without on-board surrounding sensors and vulnerable road users (VRUs) like children, pedestrians and cyclists. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Cooperative systems KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Traffic safety KW - Vulnerable road users UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357757 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567748 AU - Eigen, Ana Maria AU - Digges, Kennerly AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Opportunities for Injury Reduction in Rollover Crashes PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - The National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) remains the best US data source for understanding the magnitude of the opportunities for reducing rollover injuries to the various body regions. However, judicious analysis techniques are required to address the many confounding factors, including but not limited to the consequence of recent safety improvements such as electronic stability control and increased roof strength. To better assess the effect of recent safety improvements, the population of drivers in rollovers in light vehicles model year 2000 and later was examined. To address crash severity, the number of quarter-turns was used. Injuries were separated by body region and the HARM method of aggregating injuries was used to provide added weighting to the more severe injuries. For belted drivers in near-side rollovers, the fourth quarter-turn contained the most HARM and the highest injury risk, especially for chest injuries. For belted drivers in far-side rollovers, most of the chest injury HARM is fairly uniformly distributed between quarter-turns 2, 4, 6 and 8. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Cluster analysis KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash severity KW - Electronic stability control KW - National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System KW - Rollover crashes UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359035 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567743 AU - Kahane, Charles J AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Lives Saved by Vehicle Safety Technologies and Associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 1960 to 2012 – Passenger Cars and LTVs PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began in 1975 to evaluate the effectiveness of vehicle safety technologies associated with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). By June 2014, NHTSA had evaluated the effectiveness of virtually all the life-saving technologies introduced in passenger cars, pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans from about 1960 up through about 2010. A statistical model estimates the number of lives saved from 1960 to 2012 by the combination of these life-saving technologies. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data for 1975 to 2012 documents the actual crash fatalities in vehicles that, especially in recent years, include many safety technologies. Using NHTSA’s published effectiveness estimates, the model estimates how many people would have died if the vehicles had not been equipped with any of the safety technologies. In addition to equipment compliant with specific FMVSS in effect at that time, the model tallies lives saved by installations in advance of the FMVSS, back to 1960, and by non-compulsory improvements, such as pretensioners and load limiters for seat belts. FARS data has been available since 1975, but an extension of the model allows estimates of lives saved in 1960 to 1974. A previous NHTSA study using the same methods estimated that vehicle safety technologies had saved 328,551 lives from 1960 through 2002. The agency now estimates 613,501 lives saved from 1960 through 2012. The annual number of lives saved grew from 115 in 1960, when a small number of people used lap belts, to 27,621 in 2012, when most cars, light trucks, and vans were equipped with numerous modern safety technologies and belt use on the road achieved 86 percent. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - Light trucks KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Standards KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic safety KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358925 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567742 AU - Sturk, David AU - Gustafsson, Per AU - Holgers, Alf AU - Sundmark, Hakan AU - Cavell, Christian AU - Gaudinat, Francois AU - Dugast, Etienne AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - E-Vehicle Safety – Pyro Switch as High Voltage Circuit Breaker & Bypass PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - An E-Vehicle (i.e. electrified vehicle such as EV and HEV) is often equipped with a traction battery with voltage of as high as 200 to 600 Volt dc. It is critical that such voltage shall not be put in circuiting contact with any person at any point – workshop, crash or post-crash rescue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) have defined testing procedures in FMVSS 305 so as to assure that a basic level of safe guard systems shall be utilized by conventional E-Vehicles. The paragraph S5.3 (b) demands that the traction battery shall present an external voltage <60 Volt dc after crash. This is commonly solved with relays and melting fuses which have their Pros and Cons. Relays/contactors have the benefit of being a reversible active component but are limited to operative currents and are prone to switching bounces and they are relatively heavy, large and expensive. A melting fuse is a passive component that can operate at extreme currents but is irreversible and their cutting speed is dependent on the magnitude of the fault-current. In this paper Autoliv will present a methodology on how to disconnect a faulty battery unit rapidly (in milliseconds) regardless of the magnitude of the fault-current. This methodology can also be used to divide a traction battery down to minor units of <60 Volt dc or even bypass and disconnect a faulty battery module with maintained power electronics in order to retain mobility as well as adding the option of discharge the disconnected module so as to prevent stranded energy. Autoliv has investigated how to use pyrotechnic switches for disruption of over-currents in a traction system with battery packs of about 300-400 Volt dc. Those tests, aiming at safe disconnection without lasting arcs, included static faulty-current tests and tests simulating an E-Vehicle traveling 50-70 km/h on a horizontal surface. Autoliv’s Pyro Safety Switch (PSS) arrangement proved capable to safely disconnect both a complete battery pack (ranging from 300 to 400 Volt dc) and the intended battery module (30-60 Volt dc) in less than 0.5 milliseconds. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Circuit breakers KW - Electric batteries KW - Electric vehicles KW - Methodology KW - Repairing KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357883 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567741 AU - Kusano, Kristofer D AU - Chen, Rong AU - Tsoi, Ada AU - Gabler, Hampton C AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Comparison of Event Data Recorder and Naturalistic Driving Data for the Study of Lane Departure Events PY - 2015 SP - 17p AB - Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data are an important source for driver behavior data to design and evaluate autonomous vehicles and driver assistance systems. The number of serious crash events in NDS, however, is often small. As a result, surrogates such as “near crashes” or events identified using vehicle instrumentation are used with the assumption that they are relevant to real crash events. The objective of this study is to determine if NDS crash and near-crash data are indeed representative of crash events. To examine this issue, the authors focused on one subset of crash events, lane departure events where the vehicle drifts out of its lane. These are the events most likely to be mitigated by lane departure warning systems. Four naturalistic datasets that covered the full range of events from lane departures during normal driving, to nearcrashes, to crashes were compared to data from a crash database. The authors' hypothesis is that the crash and near-crash NDS events will have the most similar vehicle kinematics compared to the crash database. Normal driving departure events were extracted from the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) field operation test. Two departure event datasets from IVBSS were identified using the lane tracking cameras. The first dataset consisted of 12,760 cases of the vehicle departing and returning to its lane and the second consisted of 7,750 events where the equipped LDW systems were triggered. Thirty-two (32) near-crash lane departure events were analyzed from the 100-Car NDS. Finally, 49 curb strike events were analyzed from the SHRP-2 NDS. Data from lane departure crashes was extracted from the National Automotive Sampling System, Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS). Event Data Recorders (EDRs) downloaded from 482 NASS/CDS crash investigations were analyzed. There were important sampling differences between datasets. Younger drivers were overrepresented in the 100-Car near-crash and SHRP-2 curb strike events and crash data while the IVBSS participants were uniformly distributed over age and gender groups. The vehicle speeds from IVBSS were restricted to over 42 kph (25 mph), whereas the crash data had vehicles speed that contained both low and high speed events. The 100-Car near-crash and SHRP-2 curb strike departures had larger departure angles (2.6° and 14.1° median, respectively) and lateral excursion (0.63 m and 0.50 m median, respectively) compared to the IVBSS data (0.6° and 0.7° departure angle and 0.19 m and 0.10 m excursion for LDW and lane departure datasets, respectively). The differences in departure conditions may have also affected driver maneuvers after the departure. In 52% of crashes with EDRs there was a brake application in the last second before the crash compared with 38% of 100-Car near-crash and 33% of SHRP-2 curb strike events. The selection criteria for the IVBSS departures excluded almost all brake application, with only 4% of the IVBSS LDW events having brake application. Steering wheel input was also substantially larger in the 100-Car near-crashes (48°) compared to the IVBSS (4°-5°). These results show that crash and near-crash events from NDS produce datasets that are most consistent with crash data compared to datasets generated using lane tracking information. If the research question involves replicating conditions relevant to departure crashes, such as in the design of test track experiments, crash and near-crash events should be used over less severe NDS departure events. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Crash data KW - Data analysis KW - Data files KW - Driver support systems KW - Event data recorders KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Lane departures UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359033 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567736 AU - Ridella, Stephen A AU - Kang, Julie J AU - Kitazaki, Satoshi AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Potential for Adaptive Safety through In-Vehicle Biomedical and Biometric Monitoring PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - A 2009 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified certain medical conditions as contributing factors in crash causation (Hanna 2009). It was found that about 1.3% of all crashes included in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS) were precipitated by driver reported medical emergencies and 84% of the drivers in crashes precipitated by medical emergencies experienced seizures ( epileptic and others), blackouts (non-diabetic), and diabetic reaction prior to the crashes. Drivers who had crashes precipitated by medical emergencies were more likely to sustain severe injury (28% for incapacitating injury and death for crashes with medical emergency; 11% for crashes without medical emergency). Thus, the premise exists that there may be benefit to identify the driver (and other occupants) of the vehicle as well as monitor their current health status through passive or active methods. This monitoring could take into account chronic conditions (such as bone mineral density) through driver input or through initial vehicle startup measurements which could be used to provide optimal comfort or safety system performance. Additional information about the driver’s health or behavioral conditions could be interpreted from blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, blood glucose levels and other physiological parameters and could lead to vehicle intervention in driving and/or alert emergency medical service (EMS) or police of the impending health condition that may affect driving or cause a crash. This monitoring could be done in many ways such as the recent rapid growth in wearable technology with the ability to pair to apps. This paper will discuss issues related to driver behavioral and health monitoring and review potential technologies for monitoring and as well as methods for biometric identification. Recent publications on driver crash risk due to chronic and acute health conditions will be summarized. Finally, applications that may be associated with the monitoring will be discussed. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Adaptive control KW - Biomedical engineering KW - Biometrics KW - Crash causes KW - Crash risk KW - Diseases and medical conditions KW - Driver monitoring KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358385 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567733 AU - Kiuchi, Toru AU - Motomura, Yuichi AU - Matsumoto, Hitoshi AU - Mashiko, Kunihiro AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Pilot Study on Advanced Automatic Collision Notification and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service System in Japan PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - This paper focuses on the pilot study on Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) systems in Japan. The pilot study was carried out in Chiba prefecture by the AACN Committee in affiliation with Emergency Medical Network of Helicopter and Hospital (HEM-Net). There were many opinions that Japanese accident data was preferable to develop a Japanese AACN algorithm. Then, the Occupant Injury Predict Algorithm newly developed by Nihon University was utilized for the study. About 2.8 million Japanese accident data (so called ITARDA Macro Data) were used to define logistic regression risk curves of fatal and severe injuries to car occupants. To validate this algorithm, the in-depth accident case study by Nihon University and Nihon Medical University at the Chiba Hokusoh Hospital was used. Moreover, to decide the threshold value, this in-depth accident study was also used. Regarding the AACN prototype system, HELPNET infrastructures already developed for existing Japanese ACN service were used for sending vehicle data to the HELPNET center. In the simulated accident, Event Data Recorder (EDR) data was added on usual HELPNET data and transmitted from a car to a HELPNET server at the HELPNET center. The AACN server got vehicle data such as Delta V and seatbelt status as input to the algorithm. The result was transmitted to a Tablet PC at the Fire Department Head Quarters and Chiba Hokusoh hospital simultaneously. An operator of HELPNET made an Emergency Call to both the Fire Department and Hokusoh hospital individually. In case of severe injury, a Tablet PC indicated the situation and a doctor dispatched to the accident spot by a helicopter. After a helicopter with a doctor took off, verbal communications between the helicopter and Fire Department started to decide a rendezvous point nearby the crash spot. After landing, the doctor contacted the injured occupant who was carried by an ambulance there. The AACN prototype system for a limited area, only in Chiba prefecture, was developed. AACN transmitting tests were carried out at some spots in Chiba prefecture within the jurisdiction of two headquarters individually. The prototype AACN system operated as intended. Within a minute from the airbag deployment signal, the algorithm result screen arrived simultaneously on AACN Tablet PCs at Chiba Hokusoh hospital, Chiba prefecture Fire Department H.Q. and also at the transmitting spot. The next step of AACN transmitting test should be that AACN activates HEMS of Chiba Hokusoh hospital. To expand cover area in Japan, collaborations of other HEMS base hospitals in other prefectures should be planed soon. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Air ambulances KW - Algorithms KW - Automatic crash notification KW - Chiba (Japan) KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Emergency medical services KW - Japan KW - Logistic regression analysis KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Pilot studies KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358851 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567732 AU - Cech, Leonard AU - Nagolu, Mallik AU - Rumps, Dennis AU - Ver Steeg, Ben AU - Treese, Derek AU - Laaksonen, Bentley AU - Tehseldar, Stephanie AU - Ridder, Trent AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Introduction of a Solid State, Non-Invasive Human Touch Based Alcohol Sensor PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - This paper presents an overview of the theory and implementation of a touch-based optical sensor (TruTouch sensor) for monitoring the alcohol concentration in the driver of a vehicle. This novel sensor is intended to improve driver safety by providing a non-intrusive means of notifying a driver when their blood alcohol concentration may be too high to operate a vehicle safely. The optical alcohol detection system has successfully completed several stages of development and validation. A commercially available, industrial version of the system (TruTouch 2500, or Mark 1) has undergone extensive clinical testing and field validation. Under the DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) Program, a compact semiconductor version (Mark 2) of the optical system has been developed targeting use in consumer vehicles. Based on proven semiconductor laser technologies, the Mark 2 sensor system has demonstrated excellent spectral accuracy and precision and is currently undergoing laboratory validation testing. A demonstration vehicle version of the system has been designed and will be implemented following completion of the laboratory validation testing. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Sensors KW - Skin KW - Tactile perception KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358351 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567728 AU - Shin, Jaeho AU - Choi, Hyung Yun AU - Oh, Chang Jin AU - Bae, Jin Ho AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Analysis and Simulation of Occupant Injury Risk at NASS/CDS PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - The body regional injury information from the head, thorax, abdomen, upper and lower extremities of vehicle occupant due to the restraints and interior parts were extracted from 2009-2012 National Automotive Sampling Sysytem/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) data base. For those cases with high occurrence frequency, detailed and comprehensive data analysis was performed to find significances between the accident, occupant, vehicle, and injury data. A numerical frontal impact sled model with Hybrid III dummy and Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) human body model is constructed to simulate and identify those injury risks at NASS/CDS. Among the 5,734 body regional injuries from frontal crash accidents, lower extremity (27.8%), upper extremity (21.3%), thorax (15.1%), face (10.9%), spine (8,7%), head (7.3%), and abdomen (6.9%) were found in order of frequent occurrence. The main injury sources of the head were windshield, side structure, and steering wheel. For thorax and abdomen, they were seat belt and steering wheel. Instrument panel was for the lower extremity. Body regional injury patterns for head were concussion and contusion. For thorax, they were vessel laceration and lung contusion. For abdomen, laceration and contusion of organs were major injury patterns. Bone fracture and ligament rupture were found at the lower extremity. Steering wheel and seat positions were main factors affect head and thorax injury risks. From the sled impact simulation, high injury risks of the head and thorax were assessed respectively at conditions of steering column tilt down and rear most seat positions, which correlated well with the findings at NASS/CDS data analysis. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash victim simulation KW - Crashworthiness KW - Data analysis KW - National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358920 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567726 AU - Svenson, Alrik L AU - Peredo, Gordon AU - Delgrossi, Luca AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Development of a Basic Safety Message for Tractor-Trailers for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - Currently the Basic Safety Message (BSM) used by heavy truck tractor-trailers was developed for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Safety Pilot and uses a simplified bounding box algorithm for conveying the position and heading of the tractor-trailer. However, because of the articulated behavior inherent in a tractor-trailer, this approach does not accurately identify the trailer position or vehicle space for V2V safety applications in all situations. Consequently, in certain situations this can lead to an unacceptable number of false and missed warnings to drivers in surrounding connected vehicles. The U.S. DOT, in partnership with the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) and Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. (MBRDNA) conducted a project, Tractor-Trailer Basic Safety Message Development (TT-BSM), to develop technical solutions to this location identification problem for heavy truck tractors with one or more articulated trailers. TT-BSM developed several BSM enhancement approaches to more accurately represent tractor-trailer articulation. Furthermore, the team also completed the system and performance requirements and an assessment of the enhanced BSM impact on internal vehicle platform (OnBoard Equipment (OBE), necessary vehicle sensors on the tractor and the trailer) and external systems (e.g. communications channel loading, other OBE-equipped vehicles, and backend systems). The enhanced BSM can more accurately transmit position and heading for articulated tractor-trailers and thus allows for better safety warnings and fewer false and missed warnings to drivers. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Metrics (Quantitative assessment) KW - Onboard equipment KW - Sensors KW - Tractor trailer combinations KW - Trucking safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357753 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567724 AU - Spindler, Christiane AU - Driewer, Frauke AU - Schäfers, Lorenz AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Analysis of the Robustness of Steering Pattern Based Drowsiness Detection PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Several studies show that up to one in four severe traffic accidents can be attributed to drowsiness. Drivers often over-estimate their fitness level or are not aware of the danger that always accompanies drowsy driving. Since associations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) pointed to the relevance of this topic, more and more research has been conducted and in the meantime there is also a variety of commercial systems on the market to address this risk. In this paper, the authors do not aim to find new methods of detecting drowsiness of a driver. The authors' approach is rather to choose an established method and enhance it in a way that it not only performs well in a driving simulator but also in real world drives. The chosen drowsiness detection method is the observation of the steering wheel angle signal. It has been shown that the frequency of occurrence of a typical steering pattern, which can roughly be described as a deadband followed by a rather fast correction, is an indicator for the state of drowsiness of a driver. The advantage over other techniques like camera-based detection is that it can run in standard equipped cars. Thus it is available for the largest number of drivers and can thereby achieve the greatest effect on accident avoidance. The authors investigate the chosen detection method in real world drives and discuss which other effects not related to drowsiness can evoke the described steering pattern. The authors focus on environmental effects like crosswind and can show that those events may lead to an increase of the amount of steering patterns. Finally, the authors quantify the influence on drowsiness measures. The underlying database comprises more than two million kilometers of more than one thousand drivers, all real-world drives. The authors' evaluation shows that particularly on routes or in situations where those environmental influences accumulate, the drowsiness measure can be affected to an extent that leads to false triggering of the system. Therefore, the authors suggest measures that can be taken to reduce the influence of steering patterns that are not related to the driver’s drowsiness state. The aim of most drowsiness detection systems is to inform a driver when his state has reached a critical level and to motivate him to take appropriate measures. This presupposes confidence in the system. False warnings will negatively affect the credibility of the system. The authors' purpose is to show the importance of enabling this kind of system to recognize external influences, thus making detection more robust. The authors consider it very important to make such systems as reliable and credible as possible, as otherwise the driver will not take the advice the system will give him. Limiting the influence of external factors is a key to achieving this goal. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Angles KW - Driver monitoring KW - Drivers KW - Drowsiness KW - Robustness KW - Steering UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358376 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567723 AU - Anderson, Johan AU - Larsson, Fredrik AU - Andersson, Petra AU - Mellander, Bengt-Erik AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Thermal modeling of fire propagation in lithium-ion batteries PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - The objective of the present work is to assess the risk of spreading of fire between Lithium-ion battery cells initiated by a thermal runaway. In particular it aims at developing means to predict the temperature of cells in the vicinity of an overheated cell during the first 5-7 minutes after the thermal event in a Li-ion cell that has an organic based electrolyte which is flammable. Finite-Element (FE) modelling is used to compute the heat transfer between cells. The spreading model is assessed modeling a scenario where the cells are exposed to a 15 kW propane burner. Two different models were utilized, one that considers the conjugate heat transfer between the surrounding hot gases and the battery cells while the second is a thermal model where the boundary conditions are measured in a mock-up test. The results from the two models are contrasted to experimental data where the heat release rate (HRR) is utilized as an input to the simulation. It is found that the temperature increase in a neighboring cell can be quantitatively estimated in certain cases during the early stages of the fire taking into account the anisotropic thermal conductivity of the cells using the conjugate heat transfer model. Moreover, the thermal model captures the qualitative behavior of the test results, however, the temperature increase is slower in the computational model. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Finite element method KW - Fire KW - Flame propagation KW - Heat transfer KW - Lithium batteries KW - Mathematical models KW - Risk KW - Thermal conductivity UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357876 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567712 AU - Ding, Runxiao AU - Yu, Miao AU - Chen, Wen-Hua AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Multiple Target Tracking Strategy Using Moving Horizon Estimation Approach PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - Tracking multiple road users is playing a significant role in autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems. Different from Multiple Target Tracking (MTT) in aerospace, the motion of the ground vehicles is likely constrained by their operational environment such as road and terrain. This information could be taken as additional domain knowledge and exploited in the development of tracking algorithms so as to enhance tracking quality and continuity.This paper proposes a new MTT strategy, Multiple Hypothesis Tracking using Moving Horizon Estimation approach (MHE-MHT), for tracking round vehicles aided by road width constraints. In this strategy, tracking association ambiguity is handled by MHT algorithms which are proved as a preferred data association method for solving the data association problem arising in MTT. Unlike most of the MTT strategies, which solve target state estimation using Kalman filter (and its derivations), we propose a new solution using the moving horizon estimation (MHE) concept. By applying optimization based MHE, not only nonlinear dynamic systems but additional state constraints in target tracking problems such as road width can be naturally handled. The proposed MHE-MHT algorithm is demonstrated by a ground vehicle tracking scenario with an unknown and time varying number of targets observed in clutter environments. Using the optimal subpattern assignment metric, numerical results are presented to show the advantages of the constrained MHE-MHT structure by comparing it with the Kalman filter based MHT. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Algorithms KW - Driver support systems KW - Estimation theory KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Optimization KW - Rolling horizon KW - Tracking systems UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357756 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567710 AU - Wisch, Marcus AU - Ott, Julian AU - Thomson, Robert AU - Abert, Michael AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Recommendations for Safe Handling of Electric Vehicles after Severe Road Traffic Accidents PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - The EVERSAFE project addressed many safety issues for electric vehicles including the crash and post-crash safety. The project reviewed the market shares of full electric and hybrid vehicles, latest road traffic accident data involving severely damaged electric vehicles in Europe, and identified critical scenarios that may be particular for electric vehicles. Also, recent results from international research on the safety of electric vehicles (EVs) were included in this paper such as results from performed experimental abuse cell and vehicle crash tests (incl. non-standardized tests with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the BMW i3), from discussions in the United Nations (UN) first generation (IG) rechargable energy storage systems (REESS) and the GTR EVS as well as guidelines (handling procedures) for fire brigades from Germany, Sweden and the United States of America. Potential hazards that might arise from damaged electric vehicles after severe traffic accidents are an emerging issue for modern vehicles and were summarized from the perspective of different national approaches and discussed from the practical view of fire fighters. Recent rescue guidelines were reviewed and used as the basis for a newly developed rescue procedure. The paper gives recommendations in particular towards fire fighters, but also to vehicle manufacturers and first-aiders. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Electric vehicles KW - Emergency management KW - Europe KW - First responders KW - Germany KW - Guidelines KW - Impact tests KW - Recommendations KW - Safety KW - Standards KW - Sweden KW - Traffic crashes KW - United Nations KW - United States UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357917 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567708 AU - Unselt, Thomas AU - Unger, Johann AU - Krause, Mathias AU - Hierlinger, Thomas AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Integrated Safety Concept of the Ultra-Compact Electric Vehicle PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - A great opportunity for increasing range and decreasing the production costs of battery-powered vehicles is to lower vehicle weight as far as possible. To this end, designers not only can incorporate lightweight materials, but also reduce the size of the vehicle and limit the equipment installed as excellent weight-saving strategies. Since this strategy could lead to crash incompatibility, ultra-compact electric cars are subjected to enormous loads in the event of a collision with a heavier vehicle. The high structural rigidity and limited deformation paths produce a high crash pulse, with higher forces acting on occupants than are experienced in conventional vehicles. The objective of the safety task force within the Visio.M project funded by the German government was to draft, implement, and test a concept that resolves these conflicting interests and provides sufficient protection for ultra-compact vehicles. Using an analysis of the potential accident scenario involving ultracompact electric vehicles as a starting point, specific safety requirements were derived for these vehicles. To meet these requirements, a strategy for an integrated safety design was developed to reduce the occupant loads. The integrated safety concept incorporates pre-crash systems, occupant protection systems, and a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) monocoque, among other features, and was developed using numeric simulations. Verifiable proof of the operative function and benefit of the safety concept was provided by leveraging numerical simulation techniques, carrying out comprehensive component tests, and conducting a series of full-scale crash tests using a Visio.M prototype. In the end, the integrated safety strategy is the key to realizing a sufficient level of protection for sub-compact vehicles. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Compact automobiles KW - Electric vehicles KW - Impact tests KW - Vehicle design KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358628 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567705 AU - Buendia, Ruben AU - Candefjord, Stefan AU - Sjöqvist, Bengt Arne AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Assessing Mechanisms of Injury as Predictors of Severe Injury for Adult Car and Truck Occupants PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - This study evaluates Mechanisms of Injury (MOI) that can be rapidly assessed at the scene of accident and may be used as predictors of severe injury for traffic accidents involving occupants in cars or trucks. The objective is to increase the knowledge of how MOI can be used to differentiate whether a patient is severely injured or not. This knowledge can be used to improve trauma triage systems. Furthermore, an objective is to analyze safety differences between cars and light/heavy trucks. The scope is adult occupants of cars, light and heavy trucks injured in accidents registered in the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA) database from 2003 to 2013. Partition between severe and non-severe injury was done according to the Injury Severity Score (ISS) with ISS > 15 as definition of severe injury. The MOIs considered were: belt use, airbag deployment, posted speed limit, elderly occupant (age ≥ 55 years), sex, type of accident (single, intersection, turning, head-on, overtaking, rear end, tram/train, wild animal or other) and location of the accident (urban or rural). The different MOI were evaluated individually using univariate chi-square tests and together using multivariate logistic regression models. Results show that belt use is the most crucial factor determining risk of severe injury for all vehicle types. Age is the second most important factor, with elderly occupants exhibiting a higher risk. Head-on accidents are the most dangerous for cars and light trucks while single accidents are the most dangerous for heavy trucks. Belt use compliance is much lower for truck occupants. This appears to be the main reason for the frequency of severe injury being higher for truck occupants than for car occupants. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Adults KW - Age KW - Automobiles KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Emergency medical services KW - Injury severity KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Seat belt use KW - Sweden KW - Triage KW - Trucks KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358907 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567704 AU - Park, Brian T AU - Rockwel, Taryn E AU - Collins, Lauren A AU - Smith, Christina S AU - Aram, Mai Lan AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Enhanced U.S. NCAP Five Years Later PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - The U.S. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) encourages vehicle manufacturers to make safety improvements to their vehicles through its award-winning consumer information-based 5-Star Safety Ratings Program. Occupant injury readings have decreased and star ratings have generally improved since the program was enhanced in the 2011 Model Year (MY). This paper summarizes vehicle crash test results for the five MYs since the program was last upgraded to demonstrate how quickly vehicles have been redesigned to achieve high ratings under the more stringent requirements. As a result, most vehicles are achieving 4- or 5-star ratings. Though there are still vehicles the agency has tested that do not achieve the highest ratings, the performance of the majority of vehicles tested under the enhanced program is excellent. This sets the stage for the agency to begin exploring the possibility of making additional changes to the current program to spur even further vehicle safety improvements through market forces and consumer demand. The NCAP’s crash test data (specifically, occupant injury data) and star ratings derived from those data will be used throughout this study. Occupant performance from the first year of the enhanced program will be compared to more recent results. A comparative analysis of paired data for vehicles that have been tested and retested under the enhanced NCAP will also be shown. These analyses will serve to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program in encouraging vehicle manufacturers to make immediate design changes that improve the occupant protection afforded by their vehicles. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automobiles KW - Crash data KW - Data analysis KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Impact tests KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Performance UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358289 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567697 AU - Lee, Junyung AU - Suh, Jongsang AU - Kim, Dongwook AU - Kim, Kyuwon AU - Kim, Boemjun AU - Choi, Inseong AU - Min, Kyongchan AU - Yi, Kyongsu AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Probabilistic Prediction based Automated Driving Control in Urban Traffic Situation PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - This paper represents an automated driving control algorithm in urban traffic situation. In order to achieve a development of a highly automated driving control algorithm in urban environments, the research issues can be classified into two things. One of the issues is to determine a safe driving envelope with the consideration of probable risks and the other is to achieve robustness of control performance under disturbances and model uncertainties. While human drivers maneuver a vehicle, they determine appropriate steering angle and acceleration based on the predictable trajectories of the surrounding vehicles. Therefore, not only current states of surrounding vehicles but also predictable behaviors of surrounding vehicles and potential obstacles should be considered in designing an automated driving control algorithm. In order to analyze the probabilistic behaviors of surrounding vehicles, we collected driving data on a real road. Then, in order to guarantee safety to the possible change of traffic situation surrounding the subject vehicle during a finite time-horizon, the safe driving envelope which describes the safe driving condition over a finite time horizon is defined in consideration of probabilistic prediction of future positions of surrounding vehicles and potential obstacles. Since an automated driving control algorithm is required to operate in a wide operating region and limit the set of permissible states and inputs, a model predictive control (MPC) approach has been used widely in designing an automated driving control algorithm. MPC approach uses a dynamic model of the vehicle to predict the future states of the system and determines optimal control sequences at each time step to minimize a performance index while satisfying constraints based on the predicted future states. Since the solving nonlinear optimization problem has computational burden, we design an architecture which decides a desired steering angle and longitudinal acceleration parallel to reduce the computational load. For the guarantee of the robustness of control performance, a robust invariant set is used to ensure robust satisfaction of vehicle states and constraints against disturbances and model uncertainties. The effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm is evaluated by comparing between human driver data and proposed algorithm. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Adaptive control KW - Algorithms KW - Autonomous vehicle guidance KW - Dynamic models KW - Highway traffic KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Model predictive control KW - Urban highways UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357754 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567680 AU - Petit Boulanger, Claire AU - Thomazo, Jacques AU - Azmi, Bruno AU - Labadie, Olivier AU - Poutrain, Bruno AU - Gentilleau, Michel AU - Bazin, Hervé AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Partnership between Renault and French First Responders to Ensure Safe Intervention on Crash or Fire-Damaged Electrical Vehicles PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - In order to ensure first Responder safety, Renault set up a collaborative approach to involve rescuers in the authors' electrical vehicle conception. The breakthrough came from the integration of crash and fire deterioration from the earliest stages of vehicle development. Collaboration with fire brigades revealed 5 key areas which were then dealt with: electrical vehicle identification; prevention of electrical risk during emergency intervention; the impact of Li Ion batteries on occupant extrication and fire; co-creation of decision-making tools (Emergency Response Guide or ERG, rescue cards); training sessions on electrical vehicles. Electric vehicle (EV) prototypes were provided to study how the 400V system affected fire brigade intervention. Extrication tests were led on the full range of Renault electrical vehicles to take into account the different locations of the 400V battery. Fire tests were carried out until total combustion of the 400V batteries was reached. Then, extinction tests in open and closed environments were conducted, led by French scientific laboratories. Temperatures, thermal radiation, and concentrations of flue gases effluents were measured in most of these tests. A large number of electrical vehicles were donated to French and European fire brigades for extrication training and fire demonstration. Bespoke electrical vehicles were produced as training supports and offered to fire brigades. Trainings are given for free to French rescuers all around the year by an engineer from Renault, expert in electrical vehicle interventions.Finally, Renault regularly participates in national working groups with fire brigades and contributes to the International Standards Organization (ISO) initiative on ERG writing and templates. This combination of actions and results removed doubts as to the safety of electrical vehicle 400V batteries in a deteriorated state; enabled the proposal of a modus operandi for fire brigade intervention; led to the modification of the architecture of the 400V battery casing and the vehicle itself to improve rescuer intervention; highlighted the need to standardize service plug location across the range of Renault electrical vehicles U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Electric vehicles KW - Emergency management KW - First responders KW - France KW - Prototypes KW - Renault automobile KW - Safety KW - Traffic crashes KW - Training KW - Vehicle fires UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357887 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567675 AU - Kim, Eung-Seo AU - Min, Suk-Ki AU - Sung, Dong-Hyun AU - Lee, Sang-Min AU - Hong, Chang-Bong AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The AEB System with Active and Passive Safety Integration for Reducing Occupants' Injuries in High-Velocity Region PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) is a representative safety system that assists a driver to avoid forward collision or mitigate crash velocity resulting in reduction of occupant’s injury risk using Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensor. This paper focuses on establishing appropriate Pre-Safety seatBelt (PSB) activation time in order to minimize occupant forward movement and head & neck injuries in the event of collision when it is unavoidable in the aspect of active and passive safety system integration. And also, it is the other goal that decreases the collision velocity by applying more efficient pre-braking profile. For this, AEB test is performed with H-3 5% & 50% human dummy seated in the passenger side. The test vehicle is equipped with Lidar and camera sensor fusion AEB system, PSB, and a premium electronic stability control (ESC) module. From this study, the last time to activate PSB considering occupant’s injury and the improved pre-brake profile beneficial to collision velocity reduction and occupant’s behavior were verified. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash injuries KW - Driver support systems KW - Head injuries KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle tests KW - Velocity UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358388 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567666 AU - Hennessey, Barbara AU - Greene, Nathanael AU - Cone, Darren AU - Yoder, Tommy AU - Wentzel, Daniel AU - McColskey, David AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Failure Analysis of Compressed Natural Gas Containers for Automotive Use Session: Advanced Fuels Crash Safety PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - In 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Office of Defects Investigation made site visits to two different companies that utilized compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel their vehicle fleets. The purpose of these site visits was to obtain information concerning two independent incidents where high pressure CNG fuel containers on fleet vehicles ruptured during or shortly after refueling. These containers were represented as conforming to industry standard ANSI/NGV2 [1], and were still within their 15 year manufacturer recommended service life (although they had experienced several years of on-road use). Further, the newer model containers were self-certified by the manufacturer as compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 304 [2]. After the container ruptures occurred, each of the companies, for reasons of safety, retired the sister vehicles in their fleets. The decommissioning of these fleets offered an opportunity to NHTSA to obtain some of the retired CNG containers, which experienced similar service conditions to those that ruptured during refueling, and to subject them to both nondestructive (NDE) and destructive evaluation (DE) to document in-service wear, damage and residual life. To this end, NHTSA entered into an Interagency Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), to conduct the evaluation of the used containers and compare them to unused containers of similar design. NASA has been performing test and evaluation of composite pressure vessels, similar to those designed for automotive use, since 1978. The objective of the evaluation is to gain valuable insight into the construction and deterioration elements that could suggest potential improvements in the existing standards. Destructive and nondestructive evaluation of the aged and new containers is on-going. This paper presents the results of the evaluation to date and potential future steps in the program. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Compressed natural gas KW - Deterioration KW - Durability tests KW - Evaluation KW - Failure analysis KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Pressure vessels KW - Tanks (Containers) KW - Traffic crashes KW - Vehicle fleets UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358287 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567665 AU - McGehee, Daniel V AU - Kaufman, Robert P AU - Buresh, Christopher T AU - Harland, Karisa K AU - Lilienthal, Michele A AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Utilization of crash scene photos of vehicle damage and intrusion to improve trauma care preparedness PY - 2015 SP - 16p AB - Objective: To design, develop, and field test a smartphone app (called TraumaHawk) that would transmit photographic vehicle crush information to a trauma center in advance of patient arrival, then determine whether such information increases the amount of lead time the trauma center has to activate and prepare for treating crash injured patients. Methods: TraumaHawk, a smartphone app for law enforcement and first responders, was designed by the University of Iowa to send photographs showing extent of intrusion and vehicle damage in a vehicle’s occupant compartment to the receiving trauma center. With some basic training, first-responders and law enforcement personnel were taught how to photograph vehicles at a crash scene; trauma staff similarly received training regarding crash injury biomechanics and traumatology. For TraumaHawk cases received October 2013–August 2014, electronic medical records and trauma team notification pages were examined. Time of notification and actual time of patient arrival were noted. Time of TraumaHawk alert for these cases was also recorded. Traditional paging and TraumaHawk lead-times (minutes) were calculated. A paired t-test was used to determine if the mean lead-times for the Paging and TraumaHawk alerts differed significantly. Results: During the study period, 35 TraumaHawk cases were identified, and 32 met trauma team activation criteria. For these 32, actual mean time between the trauma team page and patient arrival was 12 min; for TraumaHawk, advance notice was received at the trauma center 26 minutes before patient arrival, more than doubling notification time (p<0.001). Conclusions: Utiltizing TraumaHawk to identify serious crashes remotely allowed the trauma team significantly more time to prepare for incoming trauma patients than the conventional ambulance crew notification. This allotted time allowed trauma staff to assemble a more complete and appropriate level of care by specialists, as well as to arrange other vital aspects of care—such as scheduling operating rooms. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash injuries KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Emergency medical services KW - First responders KW - Lead time KW - Loss and damage KW - Mobile applications KW - Motor vehicles KW - On the scene crash investigation KW - Photographs KW - Remote sensing KW - Smartphones KW - Vehicle crush KW - Vehicle damage UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358847 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567663 AU - Tamura, Yohsuke AU - Mitsuishi, Hiroyuki AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of Measurement Procedure for Post-Crash Hydrogen Concentration PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - To examine the measurement method for post-crash hydrogen or helium concentrations in the cabins and other enclosed spaces of vehicles which is provided in the United Nations (UN) Global Technical Regulation on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles-global technical regulation (HFCV-gtr), the present study investigated 1) wind velocity conditions not affecting the hydrogen concentrations in the cabin, 2) the effect of the impact absorber of a moving deformable barrier, and 3) the feasibility of substituting the hydrogen concentration measurement with helium gas. The results indicated that the HFCV-gtr measurement method posed problems in its accuracy and reliability because hydrogen concentrations in the cabin varied under the influence of a 0.1 m/s wind and in the presence of an impact absorber in contact with the test vehicle. Furthermore it was found that although HFCV-gtr defines a permissible hydrogen concentration of 4vol% to be equivalent with a permissible helium concentration of 3vol%, this equivalence could not be verified. Consequently it is necessary to replace the HFCV-gtr measurement method for in-cabin hydrogen concentrations with a simpler method immune to external disturbances. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Accuracy KW - Concentration (Chemistry) KW - Evaluation KW - Helium KW - Hydrogen KW - Measurement of specific phenomena KW - Methodology KW - Postcrash phase KW - Procedures KW - Reliability KW - Vehicle interiors KW - Velocity KW - Wind UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358006 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567660 AU - Carter, Arthur AU - Freeman, David AU - Hatipoglu, Cem AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - An Overview of NHTSA’s Electronics Reliability and Cybersecurity Research Programs PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - This paper provides an overview of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) research programs in electronic control systems reliability and automotive cybersecurity. The agency’s electronics reliability research covers methods and voluntary standards both inside and outside the automotive industry. The research looks for such standards and methods that assess, identify, and mitigate potential new hazards that may arise from the increasing use of electronics and electronic control systems in the design of modern automobiles. Cybersecurity, within the context of road vehicles, is the protection of vehicular electronic systems, communication networks, control algorithms, software, users, and underlying data from malicious attacks, damage, unauthorized access, or manipulation. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automotive computers KW - Computer security KW - Control systems KW - Cybersecurity KW - Security KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357799 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567658 AU - Ames, Eva AU - Martin, Peter AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Pop-Up Hood Pedestrian Protection PY - 2015 SP - 23p AB - One means of protecting pedestrians is through vehicle safety systems that are built into a vehicle’s front-end to protect pedestrians should a vehicle impact occur. These pedestrian protection systems include hood structures aimed at reducing pedestrian head injuries. Pop-up hoods function by increasing the head penetration space beneath the hood by quickly lifting upon vehicle contact with a pedestrian. This paper explores the prevalence of vehicles with pop-up hoods to show that their market penetration and performance benefits merit consideration in standardized pedestrian protection test protocols. Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) test scores and the Parkers United Kingdom (UK) vehicle database were used to better understand the fleet performance and market penetration of vehicles with pop-up hoods. An analysis of Euro NCAP pedestrian test results and overall vehicle test scores was performed to compare the performance of vehicles equipped with pop-up hoods to those without, and the Parkers UK vehicle database was used to estimate historical vehicle prices and demonstrate that pop-up hoods are available on both high- and low-cost vehicles. There are many different types of systems that operate pop-up hoods, and their architectures vary widely from one vehicle to the next; however, they typically create an increase in the distance from the hood to rigid components in the engine bay, thus reducing the probability and/or severity of a head injury of a struck pedestrian. Compared to vehicles with non-deploying hoods, vehicles with pop-up hoods rated by Euro NCAP had better pedestrian protection scores on average. In the European Union (EU), pop-up hood systems, which have become more prevalent over time, were found on vehicles outside the oft-assumed market of only low-volume luxury models. Pedestrian Protection is mandatory on all vehicles sold in the EU Conformity of pop-up hoods is based largely on headform impact tests conducted on a fully popped-up hood. During the Type Approval process, the determination of system reliability and consistency also must be demonstrated by the vehicle manufacturer, but the means and requirements to do so are not defined within the regulation itself. Because the operation of pop-up systems varies widely and they are generally unique to specific vehicle models, the demonstration of system functionality is agreed upon between the manufacturer and the Type Approval Authority. Euro NCAP operates in a similar manner. Pop-up hoods generally perform better than non-deploying hoods in headform impact tests. As their development matures and vehicle styling progresses towards low, sleek, aerodynamic hood profiles, demand as well as variation in these systems may grow. To date there is not a published, fully prescriptive test protocol that tests the full functionality of such systems, including reliability and deployment thresholds, to objectively ensure that they function properly during an actual collision with a pedestrian. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Europe KW - Hoods KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Pop-up hoods KW - United Kingdom KW - Vehicle design KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359036 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567657 AU - Liu, Mingxin AU - Chien, Stanley AU - Chen, Yaobin AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Improve Road Safety Using Combined V2V and Pre-Collision Systems PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - In current vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication systems, each vehicle broadcasts its motion status and receives information from other vehicles in order to make safety decisions and actions. State-of-the-art pre-collision systems (PCS) utilize onboard sensors to collect potential crash object information for making safety action decisions. This V2V-PCS combination enables a vehicle to not only send its own motion information, but also its PCS detected information to other vehicles. Conceptually, the additional information should help a V2V enabled vehicle make its safety related decisions more accurately and efficiently. The objective of this study is to find if a combined V2V and PCS system (V2V-PCS) can further improve the safety of not only V2V-PCS enabled vehicles but also other non V2V-PCS enabled vehicles on the road. This paper describes a process that can be used to analyze pedestrian and vehicle scenarios, and determine whether or not the safety of pedestrians could be improved by a V2V-PCS system. It also gives an analytical method for determining the benefit of using V2V-PCS. The environments set up for V2VPCS simulation and real vehicle testing are also described. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Highway safety KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357830 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567655 AU - Schöneburg, Rodolfo AU - Paurevic, Marica AU - Fehring, Michael AU - Richert, Julien AU - Bogenrieder, Ralf AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of Occupant Protection Systems: From a Preventive to a Pre-Impacting Restraint System PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - The safety of modern vehicles has reached such a high standard that experts view the remaining potential for improvement of conventional restraint systems as nothing more than minimal. However the use of information gathered during the pre-crash phase added to the combination of preventive and conventional restraint systems can reveal additional potential. One example of this is the reversible pretensioner of the PRE-SAFE® system, launched in 2002, which can hold occupants in their position shortly before a potential collision and thus reduce forward displacement to offer improved protection in an accident. This approach was further developed with the introduction of PRE-SAFE® Impulse, which debuts in the current S-Class of MJ 2013. PRE-SAFE® Impulse systems rapidly accelerate occupants at an early phase of the crash by moving them in the direction of the impact force so that the difference in kinetic energy between the vehicle and occupants can start to be reduced as early as possible. As a consequence the total energy does not have to be dissipated entirely during the crash itself, but is distributed over a minor initial impact and a major impact whose intensity is reduced accordingly. The new PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side System, a pre-impacting restraint system, does not only applies this idea for side crash but brings the concept one step further. Previous measures for improving side impact protection were primarily implemented on the vehicle itself and did not directly influence the occupants prior to the crash. With PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side, a defined energy, is transferred to the occupant, who is set in motion already before the collision occurs. Therefore PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side is the very first of a new generation of preimpacting restraint system whose field of action will be extended prior to the collision due to the integration of active and passive safety. To this end, the PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side system uses a 360-degree sensor system, which permanently senses the car surroundings, to anticipate an unavoidable collision. Using numerical simulation as well as sled and vehicle testing, relevant occupant loads have been shown to be reduced by 30 percent on average with the use of PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Kinetic energy KW - Performance KW - Pre-crash systems KW - Precrash phase KW - Restraint systems KW - Sensors KW - Set forward force KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358389 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567654 AU - McIntosh, Andrew AU - Suratno, Basuki AU - Haley, Jack AU - Troung, Jessica AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of Motorcycle Helmet Usability and Stability in the Consumer Safety Rating Program 'Crash' PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - A review of certain aspects of the Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety of Helmets (CRASH) for motorcyclists was undertaken. The paper examines the relationships between the assessment of helmet stability with volunteers and other usability assessments. The paper reports on how these assessments are incorporated into the Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets (CRASH) and general relationships between Safety Scores and Ergonomic Scores. Ninety (90) motorcycle helmets were evaluated in the years 2011 to 2014 involving dynamic stability tests, dynamic strength of retention tests and usability tests with six participants. All helmets complied with AS/NZS 1698: 2006. The participants rated each helmet across ten items using a five point Likert scale. Forward, rearward and lateral pull tests were performed on each participant with each helmet. The force required to move the helmet with respect to the scalp was measured. The analysis revealed a number of important findings. First, safety performance tests are not correlated with ergonomic assessments of the helmets, including formal usability assessments. This observations highlights the importance of providing both safety and ergonomic information to motorcyclists. Helmet mass ranged between approximately 1 kg and 2 kg in the sample assessed. On the assumption that the total Safety Score reflects a helmet that offers greater protection in a crash, a heavier helmet within the sample assessed offers more protection to the motorcyclist. Full face helmet types also performed better on total Safety Score than the open face helmet. Full face helmets were heavier than open face styled helmets. Differences in the total Ergonomic Score by helmet type were fewer than those observed with Safety Scores. There were strong correlations between the rater responses between pairs of questions regarding comfort, fit, but not restraint adjustment. Although there is some overlap between these questions, each question appears to elicit a slightly different response across all helmet types and raters. Helmet mass is either not correlated or weak to moderately correlated with user ratings. This suggests that the raters are considering other factors, not simply mass, when rating helmet weight. The raters might be considering the mass distribution, for example. In general, helmet stability as measured quasi-statically on each rater was weakly associated with the raters’ assessment of the helmet. This suggests that the motorcylist’s impression of fit is not a strong indicator of helmet stability. Ease of use of operation was only weakly associated, based on these results, with the forces required to displace the helmet on the rater’s head. Correlations between the stability test forces by direction (front, rear and lateral) were strong. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets (CRASH) KW - Ergonomics KW - Evaluation KW - Motorcycle helmets KW - Motorcyclists KW - Performance KW - Ratings KW - Traffic safety KW - Usability UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358290 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567649 AU - Elkady, Mustafa AU - Elmarakbi, Ahmed AU - Macintyre, John AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Enhancement of Occupant Safety in Offset Frontal Vehicle Collision: Using Novel Mathematical Modelling Alongside Vehicle Dynamics Control Systems PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Occupant safety is one of the most important issues for vehicle manufacturing. Active safety plays an important role to protect the occupant during the crash events. In this paper, vehicle dynamics control systems (VDCS) are used to enhance the occupant safety in offset frontal vehicle collision. VDCS are activated to optimize the vehicle in impending collision. A new mathematical modelling of the vehicle alongside VDCS is developed to study the effect of vehicle dynamics control systems on vehicle collision mitigation. A multi -body occupant mathematical model is developed to capture the occupant kinematics during frontal offset collision. Different cases of vehicle dynamics control systems have been used to show their effect on the occupant dynamic response. The occupant deceleration and the occupant's chest and head rotational acceleration are used as injury criteria. It is shown from the numerical simulations that the occupant behaviour can be captured and analysed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, it is shown that the VDCS can affect the crash characteristics positively and the occupant safety is improved. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Control systems KW - Crash characteristics KW - Frontal crashes KW - Mathematical models KW - Optimization KW - Vehicle dynamics KW - Vehicle occupants KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358626 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567647 AU - Matsui, Yasuhiro AU - Oikawa, Shoko AU - Takahashi, Kunio AU - Hitosugi, Masahito AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Features of Car-Cyclist Contact Situations in Near-Miss Incidents Compared with Real-World Accidents in Japan PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - The use of active safety devices that can detect cyclists is considered an effective countermeasure for the reduction of the severity of injuries and number of deaths of cyclists. The detailed features of car–cyclist contact scenarios need to be clarified to develop such safety devices. Because there is limited information on real-world accidents, the present study investigates near-miss scenarios captured by drive recorders installed in passenger cars. The first purpose of the present study is to ascertain the utility of using near-miss scenarios in clarifying the features of situations of contact between cars and cyclists. The similarities of data of near-miss incidents including video captured by drive recorders and national data of real-world fatal cyclist accidents in Japan are investigated. We used 229 videos of near-miss car–cyclist incidents collected by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (J-SAE) from 2005 to 2009. In scenarios where the car travels straight ahead, 70–84% of cyclists on straight roads or at intersections crossed the road in front of the forward-moving cars both in accidents and near-miss incidents. There are thus similarities between accidents and near-miss incidents and it is possible to estimate the situations of cyclists’ accidents from near-miss incident data including video that captures cyclist behavior. The second purpose of the study is to calculate the time to collision (TTC) from the near-miss incident data. The study analyzed data for 166 near-miss car–cyclist incidents in which cyclists crossed the road in front of forward-moving cars on straight roads or at intersections. We calculated the TTC from the velocity of the car with an installed drive recorder and the distance between the car and the cyclist at the moment the cyclist appeared in the video captured by the drive recorder. The average TTC was 2.1 s (Standard Deviation (SD) of 1.6 s). In terms of the manner in which cyclists emerged in front of cars, the average TTC was the shortest (1.9 s) when cyclists emerged from behind a building or moving vehicle in the opposite lane. We propose that the specifications of a safety device developed for cyclist detection and automatic braking should reflect detailed information that includes the TTC obtained for near-miss situations. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Bicycle crashes KW - Crash data KW - Cyclists KW - Japan KW - Near miss collisions (Ground transportation) KW - Time to collision UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358913 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567632 AU - Gidlewsk, Mirosław AU - Żardecki, Dariusz AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Automatic Control of Vehicle Steering System During Lane Change PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - Mechatronic systems assist drivers in safe driving of cars more and more often. A vision of a totally automated car realizing many manoeuvres without driver’s participation becomes closer and closer. The lane change manoeuvre is one of the basic manoeuvres on the ground of which sequences of complex manoeuvres can be composed, e.g. vehicle passing or obstacle avoidance manoeuvre. For those reasons, automation of lane change manoeuvre appears to be essential for automation of vehicle driving and is a subject of numerous research studies. Within a research project, the authors have undertaken extensive analytical studies on application of active steering system electric power steering (EPS) in automatic driving of a two-axis truck equipped with typical elements of electronic stability control (ESC) system and obstacle detectors, as well as road monitoring systems. The present paper focuses on theoretical aspects of the synthesis of an automatic controller for the EPS active steering system. Simulation studies of an automatically controlled lane change manoeuvre illustrate the application of the methodology. The basis for theoretical considerations and numerical studies is the mathematic model of the controlled system (vehicle) and the controller. A complex, detailed description of the dynamics of a two-axis truck, taking into account nonlinearities and vehicle motion in 3D space, is included in the simulation model. The model of the controller is based on a reference model which is significantly simplified and hence is highly effective for carrying out necessary computations in real time. An algorithm of the controller operating as a Kalman regulator in a closed loop system is developed on the basis of this model. The time decomposition of the automatic control process into two phases –lateral displacement of the vehicle and stabilization of its position – is an essential, original distinguishing feature of the algorithm. Thanks to this decomposition, the structure of the control system is relatively simple. Feedback signals provided by the sensors available in a typical ESC system (lateral acceleration, yaw velocity) are used in the control process. The vehicle reference model and resulting control algorithms are presented in the paper. Simulation results refer to a two-axis truck travelling with a constant velocity on a straight, uniform road. At certain time instant the vehicle starts executing the lane change manoeuvre. Simulations were carried out for a number of cases with varying model parameters. That allowed estimating the sensitivity of the control algorithm to both perturbations of vehicle’s physical and operational parameters and to perturbations of parameters related to the obstacle. The results of simulations show that the proposed concept of the vehicle automatic control performs well in computational tests. The method of automatic execution of the lane change manoeuvre presented in the paper can offer an attractive alternative for vehicle control engineers and researchers working in the fields of active steering systems of vehicles, including commercial trucks. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Advanced vehicle control systems KW - Automatic controllers KW - Lane changing KW - Mathematical models KW - Power steering KW - Simulation UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357820 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567628 AU - Seiniger, Patrick AU - Gail, Jost AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Methodology to Derive Precision Requirements for Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Test Procedures PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Systems are becoming important to increase traffic safety. Test procedures in testing for consumer information, manufacturer self-certification and technical regulations are used to ensure a certain minimum performance of these systems. Consequently, test robustness, test efficiency and finally test cost become increasingly important. The key driver for testing effort and test costs is the required repeatable accuracy in a test design - the higher the accuracy, the higher effort and test costs. On the other hand, the performance of active safety systems depends on time discretization in the environment perception and other sub-systems: for instance, typical sensors supply information with a cycle time of 50 - 150 ms. Time discretization results in an inherent spread of system performance, even if the test conditions are perfectly equal. The proposed paper shows a methodology to derive requirements for a test setup (e.g. test repeats, use of driving robots, ...) as function of AEB system generation and rating method (e.g. Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) points awarded, pass/fail, ...). While the methodology itself is applicable to AEB pedestrian and AEB Car-Car scenarios, due to the lack of sufficient test data for AEB Car-Car, the focus of this paper is on AEB pedestrian scenarios. A simulation model for the performance of AEB Pedestrian systems allows for the systematic variation of the discretization time as well as test condition accuracy. This model is calibrated with test results of 4 production vehicles for AEB Pedestrian, all fully tested by BASt according to current Euro NCAP test protocols. Selected parameters to observe the accuracy of the test setup in case of pedestrian AEB is the calculated impact position of pedestrian on the vehicle front (as if no braking would have occurred), and the test vehicle speed accuracy. These variable was shown in real tests to be repeatable in the range of ± 5 cm and ± 0,25 km/h, respectively, with a fully robotized state of the art test setup. The sensitivity of AEB performance (measured in achieved speed reduction as well as overall rating result according to current Euro NCAP rating methods) towards discretization and the sensitivity of performance towards test accuracy then is compared to identify economic yet robust test concepts. These comparisons show that the available repeatability accuracy of current test setups is more than sufficient for today's AEB system capabilities. Time discretization problems dominate the performance spread especially in test scenarios with a limited pedestrian dummy reveal time (e.g. child behind obstruction, running adult scenarios with low car speeds). This would allow to increase test tolerances to decrease test cost. A methodology which allows to derive the required tolerances in active safety tests might be valuable especially for NCAPs of emerging countries that do not have the necessary equipment (e.g. driving robots, positioning units) available for the full-scale and high tolerance EuroNCAP active safety procedures yet still want to rate active safety systems, thus improving the global safety. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Automatic braking KW - Driver support systems KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Performance KW - Precision KW - Specifications KW - Test procedures KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358295 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567622 AU - Brown, Julie AU - Suratno, Basuki AU - Leavy, Dan AU - Kelly, Paul AU - Griffith, Michael AU - Aquilina, Peter AU - Paine, Michael AU - Haley, Jack AU - Harris, Blake AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Australian Child Restraint Evaluation Program: An Update on Dynamic Assessment Protocols and Observed Dynamic Performance of Child Restraint Systems PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - The purpose of the Australian Child Restraint Evaluation Program (CREP) is to provide consumers with independent safety information; and to apply commercial and public consumer pressure on manufacturers to deliver child restraint systems (CRS) that perform well beyond the requirements of the Australian Standard. This paper describes the evolution of the dynamic assessment protocols and presents a summary of areas where improvement in dynamic performance has occurred. Areas of dynamic performance where there is still room for improvement, are also reviewed. The dynamic assessment protocol has evolved from a system that separately scored the performance of CRS in frontal, 90 degrees and 66 degrees simulated impacts to a system that provides a single overall score for front and side impact tests to determine CRS ratings. The current protocols also nominate a number of ‘Critical’ ‘Performance Aspect’ (PAs) and a CRS is limited to one star if a score of ‘0’ is achieved for any critical PA. There have also been significant changes to the dynamic test and assessment methods over the years to ensure assessment methods are as objective as possible, and some variation in the types of performance features assessed. For rearward facing infant restraints, CREP currently assesses the ability of the CRS to retain the head and torso in front and side impacts, control upward and rotational displacement of the CRS in rebound and distribute the load over the back of the dummy, in frontal testing, , manage dummy head and torso energy in frontal testing and manage dummy head energy in side impact. Similar assessments of dummy and head retention and energy management are used in the rating of forward facing child restraints. These assessments also include head and knee excursion. For booster seats, the ability of the booster to provide and maintain good sash belt geometry, and to prevent submarining in frontal Brown 2 impacts. Assessments of head retention and energy management in side impact and dummy retention both in near and off-side impacts are also included for booster seats. There have been substantial improvements in the side impact protection features of rearward facing and forward facing child restraints observed in the program, and increasingly better performance of booster seats in maintaining good seat belt geometry in frontal impact. However, there is a need for more attention to head energy management in side impact, particularly among rearward facing restraints. Among rearward facing restraints, there are also concerns about poor performance of most restraints to adequately distribute crash forces through the back of the torso in frontal impact. Among forward facing restraints, there are concerns over head containment during rebound in frontal impact. While there have been significant improvements to the test and assessment methods used in CREP there is a possibility that some aspects of good performance are being overstated and aspects of poor performance understated due to limitations in the assessment and rating procedures. Areas for possible future refinements of the protocols are also discussed. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Australia KW - Australian Child Restraint Evaluation Program KW - Child restraint systems KW - Consumer protection KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Frontal crashes KW - Performance UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358343 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567610 AU - Kullgren, Anders AU - Fildes, Brian AU - van Ratingen, Michiel AU - Ellway, James AU - Keall, Michael AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of the Euro NCAP Whiplash Protocol Using Real-World Crash Data PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Whiplash injuries account for the vast majority of casualties in road traffic crashes, leading to long-term consequences. The majority occur in rear-ends crashes. Consumer crash tests play an important role in promoting effective concepts to reduce the problem. The current Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) whiplash test protocol includes three sled tests at varying impact speeds and pulse shapes using a BioRID test dummy and 8 measures to assess whiplash potential based on previous best practice. Given the complexity of the test and with more experience, a real-world evaluation of the current protocol was undertaken. Three analyses were undertaken comprising an analysis of test outcome data, a logistic regression analysis, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and a correlation analysis comparing crash and injury outcome. 13,389 drivers reporting whiplash injury symptoms to Folksam Insurance in Sweden were studied, of which 1,266 occurred in cars tested by Euro NCAP. For all occupants reporting initial symptoms, the risk of permanent medical impairment was followed up according to the procedure used by Swedish insurance companies. Test scores according to Euro NCAP, JNCAP and IIWPG protocols were calculated, as well as combinations of the three Euro NCAP pulses. For each combination or protocol, the test score was compared with the real-world outcome. A correlation analysis of the included injury criteria was also performed for the three crash pulses included. The results showed that overall Euro NCAP, Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) and International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group (IIWPG) all predict real-world whiplash injury outcome in terms of Permanent Medical Impairment (PMI). Based on limited data available, there was no statistical evidence using logistic regression and ROC analyses that any of the three tests performed better than any other. Correlations between the test scenarios of each of the three protocols, as well as the outcome associations with crash outcomes, suggested consistent improvements in the risk of permanent medical impairment. The main strength of the analyses conducted here was to show the validity of Euro NCAP, JNCAP and IIWPG whiplash test protocols when measured against real-world crash outcomes, which are the most important criteria showing that the tests are appropriately designed to help prevent injuries among the community. Some caution needs to be taken with these findings as many were not statistically significant because of the limited number of cases available. Further evaluation when additional data are available is warranted. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Correlation analysis KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash injury research KW - Impact tests KW - Logistic regression analysis KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Receiver operating characteristic curve KW - Whiplash UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358294 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567609 AU - Schwarz, Chris AU - Brown, Timothy L AU - Gaspar, John G AU - Marshall, Dawn AU - Lee, John AU - Kitazaki, Satoshi AU - Kang, Julie AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Mitigating Drowsiness: Linking Detection to Mitigation PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Drowsy driving contributes towards up to 24% of crashes and near crashes observed; 886 fatal crashes per year can be attributed to drowsy, fatigued or sleeping drivers. Drowsiness mitigation technology is composed of a detection algorithm and a mitigation component. This paper is primarily concerned with the latter, specifically for a driving simulation study about mitigating drowsy driving. The study is part of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) Driver Monitoring of Inattention and Impairment using Vehicle Equipment (DrIIVE) program. The detection algorithm incorporates time series probabilistic estimation using a Hidden Markov Model, so a drowsiness prediction at any time is dependent on a previous history of observations. Two mitigation methods are designed for testing in the simulation study. One is a three stage audio/visual alert that requires a driver response through a button press. The second is a binary haptic alert that uses a vibrating seat. Additionally, each mitigation will include three varying levels of sensitivity: a nominal model, an over-sensitive model, and an under-sensitive model. These variations will expose drivers to different numbers of false alarms while also potentially missing episodes of drowsiness. Various parameters in the detection algorithm were tested and the vote thresholds of two Random Forest models were selected for variation. It was observed how these parameters affected the output of the detection and mitigation system using previously collected drowsy driving data. Three specific levels were chosen as candidates for the experiment. It is hoped that the study will answer questions about how effective a mitigation system is at changing driving performance, whether drivers willfully ignore the mitigation, and how many alerts are too many. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Algorithms KW - Detection and identification KW - Driver monitoring KW - Driver performance KW - Drivers KW - Drowsiness KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358375 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567606 AU - Poland, Kristin AU - Barth, Thomas H AU - Arbogast, Kristy B AU - Zonfrillo, Mark R AU - Kent, Richard AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Continuous Video Recording System on a Lap-Belt Equipped School Bus: Real-World Occupant Kinematics and Injuries during a Severe Side Impact Crash PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - A loaded truck-tractor semitrailer severely impacted the side of a lap-belt-equipped large school bus in which 30 students, age 5 to 11 years, were riding. The crash investigation obtained on-board video and audio from the school bus recording system, which had four active cameras that recorded at 15 frames per second. A total of 55 minutes 39 seconds of video and audio was obtained, including over 15 minutes after the bus came to final rest. Qualitative descriptions of occupant motion during the crash sequence were documented based on the time sequence of vehicle motion, including kinematics of lap-belted pediatric occupants, occupant-tooccupant interactions, and occupant-to-vehicle interactions. Further, quantitative measurements of occupant motion were performed by tracking visible body regions such as the head or center of the pelvis using commercially available motion analysis software. Occupant injuries were coded using hospital medical records and according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale 2008 manual. Injury severity was higher in the rear of the bus near the region of impact, maximum intrusion, and maximum lateral accelerations. The injury severity scores (ISS) ranged from 1 to 6 in the front of the bus and from 1 to 57 at the rear, including the one student seated at the rear of the bus who was fatally injured. Head injuries included several mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries. Lateral head translations and velocities were evaluated. The lateral head displacements toward the impacted side in the front of the bus were similar to those in the rear during the initial impact, but the head displacements for occupants in the rear of the bus were greater during the secondary and tertiary rebound motions toward alternating sides of the bus. Lateral head velocities relative to the bus interior were generally almost twice as high in the rear of the bus as in the front. In addition, the magnitude of whole body pediatric occupant motion in the absence of injury was notable. Further, loss of consciousness negatively affected occupants’ ability to self-evacuate, even when subjects regained consciousness. The qualitative and quantitative descriptions represent the first time that lap-belted school bus pediatric occupant motion during a crash has been documented from continuous onboard video recordings. This unique data source allows the rare correlation of occupant kinematics with crash severity and injury outcomes in living humans. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Children KW - Crash severity KW - Image analysis KW - Injury severity KW - Kinematics KW - Lap belts KW - Motion KW - Outcome (Medical treatment) KW - School buses KW - Side crashes KW - Videotape recorders UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359032 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567601 AU - Chen, Rong AU - Choi, Kyu-Sang AU - Daniello, Allison AU - Gabler, Hampton AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - An Analysis of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Crashes in the U.S. PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - The growing popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles in the U.S. has raised questions about whether they might pose a different crash risk than conventional vehicles. In particular, there have been anecdotal reports of fires associated with the battery system in these advanced fuel vehicles. The objective of the study was to characterize the factors that influence the risk of serious to fatal injury in U.S. hybrid and electric passenger vehicle crashes. The authors' approach in this study was to compare the crash performance of the conventional passenger vehicle fleet with hybrid/electric passenger vehicles in the U.S. The study was based upon the analysis of three U.S. crash databases: the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS), and the National Automotive Sampling System / General Estimates System (NASS/GES). Cases recorded by the databases between the years 1999 and 2013, and involving passenger vehicles model year 2000 and newer were extracted from all three databases. Hybrid vehicles constituted less than 1% of the total vehicle population in all three databases. FARS contained no fatalities in electric vehicles, and less than 0.01 % of cases in NASS/CDS and NASS/GES involved electric vehicles. The incidence of fire was lower for hybrid vehicles than the conventional fleet in all three databases. Fatal crashes involving fire constituted 2.6% of hybrid vehicle cases and 4.4% of conventional vehicle cases. No cases of fire or electric shock injury associated with hybrid vehicles were found in NASS/CDS. Only 1 case of a hybrid fire was found in NASS/GES and 5 cases of hybrid fire were found in FARS. No fires involving electric vehicles were found in any of the three databases. Similar crash characteristics were found for both hybrid and conventional vehicle populations. Median longitudinal delta-V was 18 km/hr for hybrid vehicles and 14 km/hr for conventional vehicles. Hybrid vehicle occupants were found to have higher risk of AIS2+ upper extremity injury but lower risk of AIS2+ lower extremity injury than conventional vehicle occupants. Similar risk of abbreviated injury scale (AIS)2+ head and chest injury was observed between the two groups. The most notable difference between hybrid vehicles and conventional passenger-vehicles was that occupants of hybrid vehicle were more likely to be older than occupants of conventional vehicles. In FARS, the median age of fatally injured hybrid vehicle occupants was 59 years versus 36 years for conventional vehicle occupants. In NASS/CDS, the median age of hybrid vehicle occupants was 42 years and the median age of conventional vehicle occupants was 29 yrs. In NASS/GES, the median age of hybrid/electric vehicle occupants was 44 years, as compared to the median age of 32 years for conventional vehicle occupants. The present study characterized the crash and occupants of hybrid and electric vehicles. The comparison between hybrid and conventional vehicle crashes showed little difference in the crash performance and injury outcome between the two groups. The incidence of fire was actually lower in hybrid vehicles than in the rest of the fleet. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Age KW - Crash causes KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Electric vehicles KW - Hybrid vehicles KW - Traffic crashes KW - United States KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357832 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567592 AU - Strandroth, Johan AU - Rizzi, Matteo AU - Ohlin, Maria AU - Eriksson, Jenny AU - Lie, Anders AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Analysis of Different Types of Winter Tyres in Rear-End Injury Crashes and Fatal Loss-of-Control Crashes with ESC PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - This study aimed to compare studded and non-studded winter tyres with regard to the risk of being the striking car in rear-end injury crashes with passenger cars. A further aim was to evaluate the risk for a passenger car equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) to be involved in a fatal loss-of-control (LOC) crash with studded and non-studded winter tyres. This research was based on two different materials. The study on rear-end crashes used police reports from crashes in Sweden between 2008 and 2014. The study was limited to crashes occurring in the winter period, in this study defined as October through to March. Only car-to-car two vehicle crashes were included (n=4239). As tyre information was not included in the police reports, a survey form was sent to all drivers asking which type of tyres was fitted on their car at the time of the crash. In total, 717 drivers (17%) responded. The relative risk for being the striking or struck vehicle, depending on winter tyres, was calculated using an induced exposure approach. The analysis of fatal crashes in the winter period used in-depth studies of fatal crashes collected by the Swedish and Norwegian Transport Administrations in the winter period between 2003 and 2014. Cars fitted with ESC (n=44) were compared with cars without ESC (n=260). The odds ratio for being involved in a LOC-crash was calculated depending on the ESC fitment and fitment of different winter tyres. The findings showed that the risk for being the striking vehicle in a rear-end injury crash on ice or snow was at least 27% higher for non-studded winter tyres, compared to studded tyres. With regard to all road conditions, no significant difference between winter tyres with or without studs were found. As the proportion of ice and snow differs greatly in different parts of Sweden, the overall estimated effect was significant in northern Sweden but not in mid or southern Sweden. The risk of a fatal LOC-crash was 65% lower with studded tyres compared with non-studded winter tyres for cars without ESC. In ESC cars, the risk reduction, compared to cars without ESC, was 92% including all types of winter tyres, which were grouped together due to the limited size of the material. The rear-end crash analysis was based on a material with a rather limited response frequency. Hence, the representativeness of the results should be treated with caution. Regarding the fatal crashes it could be concluded that ESC is very effective in reducing LOC-crashes regardless of type of winter tyres. This is the first study that shows the effect of studded tyres related to specific crash types and to different geographical regions in Sweden. Hence, the findings in this study can contribute to the ongoing discussion on reducing the proportion of studded tyres in Sweden due to environmental and health issues. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Crash analysis KW - Electronic stability control KW - Fatalities KW - Loss of control KW - Rear end crashes KW - Snow tires KW - Studded tires UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359031 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567567 AU - Seidl, Matthias AU - Carroll, Jolyon AU - Cuerden, Richard AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - eCall – Defining Accident Conditions for Mandatory Triggering of Automatic Emergency Calls PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - eCall, the pan-European automatic crash notification system, will facilitate road vehicles to contact emergency services autonomously when a potentially injurious crash has been detected by vehicle sensors. Type-approval requirements will set out conditions for assessing systems under which automatic triggering of eCalls will be mandatory. Research is needed to specify the accident typologies and severities represented by these conditions. This paper analyses what definition of accident conditions would ensure that a high number of casualties benefit from automatic eCalls. The conditions should also allow cost-effective type-approval testing, avoid excessive numbers of superfluous eCalls, and not restrict manufacturer’s design freedom. Two conditions were considered as being particularly suitable for the European type-approval system: − Condition A: Trigger in accident conditions similar to, and at least as severe as, a mandatory frontal or lateral fullscale crash test. − Condition B: Trigger in conjunction with deployment of any airbag. In-depth accident data from the Road Accident In-Depth Studies (RAIDS) database, collected between 2000 and 2010 for the Co-operative Crash Injury Study (CCIS), was analysed to produce an estimate of the proportion of car occupant casualties captured by each of these conditions and subsequently scaled to a national level for Great Britain. The analysis found that Condition A captured only 34.7% of fatally and seriously injured casualties whereas Condition B would apply to 81.0%. For Great Britain, with about 9,335 fatally or seriously injured car occupants annually, this is a difference of 4,330 fatal or serious casualties which could benefit from automatic eCall triggering each year. However, if Condition B was applied, automatic eCalls would be triggered for 74,390 slight casualties per annum in GB (and for an additional unknown number of damage-only accidents). The sensitivity of Condition B, i.e. the proportion of casualties successfully selected, is considerably higher compared to Condition A. Nevertheless, accident types where airbags are deliberately not deployed would not be captured. Condition B exhibited an almost unvaryingly high sensitivity in selecting fatal casualties and serious casualties respectively. The higher sensitivity of Condition B is achieved at the expense of specificity in selecting fatal or severe casualties, i.e. more of the collisions for which an eCall is triggered would be slight casualties. There are indications, however, that the negative consequences of superfluous eCalls could be mitigated. The results are based on British data and cannot be transferred in detail to other countries. The general trends identified would be expected to also appear in reproductions of this analysis using data from other European countries. The most preferable mandatory automatic eCall triggering condition for type-approval legislation appears to be triggering in conjunction with deployment of any airbag. Nevertheless, up to 19.0% of fatal and serious car occupant casualties might not be captured by this condition. To allow this problem to be overcome using advanced triggering algorithms, a non-restrictive approach could be taken with regard to the triggering requirement, i.e. require triggering in the presence of the condition yet not prohibit triggering in its absence. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Air bags KW - Automatic crash notification KW - Casualties KW - Crash analysis KW - Crash causes KW - Crash data KW - Data analysis KW - Europe KW - In vehicle sensors UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358846 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567559 AU - Yi, Seung-Hwan AU - Lee, Sang-Ho AU - Nam, Beom-Woo AU - Seo, Jeong-Seok AU - Lee, Bo-ram AU - Ahn, Min-Choul AU - Kang, Byong-Do AU - In, Jeong-Min AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Relationship between BAC and BrAC of Health Korean Male PY - 2015 SP - 6p AB - BrACs (Breath alcohol concentrations) are often converted to the corresponding blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) by multiplying a partition ratio, Q. However, according to the previous researches, it has been revealed that it depended upon the nations. So, the partition ratio (or Q-factor) of healthy Korean adult males and its correlation to some variables including total body water (TBW), body mass index (BMI), body fat mass (BFM), and percentage of body fat (PBF) were revealed. The average of partition ratio did show particular difference around 100 when the subjects were divided with two sets: below and above the average of TBW. The partition ratio of Korean healthy males showed 1,913 (95 % confidence interval (CI) from 1,889 to 1,937) for whole time intervals. However, when Q was averaged after peak BACs, it gave 2,011 (95 % CI range from 1,982 to 2,040). BlandAltman plots revealed the compatibility of measurement method of multi-gas analyzer, and the biases according to the partition ratios (Q=2,100 and Q=1,913) gave -0.0052 (95 % CI from -0.0059 to -0.0045) and -0.0004 (95 % CI from –0.0011 to +0.0003), respectively. From this study, the partition ratio of Korean healthy males has been reported for the first time with massive medical experiments. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Alcohol breath tests KW - Bias (Statistics) KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Korea KW - Males KW - Measurement KW - Ratios UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358352 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567554 AU - van Ratingen, Michiel AU - Fildes, Brian AU - Lie, Anders AU - Keall, Michael AU - Tingvall, Claes AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Validating Vehicle Safety Using Meta-Analysis: A New Approach to Evaluating New Vehicle Safety Technologies PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - In a world of rapid developments in the field of vehicle safety, robust and reliable methods are essential to evaluate the safety effects in real traffic. Only with significant evidence-based findings can original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), governments and consumers act to encourage the most important systems. The Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Validating Vehicle Safety using Meta-Analysis (VVSMA) consortium was assembled, comprising a collaboration of government, industry consumer organisations and researchers, using pooled data from a number of countries and the established MUNDS method. Technologies of immediate interest included low speed autonomous emergency braking (low speed AEB or AEB City), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) technologies in current model passenger vehicles. Real-world crash data were assembled by 6 countries for the analyses and induced exposure methods were adopted to control for any extraneous effects. To date, the findings for AEB City technology found that while individual countries analyses failed to show significant reductions in crashes, robust statistically significant reductions were found overall from the meta-analysis due to the increase in the amount of data. The analysis for Lane Departure Warning technology is currently in process. Greater difficulty is experienced with evaluating this technology due to it only being available as optional equipment. The findings show how safety benefit analyses can be performed in a timely manner, using data from many countries in a meta-analysis procedure. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Active safety systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Evaluation KW - Lane departure warning systems KW - Meta-analysis KW - Validation KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358952 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567551 AU - Rau, Paul AU - Blanco, Myra AU - Atwood, Jon AU - Vasquez, Holland AU - Trimble, Tammy AU - Fitchett, Vikki AU - Radlbeck, Josh AU - Fitch, Gregory AU - Sheldon, Russell AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Human Factors Evaluation of Level 2 and Level 3 Automated Driving PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - This project evaluates how drivers interact with different automated vehicle functions under various concepts of Level 2 and Level 3 automation. The objective is to determine whether principles for human-machine interface (HMI) design for automated vehicles could be based on things such as timing, sequence, and presentation of automated functions produced by this study. Methods involve test track evaluations of participants using three distinct automation concepts, two involving automation Level 2 and one involving automation Level 3 (as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] policy paper on vehicle automation; NHTSA, 2013). Data sources included both objective and subjective data from participants’ responses to the different portions of the experimental protocols. Results will be produced from parametric linear regression analyses and qualitative evaluations of participants’ subjective responses to questionnaires. Where appropriate, statistical techniques will be applied for conditioning the sample data to ensure that the assumptions underlying these analyses are met. The detailed timing, sequence, and presentation measurements from the various research efforts involved herein will be used to specify human factors design principles for automated vehicle HMIs. The resulting principles would benefit from subsequent naturalistic evaluations for fine-tuning the performance metrics, and for addressing any gaps or new questions arising from this research. Crash avoidance technologies are evolving rapidly toward increasing automation, involving a higher complexity of interoperability between user and vehicle functions than what has previously been known. Understanding the detailed human factors capabilities and limitations of these users and the impacts of the timing, sequence, and presentation of information presented to the users will be important for shaping the safety policies. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Advanced vehicle control systems KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Evaluation KW - Human factors KW - Human machine systems KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357796 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567548 AU - Matheis, Ralf AU - Murnisya, Helmi AU - Puppini, Roberto AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - General Virtual Testing Methodology for Type IV CNG Tanks PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - The project MATISSE funded by European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7) aims to make a significant step forward in the capability of the automotive industry to model, predict and optimise the crash behaviour of mass produced fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) with the focus set on components for alternatively powered vehicles (APV). One of the project’s main research goals is the development of a general virtual testing methodology (VTM) for the development of APV driven by compressed natural gas (CNG) equipped with composite FRP tanks of Type IV. Due to the increasing legislative demands on the emission of future vehicles, the development of APVs that are in this regard superior to conventional internal-combustion engines (ICE) driven by petrol or diesel fuel is currently in the centre of attention of the automotive industry. Here, the usage of ICE with CNG supply offers advantages in comparison to other concepts, since it requires only moderate modifications of the conventional drive train. Because of the high mechanical demands on the required high-pressure storage tanks and the need for lightweight structures, which also contributes to the emission reduction, the usage of material of high specific material properties is required. Especially the full composite tanks of the Type IV show a high potential in this regard. Since these high-pressure storage components form a significant safety hazard, the accurate analysis of the mechanical demands during relevant crash load cases is of great importance. For the proper and optimal integration of the tanks into the vehicle during the APV design and development process at industrial level, moreover the predictability of the material and component behaviour using the finite element method (FEM) is indispensable. Within the MATISSE project a new overall approach for the crash analysis of CNG tanks is proposed. This paper describes the main aspects of this VTM: First, a FRP material modelling approach for wet wound CNG tanks, that makes use of the so-called “reverse FEM” as well as of novel physically based material models that are fed with calculative as well as literature based material values and are validated on three point bending tests of wound tubes was defined. Then, the derived material models for glass and carbon fibre were subsequently used for the modelling of FEM tank models, whereby different steps of optimisation of on the one hand the accuracy and on the other hand the simulation time were conducted. In a next step, different relevant load cases on a full vehicle model of a compact car equipped with a CNG tank where simulated and analysed. The detected highest mechanical demands were thereupon transferred to a component test programme on a tank-subsystem that depicts the loads obtained by the tanks. Here again, the FEM model of the tank is used to find the appropriate boundary conditions. The developed test programme was subsequently conducted on a series of physical tanks and the simulation approach and thus the VTM was validated on the results. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Compressed natural gas KW - Crash analysis KW - European Commission KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Internal combustion engines KW - Methodology KW - Pressure vessels KW - Tanks (Containers) KW - Testing KW - Virtual reality KW - Virtual testing UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358288 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567539 AU - Carter, Jason M AU - Paul, Nathanael AU - Zhang, Jenny AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Analysis of Vehicle-Based Security Operations PY - 2015 SP - 13p AB - Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications promises to increase roadway safety by providing each vehicle with 360 degree situational awareness of other vehicles in proximity, and by complementing onboard sensors such as radar or camera in detecting imminent crash scenarios. In the United States, approximately three hundred million automobiles could participate in a fully deployed V2V system if Dedicated ShortRange Communication (DSRC) device use becomes mandatory. The system’s reliance on continuous communication, however, provides a potential means for unscrupulous persons to transmit false data in an attempt to cause crashes, create traffic congestion, or simply render the system useless. V2V communications must be highly scalable while retaining robust security and privacy preserving features to meet the intra-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication requirements for a growing vehicle population. Oakridge National Research Laboratory is investigating a Vehicle-Based Security System (VBSS) to provide security and privacy for a fully deployed V2V and V2I system. In the VBSS an On-board Unit (OBU) generates short-term certificates and signs Basic Safety Messages (BSM) to preserve privacy and enhance security. This work outlines a potential VBSS structure and its operational concepts; it examines how a vehicle-based system might feasibly provide security and privacy, highlights remaining challenges, and explores potential mitigations to address those challenges. Certificate management alternatives that attempt to meet V2V security and privacy requirements have been examined previously by the research community including privacy-preserving group certificates, shared certificates, and functional encryption. Due to real-world operational constraints, adopting one of these approaches for VBSS V2V communication is difficult. Timely misbehavior detection and revocation are still open problems for any V2V system. The authors explore the alternative approaches that may be applicable to a VBSS, and suggest some additional research directions in order to find a practical solution that appropriately addresses security and privacy. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Highway safety KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Onboard units KW - Privacy KW - Security KW - Vehicle electronics KW - Vehicle to infrastructure communications KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357794 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567536 AU - Wang, Stewart C AU - Kohoyda-Inglis, Carla J AU - MacWilliams, Joel B AU - Anderson, Kathryn F AU - Kleinert, Julie A AU - Melocchi, Anthony G AU - Stacey, Lisa A AU - Joyner, Jeffery W AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Results of First Field Test of Telemetry Based Injury Severity Prediction PY - 2015 SP - 12p AB - Identification of severely injured occupants is of utmost urgency following a crash event. Advanced automatic collision notification (AACN) has great potential to improve post-crash care if the risk of severe injury to a vehicle’s occupants can be accurately predicted. The National Expert Panel for Field Triage set a 20% risk of Injury Severity Score (ISS) 15+ injury [1] as the threshold for urgent transport to a trauma center. The objective of this study was to field test real world performance of the published injury severity prediction (ISP) algorithm in collisions involving recent model GM vehicles equipped with OnStar. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Michigan Department of Community Health. There were 924 occupants in 836 crash events, involving vehicles equipped with AACN capabilities, in the state of Michigan which were identified from the OnStar records. The police crash report corresponding to the event was identified in the State of Michigan database and used to confirm data sent by telemetry from the vehicle. The injury status of all occupants in the case vehicles was determined. Occupants not transported for medical evaluation were assumed to have ISS<15. For occupants transported from the scene for evaluation and treatment, medical records and imaging data were obtained from the treating facility. Case reviews were conducted to jointly analyze crash, vehicle telemetry, and injury outcome data. The algorithm was used to calculate the predicted risk of injury based on transmitted telemetry data and this prediction was compared to the observed injury outcome for each vehicle as well as each occupant. In this field study, the ISP algorithm’s ability to predict whether a vehicle had a seriously injured (ISS>15) occupant was, in terms of sensitivity, at 63.64% compared to the model sensitivity of 39.6% and it also came very close to expectations of specificity at 96.12% compared to the model specificity of 98.3% with use of age and gender data. Without use of age and gender, for ISP calculation, the sensitivity performance was 45.45% while the specificity improved slightly to 97.58%. Detailed analysis of cases suggests that further performance gains could be obtained with more detailed definition of crash direction, seating position, and occupant age. There were 184 candidate crash occupants in 167 vehicles not included in the study analysis due to: A) missing Police accident reports, n=77 in 75 crashes; B) inability to retrieve medical records, n = 71 in 61 crashes; or C) rollover event, n=36 in 31 crashes. Analysis of these excluded cases did not reveal any bias in crash severity or injury that would confound the current study findings. This study confirms for the first time under real-world field conditions that occupant injury severity can be predicted using vehicle telemetry data. The ISP algorithm’s ability to predict a 20% or greater risk of severe (ISS15+) injury was better than anticipated and confirms ISP’s utility for the field triage of crash subjects. This analysis suggests that AACN technology can greatly facilitate the collection of field data with ISP also serving as a baseline for potential monitoring of the benefits resulting from vehicle safety design changes. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Algorithms KW - Automatic crash notification KW - Crash analysis KW - Emergency medical services KW - Field tests KW - Injury severity KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Michigan KW - OnStar (Motorist aid system) KW - Telemetry KW - Triage UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358849 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567526 AU - Willemsen, Dehlia AU - Stuiver, Arjan AU - Hogema, Jeroen AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Automated Driving Functions Giving Control Back to the Driver: A Simulator Study on Driver State Dependent Strategies PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - Many car companies and other organisations are working hard to get automated driving on the road. Where some prefer driverless cars, most foresee a future where control of the vehicle will be shared between the driver and automated functions in the coming years. Sharing tasks and responsibilities creates the interesting challenge of transition of control of the vehicle between driver and automation. This paper presents research into this transition. By taking into account the attentiveness of the driver, different strategies were evaluated in a simulator study to create an optimal transition given the situation at hand. The study concentrates on an automated platoon system ‘Virtual Tow Bar’. The results show that the differences among the tested conditions are small and no large trends are visible in either the subjective or the objective results. Hence it is concluded that the experiment should be repeated with a larger group naïve participants and probably more extreme parameter settings. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Advanced vehicle control systems KW - Driver support systems KW - Drivers KW - Driving simulators KW - Human machine systems KW - Traffic platooning UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357800 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567525 AU - Stitzel, Joel AU - Weaver, Ashley AU - Schoel, Samantha AU - Barnard, Ryan AU - Talton, Jennifer AU - Martin, R Shayn AU - Meredith, J Wayne AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Occupant Transportation Decision Algorithm: An Advanced Automatic Crash Notification Algorithm Developed and Evaluated for Motor Vehicle Crash Occupant Triage PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - The objective was to develop an Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) algorithm and evaluate its performance in making optimal occupant triage decisions. The developed AACN algorithm known as the Occupant Transportation Decision Algorithm (OTDA) uses measurements obtainable from vehicle telemetry to predict risk of overall occupant injury and recommend a transportation decision for the occupant following a motor vehicle crash (MVC), particularly whether transport to a Level I/II trauma center is recommended. A list of injuries necessitating treatment at a Level I/II trauma center (TC) was determined using an injury-based approach based on three facets (severity, time sensitivity, and predictability). These three facets were quantified for each injury from expert physician and emergency medical services (EMS) professional opinion and database analyses of the National Trauma Data Bank and National Inpatient Sample. Severity, Time Sensitivity, and Predictability Scores were summed for each injury to compute an Injury Score. Injuries with an Injury Score exceeding a particular threshold were included on the Master Target Injury List, which is a list of injuries more likely to require Level I/II TC treatment. OTDA inputs for development include the Master Target Injury List and 38,970 National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) 2000-2011 occupants. The OTDA uses multivariate logistic regression to predict an occupant's risk of sustaining an injury on the Master Target Injury List from the following model variables: longitudinal/lateral delta-v, number of quarter turns (in rollover only), belt status, multiple impacts, and airbag deployment. A parametric OTDA was developed with five tunable parameters allowing for extensive optimization. The OTDA was optimized with a genetic algorithm that compared the OTDA transportation decision for each NASS-CDS occupant to a dichotomous representation of their Injury Severity Score (ISS). Occupants with ISS 16+ should be transported to a Level I/II TC. OTDA optimization minimized under triage (UT) and over triage (OT) rates with the goal of producing UT rates < 5% and OT rates < 50% as recommended by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). For the optimized OTDA, UT rates by crash mode were 5.9% (frontal), 4.6% (near side), 2.9% (far side), 7.0% (rear), and 16.0% (rollover). OT rates by crash mode for the optimized OTDA were 49.7% (frontal), 47.9% (near side), 49.7% (far side), 44.0% (rear), and 49.7% (rollover). The OTDA was developed with an injury-based approach that examined three injury facets to identify injuries necessitating treatment at a Level I/II TC. Large hospital and survey datasets containing information on injuries, mortality risk, treatment urgency, and hospital transfers were used in conjunction with large crash datasets with crash, vehicle, occupant, and injury data. The OTDA has been rigorously optimized and has demonstrated improved UT rates compared to other AACN algorithms in the literature and OT rates meeting ACS recommendations. Since the OTDA uses only vehicle telemetry measurements specified in Part 563 regulation, this AACN algorithm could be readily incorporated into new vehicles to inform emergency personnel of recommended triage decisions for MVC occupants. The overall societal purpose of this AACN algorithm is to reduce response times, increase triage efficiency, and improve overall patient outcome. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic crash notification KW - Crash injuries KW - Decision making KW - Emergency medical services KW - Genetic algorithms KW - Injury types KW - Optimization KW - Telemetry KW - Traffic crashes KW - Triage KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358848 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567520 AU - Christensen, Andy AU - Cunningham, Andrew AU - Engelman, Jerry AU - Green, Charles AU - Kawashima, Charles AU - Kiger, Steve AU - Prokhorov, Danil AU - Tellis, Levasseur AU - Wendling, Barbara AU - Barickman, Frank AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Key Considerations in the Development of Driving Automation Systems PY - 2015 SP - 14p AB - The historical roles of drivers, vehicle manufacturers, federal and state regulators, and law enforcement agencies in automotive safety is well understood. However, the increasing deployment of driving automation technologies to support various comfort, convenience, efficiency, productivity, mobility, and possibly safety features has the potential to alter this understanding. In order to facilitate clarity in discussing the topic of driving automation with other stakeholders and to clarify the level(s) of automation on which the agency is currently focusing its efforts, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a Preliminary Statement of Policy (SOP) concerning Automated Vehicles that included its automation levels. In this paper, the authors present key factors for consideration in each automation level which are based upon Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J3016. These factors focus on adding more specificity with regard to the distribution of the driving tasks between the driver and the automation system. The result of this effort has led to a refinement of an understanding of the automation levels based on the nature of the vehicle control aspect provided by the feature, the nature of the environmental sensing and response, the fallback strategy employed, and the feature’s scope of operation. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Advanced vehicle control systems KW - Deployment KW - Development KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Standards KW - Technology KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1357790 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01567512 AU - Schram, Richard AU - Williams, Aled AU - Ratingen, Michiel van AU - Ryrberg, Stephan AU - Sferco, Raimondo AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Euro NCAP's First Step to Assess Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) for Vulnerable Road Users PY - 2015 SP - 7p AB - Following the implementation of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) City and AEB Inter-Urban systems in Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)’s safety rating in 2014, a third type of AEB technology, AEB for Vulnerable Road Users (AEB VRU), will be added to the overall assessment of new vehicles in 2016. The introduction of AEB VRU will be done in two phases where in 2016 AEB Pedestrian is implemented followed by AEB Cyclists in 2018. AEB VRU will be awarded as part of the assessment of Pedestrian Protection and represents the next step to improve the protection of vulnerable road users, complimentary to the existing subsystem tests to the vehicle front end. Following system tests in common pedestrian accident scenarios, more challenging and demanding cyclist scenarios are planned in a subsequent phase. In close corporation with the car industry represented by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) associations, Euro NCAP has developed detailed test and assessment procedures for AEB Pedestrian. The procedures are based on the existing car to car AEB test and assessment protocols and validated and checked for repeatability and reproducibility at several Euro NCAP laboratories. This paper describes both the test and assessment protocols. U1 - 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGothenburg,Sweden StartDate:20150608 EndDate:20150611 Sponsors:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Automatic braking KW - Autonomous vehicle guidance KW - Driver support systems KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Motor vehicle industry KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Reliability KW - Test procedures KW - Vulnerable road users UR - http://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/isv7/main.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358291 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567478 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2013: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System PY - 2015 SP - 238p AB - In this annual report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presents descriptive statistics about traffic crashes of all severities, from those that result in property damage to those that result in the loss of human life. Information from two of NHTSA’s primary data systems has been combined to create a single source for motor vehicle crash statistics. These two data systems are the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (GES). Fatal crash data from FARS and nonfatal crash data from GES are presented in this report in five chapters. Chapter 1, “Trends,” presents data from all years of FARS (1975 through 2013) and GES (1988 through 2013). The remaining chapters present data only from 2013. Chapter 2, “Crashes,” presents statistics about police-reported motor vehicle crashes according to the most severe injury in the crash: Fatal, Nonfatal Injury (Injury), and Property Damage. The tables and figures are presented in four groups: Time, Location, Circumstances, and Alcohol. Chapter 3, “Vehicles,” concentrates on the types of vehicles involved in crashes and the damage to the vehicles. Chapter 4, “People,” presents statistics about the drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and pedalcyclists involved in crashes. Chapter 5, “States,” contains fatal crash and fatality statistics for each State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. KW - Crash characteristics KW - Cyclists KW - Drivers KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - General Estimates System KW - Injury characteristics KW - Loss and damage KW - National Automotive Sampling System KW - Pedestrians KW - States KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812139.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1356973 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567431 AU - Martin, Amy Epps AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Statewide Implementation of the Surface Performance-Graded (SPG) Specification for Seal Coat Binders in Service. Products -P1, -P4, & -P5 PY - 2015 SP - v.p. AB - This project includes three documents. (1) Seal Coat Binder Performance Specifications, 87th Annual Transportation Short Course, October 2013, 3p., PowerPoint slides covering objective, history, recommended Surface Performance Grading (SPG) specification, and implementation project. (2) SPG Specification for 2015 Implementation, 8p. (3) Texas Seal Coat Binder Utilization maps for 2013 and 2014, 4p. KW - Bituminous binders KW - Implementation KW - Pavement performance KW - Performance based specifications KW - Seal coats KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-6616-01-P1.pdf UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-6616-01-P4.pdf UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-6616-01-P5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1354420 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565444 AU - Yu, Hailing AU - Jeong, David AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Finite Element Bond Models for Seven-Wire Prestressing Strands in Concrete Crossties PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - Seven-wire strands are commonly used in pretensioned concrete ties, but its bonding mechanism with concrete needs further examination to provide a better understanding of some concrete tie failure modes. As a key component in the finite element (FE) analysis of concrete crossties, macro-scale or phenomenological FE bond models are developed for seven-wire strands in this paper. The strand-concrete interfaces are homogenized with a thin layer of cohesive elements applied between the strand and concrete elements. Further, the cohesive elements are assigned traction-displacement constitutive or bond relations that are defined in terms of normal and shear stresses versus interfacial dilation and slip. The bond relations are developed within an elasto-plastic framework that characterizes the adhesive, frictional and/or dilatational bonding mechanisms in the interface. The yield functions and plastic flow rules specific for the seven-wire strands are presented. The bond parameters are calibrated from untensioned pullout tests and pretensioned prism tests conducted on concrete specimens. The bond models are then verified with (1) the surface strain data measured on actual concrete crossties made at a tie manufacturing plant, and (2) the force-displacement relation obtained in a center negative moment test conducted also on concrete crossties. U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Bonding KW - Deformation KW - Finite element method KW - Prestressed concrete ties KW - Pull out test KW - Steel wire UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54800/54835/JRC2015-5758.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355791 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565443 AU - Marquis, Brian AU - Greif, Robert AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - High Speed Curving Performance of Rail Vehicles PY - 2015 AB - On March 13, 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a final rule titled “Vehicle/Track Interaction Safety Standards; High-Speed and High Cant Deficiency Operations” which amended the Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213) and the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 238) in order to promote vehicle track interaction (VTI) safety under a variety of conditions at speeds up to 220 mph. Among its main accomplishments, the final rule facilitates the expansion of higher speed passenger rail by revising the standards governing permissible operating speed in curves, allowing for higher cant deficiencies in all FRA Track Classes. To ensure safety is not diminished, the FRA Track Safety Standards require railroads to maintain their tracks to stricter track geometry standards whenever they operate at these higher curving speeds and cant deficiencies. These revisions were based on studies that examined the dynamic curving performance of various representative rail vehicles. This research investigates the steady-state curving performance of truck designs while traversing curves at various curving speeds and cant deficiencies. During steady-state curve negotiation, the axles of trucks generally offset laterally from the track centerline and develop angles of attack increasing the wheel-rail contact forces. Large lateral forces can develop, particularly in flange contact, resulting in increased wheel and rail wear, track panel shift, and the risk of derailment. Depending on the truck design, such forces become larger at higher cant deficiency. An understanding of the steady-state response of a rail vehicle in a curve is essential as it represents a significant part of the total dynamic response. The curving performance of an idealized rigid truck is analyzed using nonlinear analytical methods for a wide range of operating speeds and unbalance conditions. Emphasis is placed on higher speed curving and the results are used to interpret trends observed during recent field testing with Amtrak’s Acela High-Speed Trainset on the Northeast Corridor. U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Car trucks (Railroads) KW - Curved track KW - Curves (Geometry) KW - Field tests KW - High speed rail KW - Operating speed KW - Railroad safety KW - Rolling contact KW - Standards UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54900/54921/Marquis_JRC_5620.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355790 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565442 AU - Tyrell, David AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Liquefied Natural Gas Tender Crashworthiness Research PY - 2015 SP - 11p AB - Research is being conducted to develop technical information needed to formulate effective natural gas fuel tender crashworthiness standards. This research is being performed for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) Office of Research, Development, and Technology, and intended to facilitate industry efforts to use natural gas as a locomotive fuel. Strategies to assure crashworthiness during moderate accidents, such as train-to-train collisions at speeds up to 40 mph, are being evaluated. This research applies the approach FRA has used to develop technical information on locomotive, hazmat tank car, and diesel fuel tank crashworthiness. There are four primary tasks: (1) Definition of collision scenarios; (2) Evaluation of traditional designs; (3) Evaluation of alternative designs; and (4) Recommendation of effective crashworthiness strategies. U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Crashworthiness KW - Evaluation KW - Liquefied natural gas KW - Locomotives KW - Railroad crashes KW - Railroad safety KW - Standards KW - Tank cars KW - Vehicle design UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54800/54897/ASME_JRC2015-5815.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355788 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565441 AU - Llana, Patricia AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Locomotive Crash Energy Management Test Plans PY - 2015 SP - 9p AB - The Office of Research, Development, and Technology of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Volpe Center are continuing to evaluate new technologies for increasing the safety of passengers and operators in rail equipment. The results of vehicle-to-vehicle override, where the strong underframe of one vehicle, typically a locomotive, impacts the weaker superstructure of the other vehicle, can be devastating. Crashworthy components which can be integrated into the end structure of a locomotive have been developed to inhibit override in the event of collision. Recent research has resulted in the development of a design concept, including evaluation with finite-element analysis (FEA), fabrication, and component tests. The design concept developed incorporates two key components: a push-back coupler and a deformable anti-climber. Detailed designs for these components were developed and the performance of the designs was evaluated through large deformation dynamic FEA. This paper describes the tests that are planned to demonstrate the behavior of these components when they are integrated into the end structure of a locomotive. The tests will demonstrate the in-service and crashworthiness performance of the modified locomotives. This research program endeavors to advance locomotive crashworthiness technology and develop the technical basis for generating specifications for push-back couplers and deformable anti-climbers. U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Couplers KW - Crashworthiness KW - Deformation KW - Evaluation KW - Finite element method KW - Locomotives KW - Railroad safety KW - Test procedures KW - Train components KW - Underride override crashes KW - Vehicle design UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54900/54922/Llana_JRC2015-5667.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355787 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565440 AU - Brecher, Aviva AU - Shurland, Melissa AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Study on Improving Rail Energy Efficiency (E2): Best Practices and Strategies PY - 2015 AB - A recent Volpe Center report for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Rail Energy, Environment, and Engine (E3) Technology research and development program reviewed rail industry best practices (BPs) and strategies for improving energy efficiency (E2) and environmental sustainability. The review included examples of and opportunities for adoption of international transferrable BPs, and US technologies for equipment, operations and logistics software tools that have measurably improved E2 performance for passenger and freight railroads. Drivers providing renewed impetus for rail industry E2 advances include environmental compliance requirements with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) locomotive emission standards, US Department of Transportation Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality improvement program grants, state, regional and urban clean diesel campaigns, as well as the FRA National Rail Plan, and High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) initiatives. The report presented comparative rail system energy efficiency data and trends relative to competing modes, illustrated the benefits of energy-efficient technologies, and of alternative fuels use. Based on a comprehensive literature review and on experts’ inputs, the report highlighted models of corporate rail sustainability plans and system-wide BPs and success stories. Available rail equipment and operational practices proven to improve E2 with environmental and economic benefits for all rail industry segments were illustrated. Findings and recommendations for further improving rail E2 and sustainability were tailored to the specific needs and goals of intercity and commuter passenger rail, and freight railroads (Class I-III). U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Air quality management KW - Alternate fuels KW - Best practices KW - Economic benefits KW - Energy conservation KW - Energy consumption KW - Environmental impacts KW - Freight trains KW - Literature reviews KW - Passenger trains KW - Railroad commuter service KW - Sustainable transportation UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54800/54898/JRC2015_Rail_E2_strategies.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355786 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01565439 AU - Jacobsen, Karina AU - Carolan, Michael AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Results of a Conventional Fuel Tank Blunt Impact Test PY - 2015 SP - 10p AB - The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA's) Office of Research and Development is conducting research into passenger locomotive fuel tank crashworthiness. A series of impact tests is being conducted to measure fuel tank deformation under two types of dynamic loading conditions – blunt and raking impacts. This program is intended to result in a better understanding of design features that improve the puncture resistance of passenger locomotive fuel tanks. One reason for performing this program is to aid in development of appropriate standards for puncture resistance to be applied to alternatively-designed fuel tanks, such as on diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger rail equipment. This paper describes the results of the third blunt impact test of retired F-40 locomotive fuel tanks. The test setup was designed for the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado, to impart blunt impacts to the bottom of each fuel tank specimen. The specimens tested to date are from FRA-owned retired F-40 passenger locomotives. The objective of this research program is to establish the baseline puncture resistance of current passenger locomotive fuel tanks under dynamic impact conditions and to develop performance requirements to ensure an appropriate level of puncture resistance in alternative fuel tank designs, such as DMU fuel tanks. U1 - 2015 Joint Rail ConferenceSan Jose,California,United States StartDate:20150323 EndDate:20150326 KW - Alternate fuels KW - Crashworthiness KW - Deformation KW - Diesel multiple unit cars KW - Dynamic loads KW - Fuel tanks KW - Impact tests KW - Locomotives KW - Passenger trains KW - Puncture resistance KW - Railroad safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54900/54927/Conv_Fuel_Tank_Blunt_Impact_Test_Results_v3-FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355785 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01565345 AU - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Governors Highway Safety Association TI - Increasing Alcohol Ignition Interlock Use: Successful Practices for States PY - 2015 SP - 8p AB - Ignition interlocks reduce repeat offenses for driving while intoxicated (DWI) by about 70% while they are installed. All states have implemented ignition interlock programs to manage interlock issues and monitor offenders who are required or eligible to install them. Despite these laws and programs, only about one-fifth of those arrested for DWI have interlocks installed. This document outlines eight program keys that can be used to strengthen state Alcohol Ignition Interlock Programs. These program keys were identified through a collaborative evaluation that looked at characteristics of existing state interlock programs associated with increases in interlock use. Implementing just one of these program keys is likely to increase interlock use. Implementing multiple program keys is associated with even higher increases in interlock use. KW - Alcohol ignition interlock devices KW - Best practices KW - Drunk driving KW - Evaluation KW - States UR - http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pdf/impaired_driving/ignition-interlock_successful_practices_for_states-a.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1354996 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563517 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Intersection Proven Safety Countermeasure: Technical Summary: Backplates with Retroreflective Borders PY - 2015 SP - 16p AB - In 2012, the Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety issued a “Guidance Memorandum on Promoting the Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures”. This guidance took into consideration the latest safety research to advance a group of countermeasures proven highly effective at improving safety. The nine Proven Safety Countermeasures chosen for targeted implementation included Backplates with Retroreflective Borders, defined as “the addition of narrow strips of retroreflective tape or sheeting around the border of the backplates.” This combination of traffic signal backplates and retroreflective borders serves to improve and enhance the visibility and conspicuity of the traffic signal indications, ultimately leading to fewer red light running related incidents. As a means to further promote and advance Backplates with Retroreflective Borders, this Technical Summary and a companion Executive Summary have been prepared to assist transportation professionals with decisions pertaining to their implementation. This document provides a substantive overview of policy, procedural and construction issues. KW - Case studies KW - Countermeasures KW - Implementation KW - Intersections KW - Plates (Engineering) KW - Red light running KW - Reflectorized materials KW - Retroreflectors KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic signals UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/blackplates/blackplate_tech/sa15007.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1353220 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563452 AU - Hoback, W Wyatt AU - Conley, Adrienne AU - University of Nebraska, Kearney AU - Nebraska Department of Roads AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Overwintering Biology and Tests of Trap and Relocate As a Conservation Measure for Burying Beetles PY - 2015///Final Report SP - 81p AB - Burying beetles are carrion beetles and utilize dead animal carcasses for feeding and reproductive efforts. They assist with decomposition, prevent the spread of disease, and reduce the number of pest species. The largest species of carrion beetle, the American burying beetle, is a federally endangered insect and its distribution has been reduced by 90%. The conservation of this species is important in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Overwintering biology and trap and relocation were studied to determine how this beetle survives freezing temperatures and to find whether trap and relocation could be a suitable conservation management measure. Trap and relocation is a technique often used to relocate organisms from an area where human and animal habitats overlap. In this study, the authors test the efficacy of a trap-relocate technique with a surrogate species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus marginatus, to determine the implications of this technique on the conservation management of the federally endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus. Baited pitfall traps were used for capture, and the comparison of percent recaptures at different trap sites (control, source, and destination) was used to determine the effects of relocating beetles. The results showed that percent recaptures were lower for the beetles relocated to the new location; however, there was no statistical difference between trap sites. Trap and relocation, in circumstances where there is substantial threat to the American burying beetle’s habitat, should be considered for conserving this species. Insects are poikilotherms and have evolved strategies to survive freezing temperatures through changes in behavior and physiology. Overwintering insects either utilize a freeze tolerant or freeze avoidant strategy. Freeze avoidant insects cannot withstand their cellular fluids freezing solid, while freeze tolerant insects can survive this. Burying beetles from their northern range in Nebraska were put in a simulated, natural environment to determine whether they are freeze avoidant or freeze tolerant. The results showed that there was a strong relationship between beetle depth and temperature. Beetles from the northern range buried at or below the frost line to survive freezing temperatures. This could have further implications in the conservation of the American burying beetle if there are differences between the overwintering behavior of northern and southern range beetles. KW - Conservation KW - Construction KW - Endangered species KW - Ground freezing KW - Insects KW - Low temperature KW - Nebraska KW - Weather conditions KW - Winter UR - http://www.transportation.nebraska.gov/mat-n-tests/research/Enviro/FinalReportM330.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352902 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563438 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Intersection Proven Safety Countermeasure: Technical Summary: Corridor Access Management PY - 2015 SP - 28p AB - In 2012, the Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety issued a “Guidance Memorandum on Promoting the Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures”. This guidance took into consideration the latest safety research to advance a group of countermeasures proven highly effective at improving safety. The nine Proven Safety Countermeasures chosen for targeted implementation included Corridor Access Management, defined as “a set of techniques that State and local governments use to control access to highways, major arterials, and other roadways.” This included all types of access, ranging from high volume, suburban signalized intersections to simple, unpaved rural driveways, along all classes of roads and highways open to public travel. As a means to further promote and advance Corridor Access Management, this Technical Summary and a companion Executive Summary have been prepared to assist transportation professionals with decisions pertaining to Corridor Access Management, including planning, permitting, design, selection, and implementation. This document provides a substantive overview of important access-related issues: safety performance (i.e. crashes), effects on pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and community and business economic impacts. KW - Access control (Transportation) KW - Countermeasures KW - Driveways KW - Economic impacts KW - Highway corridors KW - Highway design KW - Highway facilities for nonmotorized users KW - Highway safety KW - Intersections UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/am/cam_tech/sa15005.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1353219 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01562663 AU - Cai, C S AU - Kong, Xuan AU - Xiong, Wen AU - Hou, Shuang AU - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge AU - Louisiana Transportation Research Center AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Monitoring Bridge Scour Using Fiber Optic Sensors PY - 2015///Final Report SP - 162p AB - The scouring process excavates and carries away materials from the bed and banks of streams, and from around the piers and abutments of bridges. Scour undermines bridges and may cause bridge failures due to structural instability. In the last 30 years, more than 1,000 bridges collapsed in the U.S. and about 60% of the failures are related to the scour of bridge foundations. Due to the difficulty in inspecting bridge scour, scour-induced failures tend to occur suddenly without prior warning or signs of distress to the structures. Owing to the threat of hurricane-induced flooding and the fact that there are a significant number of coastal and river/bayou bridges in Louisiana, a more reliable inspection and monitoring procedure for bridge scour is needed. This proposed study is to develop bridge scour monitoring techniques using fiber optic sensors. Based on theoretical and numerical studies, a few mechanisms were proposed for foundation scour monitoring and verified in laboratory tests. In order to apply those mechanisms to field bridges, three instrumentations were designed and tested, and one design was selected for field applications. According to the selected design, two 18-ft long piles with Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors were then fabricated, transported, and installed beside the foundation of the field bridge. Finally, the long-term monitoring was conducted to evaluate the foundation scour condition. KW - Bridge foundations KW - Fiber optics KW - Instrumentation KW - Laboratory tests KW - Louisiana KW - Scour KW - Sensors KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2015/FR_535.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352152 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01561009 AU - Mishalani, Rabi G AU - Goel, Prem AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Impact of Public Transit Market Share and Other Transportation Variables on GHG Emissions: Developing Statistical Models for Aggregate Predictions PY - 2015///Final Report SP - 8p AB - This study develops a statistical model that provides an important step towards quantifying the possible benefits that could be derived from potential reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, only carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are examined since these emissions constitute 93.4% of the GHG produced in the transportation sector (Energy Information Administration, 2008). In addition, the CO₂ emissions focused on are those resulting from passenger travel and the roles of travelers’ choices within the confines of available infrastructure and existing urban form. The contributions of this study are twofold. First, an aggregate model of urban passenger travel related CO₂ emissions in U.S. urbanized areas that includes a rich set of explanatory variables is developed. Second, in doing so, the roles of policies aimed at improving the environment or enhancing the attitudes of travelers towards making environmentally favorable choices is captured through the use of a proxy variable. KW - Carbon dioxide KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Market share KW - Mode choice KW - Passenger transportation KW - Policy KW - Pollutants KW - Public transit KW - Statistical analysis KW - Urban travel UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final_Report_0630Y03.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349704 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560974 AU - Bracci, Joseph M AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance of Lap Splices in Large-Scale Column Specimens Affected by ASR and/or DEF. Extension Phase PY - 2015 SP - 105p AB - Chapters include: Introduction, Specimen details, Exposure of large-scale specimens, Experimental testing program, and Summary, conclusions, and recommendations. KW - Alkali silica reactions KW - Columns KW - Deterioration KW - Lap splices KW - Recommendations KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5722-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348919 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560969 AU - Bayrak, Oguzhan AU - Williams, Chris AU - Moore, Andrew AU - Al-Tarafany, Dhiaa AU - Massey, Josh AU - Felan, James AU - Nguyen, Trang AU - Schmidt, Katie AU - Wald, David AU - Jirsa, James AU - Ghannoum, Wassim AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Spliced Texas Girder Bridges PY - 2015///Project Summary SP - 2p AB - Spliced girder technology continues to attract attention due to its versatility over traditional prestressed concrete highway bridge construction. By joining multiple precast concrete girders using post-tensioning, spliced girder technology effectively extends the application of low-cost precast construction to uncharacteristic span lengths. Although various connection methods have been devised over the years, the cast-in-place (CIP) splice region has emerged as the preferred connection between precast I-girder segments. Relatively limited data are available in the literature, however, for large-scale shear tests of post-tensioned I-girders, and only a few studies have examined the behavior of the CIP splice regions of spliced girder bridges. The goal of this project was to develop a better understanding of spliced girder behavior. To accomplish this task, the project was divided into two phases. The Phase I research was aimed at evaluating the effect of post-tensioning ducts contained in the thin webs of spliced I-girders. Phase II examined the behavior of the CIP splice regions of spliced I-girders. KW - Bridge design KW - Cast in place concrete KW - Ducts KW - Girder bridges KW - Posttensioning KW - Precast concrete KW - Shear tests KW - Structural connection KW - Texas UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/psr/0-6652-s.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348921 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560959 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Platform Technology for Automated Vehicle Research - Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control PY - 2015 SP - 2p AB - The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations Research and Development, located at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), added five new research vehicles to FHWA’s Innovation Research Vehicle Fleet. This fleet offers an experimental connected automation research platform that provides advanced capabilities for future operational concepts and supports their evaluation. In addition, the fleet’s research platform enables full automatic control of longitudinal movements (such as acceleration and braking) with the flexibility to support lateral control (such as steering controls) for future autonomous vehicle research. Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) is the first operational implementation developed and tested on the new research platform. The CACC implementation will provide the ability to test the open architecture of the vehicle fleet technology platform and assess the ability of researchers to use the vehicle fleet to support the study of operational concepts and connected automation applications. KW - Automation KW - Autonomous intelligent cruise control KW - Implementation KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Research KW - Technological innovations KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - Vehicle fleets UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/15032/15032.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1350640 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560944 AU - Zhang, Kuilin AU - Saat, M Rapik AU - Ouyang, Yanfeng AU - Barkan, Christopher P L AU - Michigan Technological University AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Impact of High-Speed Passenger Trains on Freight Train Efficiency in Shared Railway Corridors PY - 2015///Final Report SP - 47p AB - This project is to understand the complex interactions between high-speed passenger trains and freight trains on shared railway corridors. The objective of this project is to develop a decision support modeling framework that can help evaluate the impact of high-speed trains on railroad freight corridor capacity and draw technical and policy insights that will address key issues of the proposed U.S. high-speed rail (HSR) plan. This decision support modeling framework includes three types of approaches: (1) analytical approach, (2) simulation approach, and (3) hybrid analytical-simulation approach. The authors conduct numerical analysis using the simulation and hybrid approaches to demonstrate the proposed decision support modeling framework for real-world applications. KW - Decision support systems KW - Freight trains KW - High speed rail KW - Numerical analysis KW - Passenger trains KW - Simulation KW - Transportation corridors KW - United States UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final%20Report%20100IY04.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348925 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560942 AU - Scullion, Tom AU - Wilson, Bryan T AU - Walubita, Lubinda AU - Sebesta, Stephen AU - Faruk, Abu AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Design and Construction Issues of Thin HMA Overlays PY - 2015///Project Summary SP - 2p AB - Thin hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlays, placed between 1.25 to 0.5 inches, have quickly become a go-to maintenance treatment in Texas. While implementation around the state is proving successful, a few issues needed to be addressed: (1) The unavailability of surface aggregate class (SAC) A aggregate is pressuring districts to blend in lower-quality SAC B materials. The question: How much and which types of SAC B aggregate should be allowed in blending to still have acceptable skid resistance? (2) Because these mixes are so thin, they are subject to higher stresses than traditional overlays, especially if the bond is poor. The question: How do we test bond strength, and what are the best materials and methods to achieve a good bond? and (3) Achieving adequate compaction is a critical step to ensure long-term overlay performance. Measuring density on thin overlays, however, is not possible with traditional methods. The question: What test methods will best monitor thin lift density? KW - Aggregates KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Compaction KW - Density KW - Evaluation KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Overlays (Pavements) KW - Skid resistance KW - Test procedures KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6742-S.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348917 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560938 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - LTPP 2014 and Beyond: What is Needed and What Can Be Done? PY - 2015 SP - 16p AB - The Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Program was formally established by the U.S. Congress in the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, as part of the first Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). While most of the SHRP initiatives ended after the first five-year SHRP effort, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was formally authorized by Congress in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 to continue management of the LTPP Program to complete the mission of performance observations over full pavement construction (new or rehabilitation) cycles. In 1992, FHWA assumed management and administrative responsibilities to continue the LTPP Program and complete the planned pavement performance monitoring in partnership with the State transportation agencies that own the LTPP test sections, the Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The program’s goal is to understand how and why pavements perform as they do. As highway agencies transition to a performance-based approach to managing highway investments, this goal is more important than ever. This document discusses the LTPP Program as it exists today, the program’s contributions to date, and a vision for its future. KW - Data analysis KW - Long range planning KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Pavement performance KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/15017/15017.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1351071 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560871 AU - Resource Systems Group Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Multiday GPS Travel Behavior Data for Travel Analysis PY - 2015 SP - 213p AB - The two main objectives of this project are: 1) to provide new examples of the type of valuable research that can be done using multiday global positioning system (GPS) travel survey data; and 2) to demonstrate that such research can be conducted in the Transportation Secure Data Center (TSDC) research environment. Each chapter describes a research project that was funded and carried out as part of this project. The four research topics were originally specified by RSG, with input from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and then further refined by the authors during the course of their research. The projects are: “The Effect of Day-to-Day Travel Time Variability on Auto Travel Choices,” “Multiday Variation in Time Use and Destination Choice in the Bay Area Using the California Household Travel Survey,” “Capturing Personal Modality Styles Using Multiday GPS Data—Findings from the San Francisco Bay Area,” and “An Empirical Study of the Deviation between Actual and Shortest-Travel-Time Paths.” KW - Data analysis KW - Global Positioning System KW - Research projects KW - Transportation Secure Data Center KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel surveys KW - Travel time UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/publications/other_reports/multiday_gps/fhwahep15026.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349608 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560679 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assistive Technologies for Visually Impaired Persons: Developing Situational Awareness and Guidance Solutions for People with Vision Impairment and Other Disabilities PY - 2015 SP - 2p AB - There are approximately 2 million adults with reported vision loss in the United States. Independent travel and active interactions with the surrounding environment present significant daily challenges for these individuals, ultimately reducing quality of life and compromising safety. To begin to address these challenges, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program funded three research projects to examine new technology solutions for wayfinding and navigation guidance for people with vision impairment and other disabilities. This fact sheet briefly summarizes these three projects, which are entitled “Intelligent Situation Awareness and Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired Persons,” “Navigation Guidance for People with Vision Impairment,” and “Extended Event Horizon Navigation and Wayfinding for Blind and Visually Impaired Pedestrians in Unstructured Environments.” KW - Alertness KW - Assistive technology KW - Exploratory Advanced Research Program KW - Navigational aids (Visually impaired) KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - Visually impaired persons KW - Wayfinding UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/15040/15040.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1350408 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560605 AU - Hueste, Mary Beth D AU - Mander, John AU - Terzioglu, Tevfik AU - Jiang, Dongqi AU - Petersen-Gauthier, Joel AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Spread Prestressed Concrete Slab Beam Bridges PY - 2015///Technical Report SP - 406p AB - TxDOT uses prestressed slab beam bridges for short-span bridges ranging from approximately 30–50 ft in length. These bridges have precast, pretensioned slab beams placed immediately adjacent to one another with a cast-in-place slab made composite with the beams. While these bridges are used extensively, they are more expensive than traditional prestressed I-beam structures on a per-square-foot basis. The objective of this project was to investigate the use of slab beams that are spread apart with precast panel stay-in-place forms between beams and a cast-in-place concrete deck, and to develop appropriate design guidelines for this alternate spread slab beam bridge system. The project objectives were met through a series of tasks. The research team reviewed the relevant literature and the current state of the practice. Preliminary designs were developed to assess the potential of a spread slab beam bridge system. A full-scale spread slab beam bridge was constructed at the Texas A&M University Riverside Campus and tested to assess constructability, in-service performance, and behavior. Field testing was conducted for the Riverside Bridge and a US 69 on-system bridge to evaluate load distribution behavior and to provide data to guide analytical modeling of this bridge system. Additional analytical models were developed to investigate an array of possible bridge geometries and load sharing behavior. Based on these models, recommendations were developed for load distribution factor relationships for the design of spread slab beam bridges. KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge design KW - Cast in place concrete KW - Guidelines KW - Precast concrete KW - Prestressed concrete bridges KW - Short span slab bridges KW - Stay-in-place forms KW - Texas KW - Texas Department of Transportation UR - http://www.tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6722-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1350341 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558333 AU - Jones, Robert AU - Tarawneh, Constantine AU - University of Texas-Pan American AU - University Transportation Center for Railway Safety AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Effects of Vapor Grown Carbon Nanofibers on Electrical and Mechanical Properties of a Thermoplastic Elastomer PY - 2015///11/2013-12/2014 SP - 3p AB - This research developed a formulation of conductive additives for use in thermoplastic elastomers currently in use in railcar steering pads. Plain elastomers are insulators and prevent transmission of current from rail to frame to signal door or gate opening devices. In addition, the thermal insulating properties of these materials slow heat flow from bearings through the bearing adapter into the side-frame where it can be dissipated. Traditional conductive additives such as carbon black must be applied at high volume fraction and result in substantial increases in pad stiffness and degradation of pad durability. Carbon nano-fibers are extremely efficient conductive additives and can produce the desired conductivity at much lower concentrations and with less impact on mechanical performance. KW - Elastomers KW - Electrical properties KW - Mechanical properties KW - Nanostructured materials KW - Railroad transportation KW - Steering components KW - Thermoplastic materials UR - http://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/_files/documents/research/mechanical/conductive-railroad-bearing-suspesion-element.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347328 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558328 AU - Foltz, Heinrich AU - Tarawneh, Constantine AU - University of Texas-Pan American AU - University Transportation Center for Railway Safety AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Applications of Magnetostrictive Materials for Real-Time Monitoring of Vehicle Suspension Components PY - 2015 SP - 3p AB - The purpose of this project is to investigate applications of magnetostrictive materials for real-time monitoring of railroad suspension components, in particular bearings. Monitoring of such components typically requires measurement of temperature, static load, and vibration, among other parameters. In addition, real-time, long-term monitoring can be greatly facilitated through the use of wireless, self-powered sensors. Magnetostrictive materials, such as Terfenol-D, have the potential to address both requirements. In this project, Terfenol-D will be characterized in three applications: (a) as a static load sensor, (b) as a vibration sensor, and (c) as an energy harvesting device. Currently, piezoelectrics are used for many vibration and energy harvesting applications; however, they are fragile and are difficult to use for static load measurements. Magnetostrictive metals are tougher, and their property of variable permeability when stressed can be exploited to measure static loads. Deliverables for this project include: (a) characterization of Terfenol-D materials over a range of loads and frequencies appropriate for railroad bearing applications, (b) demonstration and performance measurements of Terfenol-D energy harvesting, (c) demonstration and performance measurements of a Terfenol-D load sensor, (d) demonstration and performance measurements of a Terfenol-D vibration sensor, and (e) support electronics allowing integration into a data collection system. In addition, the possibility of using a single Terfenol-D core to perform all three functions was explored, and the viability under conditions typically encountered in a railroad bearing adapter were tested. KW - Bearings KW - Electric power generation KW - Magnetostrictive sensors KW - Performance measurement KW - Railroad transportation KW - Sensors KW - Static loads KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Vibration UR - http://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/_files/documents/research/mechanical/applications-of-magnetostrictive-materials.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347330 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558324 AU - Crown, Stephen AU - Tarawneh, Constantine AU - Jones, Robert AU - University of Texas-Pan American AU - University Transportation Center for Railway Safety AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Single Bearing Test Rig with Vertical, Lateral, and Impact Load Capabilities PY - 2015///11/2013-12/2014 SP - 6p AB - Testing of tapered-roller bearings for railroad cars is an area of active research at The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). Current efforts are aimed at bearing health monitoring utilizing emerging temperature and vibration sensor technologies. UTPA currently possesses two four-bearing test rigs that are used to perform laboratory experiments required to support the ongoing development of rolling stock condition monitoring research projects. These two testers only provide static vertical loading that can simulate railcar cargo loads. A thorough literature review revealed that there are no testers with vertical, lateral, and impact loading capabilities in a dynamic single railroad bearing configuration. The need for a single bearing test rig has been motivated by the desire to create a testing environment that more closely simulates the conditions experienced by railroad bearings in field service. To this end, a design has been proposed for a single railroad bearing tester that incorporates up to 5000 lbf of lateral loading as well as a variable frequency (0-4 Hz) impact loading in addition to the applied static vertical loading (up to 60,000 lbf). The fabricated tester will be used to compile a library of bearing defects with the purpose of characterizing bearings based on the acquired temperature and vibration signatures under normal and abnormal operating conditions. The data can then be used to identify defective bearings at an early stage so that appropriate preventative measures can be taken to avoid potential catastrophic derailments. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Railroad cars KW - Roller bearings KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Test procedures KW - Testing equipment KW - Vibration UR - http://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/_files/documents/research/mechanical/single-bearing-tester-rig.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347331 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558318 AU - Timmer, Doug AU - Jones, Robert AU - Tarawneh, Constantine AU - University of Texas-Pan American AU - University Transportation Center for Railway Safety AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Modeling the Residual Useful Life of Bearing Grease PY - 2015 SP - 2p AB - This research developed an analytical model to predict the residual useful life of bearing grease. Modeling techniques that were employed include mechanistic or first principle models based upon process kinetics and empirical models including physics-based reliability models, non-linear regression, and neural networks. The analytical model provides users the ability to predict residual life base upon operational characteristics. KW - Bearings KW - Grease KW - Linear regression analysis KW - Neural networks KW - Railroad transportation KW - Reliability KW - Service life UR - http://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/_files/documents/research/mechanical/life-of-bearing-grease.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347329 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558310 AU - Fuentes, Arturo A AU - Tarawneh, Constantine AU - University of Texas-Pan American AU - University Transportation Center for Railway Safety AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Structural Integrity of Railroad Bearing Adapters with Modifications for Onboard Monitoring Applications PY - 2015 SP - 5p AB - The primary purpose of this project is to study the structural integrity of railroad bearing adapters modified for onboard monitoring applications. The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) Railroad Research Group funded by a private railroad industry (Amsted Rail) is attempting to provide one of the first economical, reliable sensors for keeping track of both dynamic and static loads on a railcar. The sensor is embedded in a bearing adapter under a thermoplastic elastomer suspension element patented as the AdapterPlus™ Pad. Bearing adapter modifications (e.g. cut-outs) were necessary to house the sensor and, thus, it is imperative to determine the structural integrity of the modified railroad bearing adapter to ensure the safe operation of the modified adapter in field service operating conditions. To that end, work performed under the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety aimed at developing Computer-aided design (CAD) models of the railroad bearing adapters with the suggested modifications, and constructing finite element (FE) models using the ALGOR commercial software. The devised finite element models were used to conduct finite element analyses using some of the expected operational boundary conditions and loads. The FE models were validated with some physical experiments that were carried out in a laboratory setting. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bearings KW - Computer aided design KW - Elastomers KW - Finite element method KW - Railroad transportation KW - Sensors KW - Structural analysis KW - Suspension system components KW - Thermoplastic materials UR - http://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/_files/documents/research/mechanical/modified-railroad-bearing-adapter-for-onboard-monitoring.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347327 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556484 AU - Ukkusuri, Satish V AU - Ouyang, Yanfeng AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Decision Support Tool to Locate Shelters in Emergency Logistics PY - 2015///Final Report SP - 72p AB - The objective of this research is to develop a systematic methodology to locate shelters considering both transportation and social factors in the aftermath of disasters. When anticipated demands for hurricane evacuation shelter spaces exceed existing capacity as defined by the preceding standards, there is a need to utilize less preferred facilities. It is critical that shelter selection decisions be made carefully considering both accessibility and facility conditions, and in consultation with local emergency management and public safety officials. While Red Cross and other relief agencies propose strategies to locate shelters, they currently do not consider how evacuees choose facilities based on accessibility to shelters and the in-facility congestion. This was evident in recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and Rita where some of the smaller shelters turned out to be inaccessible or unsafe for evacuees to use. This report provides a mathematical model to consider traveler routing and in facility delays in the location of facilities; considers the use of social cost functions to optimize the location of facilities in a network; and provides conclusions and directions for future research. KW - Accessibility KW - Decision support systems KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - Evacuation KW - Externalities KW - Location KW - Mathematical models KW - Optimization KW - Routes and routing KW - Shelters UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/074PIY04%20a%20decision%20support%20tool.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344782 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01555802 AU - Department of Transportation TI - U.S. Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Highlights PY - 2015 SP - 62p AB - The FY 2016 President’s Budget request includes $478 billion for a 6-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal to improve safety, support critical infrastructure projects, and create jobs while improving America’s roads, bridges, transit systems, and railways. This builds on the Administration’s 4-year proposal, the Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America—or the GROW AMERICA Act—which was submitted to Congress last year and will be resubmitted within the coming weeks, reflecting a 6-year duration. The GROW AMERICA Act will provide States, tribal and local governments, and transit agencies with the certainty needed to effectively plan and start construction on projects that will support millions of jobs over the next several years. In recent years, numerous short-term spending “patches” have increased uncertainty for Federal surface transportation programs. Since SAFETEA-LU expired at the end of September 2009, there have been 19 continuing resolutions over the last 5 years and 11 extensions of surface authorization bills. Most importantly, the GROW AMERICA Act will put into place a program structure and funding stream focused on the transportation needs of the future. Through both funding increases and critical policy enhancements, the GROW AMERICA Act advances Secretary Foxx’s key priorities: protecting the safety of the traveling public, closing the Nation’s infrastructure deficit, and modernizing the U.S. transportation system through technology and process innovation. Individual sections of this report provide budget highlights for the following administrations: Federal Transit Administration; Federal Highway Administration; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Federal Railroad Administration; Federal Aviation Administration; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; Maritime Administration; Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; Office of the Secretary; Office of the Inspector General; and Surface Transportation Board. Final sections of the report present budgetary resources, budget authority, outlays, and full time equivalent employment. KW - Appropriations KW - Budgeting KW - Employment KW - Financing KW - Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America Act (GROW AMERICA Act) KW - Transportation reauthorization legislation KW - U.S. Department of Transportation UR - http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/FY16-BudgetHighlights.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343059 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554419 AU - Buttlar, William G AU - Paulino, Glaucio H AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integration of Pavement Cracking Prediction Model with Asset Management and Vehicle-Infrastructure Interaction Models PY - 2015 SP - 55p AB - The main objective of this study is to develop an integrated framework that allows for linking of pavement simulation software with actual pavement cracking, distress and roughness, and to develop a framework that links the pavement roughness and distress information with vehicle maintenance and driver comfort. The objectives of this study are to: (1) predict pavement distress such as low temperature cracking, (2) estimate different types of user costs incurred by pavement roughness resulting from distresses, (3) compare agency investments for different maintenance and rehabilitation strategies and associated roughness-related user costs, (4) analyze environmental impacts of construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation (CMR) activities used in pavement engineering, (5) estimate and compare agency costs, user costs due to roughness, and emission costs due to CMR activities, and (6) estimate emission costs associated with pavement roughness. By considering the cost associated with the environmental impact of CMR activities, a more realistic estimate of the return on investment (ROI) associated with maintaining relatively smooth pavement throughout its service life was assessed. KW - Asset management KW - Costs KW - Environmental impacts KW - Pavement cracking KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Pollutants KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Roughness KW - Software KW - Vehicle maintenance UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Integration%20of%20Pavement%20Cracking%20Prediction%20Model%20with%20Asset%20Management%20and%20Vehicle-Infrastructure%20Interaction%20Models.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343897 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554411 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Beyond Traffic: Trends and Choices 2045 PY - 2015///Draft Report SP - 322p AB - This document has been developed over the course of a year. U.S. Department of Transportation assembled a team of internal and external experts to conduct a comprehensive examination of the nation’s transportation system. This team shared key findings and solicited feedback in six public webinar sessions that drew 1,300 participants. This document is a draft. The objective in publishing this draft is to widen the scope of public feedback and discourse. This report is structured in three parts. The first part discusses the major trends shaping the changing U.S. transportation system. These include both trends originating from the transportation sector, such as improvements in freight logistics, and external trends impacting the transportation sector, such as population growth and climate change. The second part discusses the implications of these trends for each mode of transportation: highways, transit, pedestrian and bicycle, aviation, intercity and freight rail, maritime and pipeline. The third part presents a description of a baseline future scenario—a future that may emerge from the trends analyzed previously. It concludes with a discussion of policy options based on the implications of these trends. KW - Climate change KW - Forecasting KW - Policy KW - Population growth KW - Transportation KW - Transportation modes KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Draft_Beyond_Traffic_Framework.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54600/54692/Draft_Beyond_Traffic_Framework_2045.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342592 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554376 AU - Juenger, Maria AU - Seraj, Saamiya AU - Cano, Rachel AU - Liu, Shukui AU - Whitney, David AU - Fowler, David AU - Ferron, Raissa AU - Zhu, Jinying AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Investigation of Alternative Supplementary Cementing Materials (SCMs) PY - 2015///Project Summary SP - 2p AB - In Texas, Class F fly ash is extensively used as a supplementary cementing material (SCM) because of its ability to control thermal cracking in mass concrete and to mitigate deleterious expansions in concrete from alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and sulfate attack. However, uncertainty in the supply of Class F fly ash due to impending environmental restrictions has made it imperative to find and test alternate sources of SCMs that can provide similar strength and durability benefits to concrete. This research characterized and evaluated the performance of eight natural pozzolans, available in Texas, to assess their potential as a Class F fly ash replacement in concrete. KW - Admixtures KW - Alkali silica reactions KW - Cement KW - Durability KW - Evaluation KW - Fly ash KW - Mix design KW - Pozzolan KW - Texas UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/psr/0-6717-s.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342602 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576172 AU - Rao, Chetana AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Rao Research and Consulting, LLC TI - Guidelines for PCC Inputs to AASHTOWare Pavement ME PY - 2014/12/31/Final Report SP - 139p AB - The objective of this research study was to develop guidelines for portland cement concrete (PCC) material inputs to the AASHTOWare Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) Design program. The AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design is the software program used by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to develop pavement design alternatives based on the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) procedure originally developed under National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Projects 1-37A, 1-40D, and 20-07/Task 288 & 327. MDOT has conducted several research projects to support the implementation of the MEPDG and for increasing the accuracy of the distress prediction models calibrated for local conditions and material sources. The current project focuses on PCC material inputs that represent the mix designs, cementitious materials, and the aggregate sources that will be used in future paving projects. This report provides a summary of laboratory test results of 20 mix designs that include five different aggregate sources and four different options for supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) for partial cement replacement. The laboratory test results represent level 1 and 2 PCC material inputs and report the flexural strength, compressive strength, elastic modulus, poisson’s ratio, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and percent length change measurements. Strength and modulus data, are reported for 7, 14, 28, and 90 days as required by the MEPDG. The CTE measurements are reported at 28-days, while the shrinkage length change measurements are reported for ages of 7, 11,14, 21, 35, 63, 119, and 231 days. Level 2 correlation equations were developed based on compressive strength and other index properties to estimate flexural strength and elastic modulus. In general, these models demonstrate a slight deviation from the default level 2 models used in the global calibration of the MEPDG. Level 2 equations were also developed for each aggregate type and it is recommended that future efforts by MDOT for the recalibration of the rigid pavement distress prediction models should examine the sensitivity of these level 2 correlation equations and provide recommendations in the MDOT Design Manual. KW - Aggregates KW - Calibration KW - Guidelines KW - Laboratory tests KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Mississippi Department of Transportation KW - Mix design KW - Pavement distress KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Software UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20260%20-%20Guidelines%20for%20PCC%20Inputs%20to%20AASHTOWare%20Pavement%20ME.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369977 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560917 AU - Welch, Wilfred M AU - Aguilar, Alex M AU - Thompson Engineering AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Turbidity Monitoring Equipment and Methodology Evaluation at MDOT Construction Sites PY - 2014/12/31/Final Report SP - 88p AB - State Study 261 is a continuation of State study 225, "Turbidity Monitoring at Select MDOT Construction Sites", which was successful in establishing baseline stream data at several active construction sites. State Study 261 focused on the equipment and methodology of monitoring turbidity upstream and downstream of representative project outfall locations. This equipment evaluation included collecting receiving stream turbidity measurements, evaluating equipment performance in the field, and determining which solutions are more cost-effective, accurate, reliable, and defensible when it comes to monitoring changes in turbidity between the upstream (background) and the downstream locations at representative project discharge locations. Using current Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Water Quality Standard (WQS), sampling points at four monitoring sites were situated upstream and 750 feet downstream from the discharge point. Sampling these locations was determined the most effective way to assess how Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) construction practices are performing in relationship to the current MDEQ WQS. KW - Construction projects KW - Environmental quality KW - Equipment KW - Evaluation KW - Methodology KW - Mississippi Department of Transportation KW - Turbidity KW - Water quality UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20261%20-%20Turbidity%20Monitoring%20Equipment%20and%20Methodology%20Evaluation%20at%20MDOT%20Construction%20Sites.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349707 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01559872 AU - Biernbaum, Lee AU - Price, Megan AU - Wishart, Jacob AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Technical Summary of Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity PY - 2014/12/31/Final Report SP - 18p AB - This is a technical summary of the "Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity" main report. Airborne loss of separation incidents occur when an aircraft breaches the defined separation limit (vertical and/or horizontal) with another aircraft or terrain imposed by Air Traffic Control. Identifying conditions that lead to more severe loss of separation incidents can lead to policy implications and future areas of research. Previous research focused on qualitative approaches to analyzing such events, and tended to examine only the frequency of events. This report puts the severity of a loss of separation incident front and center and uses econometric techniques to examine the relationship between severity and conditional factors during the incident. The report utilizes report data from the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP), with a concentration on terminal airspace incidents. A number of other FAA data sources were merged to provide a robust set of information at the time of event in terms of facility, weather, and other operational characteristics. The primary focus of this research was on the use of discrete choice, multinomial logit models to better understand the relationship between these different sets of factors at the time of the event and the severity outcome. KW - Air Traffic Safety Action Program KW - Aircraft separation KW - Airport terminals KW - Airspace incidents KW - Aviation safety KW - Incident severity KW - Multinomial logits UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54487/Airborne_Incidents_-_TECHNICAL_SUMMARY.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344654 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558243 AU - Jin, Xia AU - Zhang, Zhaohan AU - Rojas, Mario AU - Florida International University AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - A synthesis of the “State-of-the-Practice for Advancing Planning and Operations Integration Opportunities within Transportation Agencies” PY - 2014/12/31/Final Report SP - 105p AB - Linking Planning and Operations is vital to improving transportation decision-making and overall efficiency of transportation systems management. This synthesis summarizes current state of knowledge and practices in Planning and Operations Integration, and identifies key elements in Linking Planning and Operations, as well as potential knowledge gaps, limitations, and challenges of existing practices and approaches. This project also serves as the foundation for the Linking Planning and Operations Initiative. Section I of this report provides background information and an overview of national guidelines and major milestones in this area, followed by a summary of current practices. Section II describes the three key components in the efforts of linking planning and operations, and provides timelines of concept development evolution. Section III provides a comprehensive scan of nationwide case studies, in terms of the linkage opportunities, approaches, and challenges. Section IV presents the findings and recommendations for consideration by the Florida Department of Transportation, and also serves as a roadmap for the next phases. KW - Case studies KW - Florida KW - Management KW - Recommendations KW - State departments of transportation KW - State of the practice KW - Transportation operations KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fdot.gov/research/Completed_Proj/Summary_PL/FDOT-BDV29-977-16-rpt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347222 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554453 AU - Murillo-Hoyos, Jackeline AU - Ahmed, Anwaar AU - Labi, Samuel AU - Purdue University AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Using Regional Freight Traffic Assignment Modeling to Quantify the Variability of Pavement Damage for Highway Cost Allocation and Revenue Analysis PY - 2014/12/31/Final Report SP - 83p AB - While indicative of a vibrant economy, large volumes of freight traffic have been associated with accelerated wear of pavements particularly. In seeking to adopt operational policies that reduce undue deterioration of their infrastructure, state highway agencies in the United States strive to quantify the damage caused by vehicle loads so that it is possible to update loading polices and to implement fee structures that are commensurate with the pavement damage. An Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)-commissioned research study, SPR 3502, provided a methodology to estimate the pavement damage costs. That study reported these costs on the basis of systemwide average levels of traffic loading. In reality, however, traffic loading and climatic severity at specific road segments can differ significantly from what their systemwide averages suggest. This Nextrans study therefore investigated the issue of pavement damage cost estimation from a purely disaggregate level in order to establish potentially more reliable estimates of pavement damage costs. It is envisaged that doing so would not only increase the efficiency and effectiveness but also would enhance equity in the highway cost allocation and revenue generation. To address the issue at a disaggregate level, the study first established more reliable projections of highway freight traffic volumes at each individual pavement segment on the highway network using the results from a freight assignment and volume prediction tool. Next, for each road segment the expected axle loadings on the basis of the projected traffic volumes, were calculated and the expected pavement damage costs were determined from the expected level of truck volume (and thus, estimated loading). Further, the study quantified the deviation, for each pavement segment, of the damage cost using disaggregate and aggregate approaches. KW - Axle loads KW - Cost allocation KW - Estimating KW - Forecasting KW - Freight traffic KW - Pavement distress KW - Traffic assignment KW - Traffic volume UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Using%20Regional%20Freight%20Traffic%20Assignment%20Modeling%20to%20Quantify%20the%20Variability%20of%20Pavement%20Damage%20for%20Highway%20Cost%20Allocation%20and%20Revenue%20Analysis.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343902 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576131 AU - Fehr, Walton AU - Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - Southeast Michigan Test Bed: 2014 Concept of Operations PY - 2014/12/29/Version 1.0 SP - 91p AB - The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Connected Vehicle Test Bed in Southeast Michigan was implemented in 2007 to serve as the test facility for the Proof of Concept (POC) testing by the USDOT and the auto industry, to determine the feasibility and technical limitations of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) operating at the 5.9 GHz bandwidth. Over the past few years, the Southeast Michigan Test Bed has gone through numerous enhancements, including geographical expansion and technical and architectural updates, designed to support the connected vehicle industry’s evolving needs for a test and development environment. The set of upgrades currently underway started as an update to the USDOT Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Joint Programs Office (JPO) Test Bed in Oakland County, MI and grew to include serving as a reference design for the demonstrations at ITS World Congress in September of 2014. These upgrades may extend to other connected vehicle research test and development environments in Michigan if they are successful. In the interim, these upgrades provide an enhanced platform that can be used to test several new capabilities that will be needed for more extensive deployment pilots in 2015 and 2016. This Concept of Operations describes the current state of test bed operations, establishes the reasons for change, and defines operations for the 2014 version of the test bed in terms of functions/features and supporting operations. KW - Data collection KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Intelligent vehicles KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Southeast Michigan KW - Test facilities UR - http://www.iteris.com/cvria/docs/SE_Michigan_Test_Bed_2014_ConOps_-_v1_-_2014-Dec_29.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367354 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01566737 TI - NDE/NDT for Highways and Bridges AB - The objective of this study is to improve the state-of-the-practice for infrastructure condition assessment through the application of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies. The study will investigate and develop standards and certification procedures to enable the widespread application of NDE by State highway agencies. The study will also examine the common needs of State highway agencies and identify critical condition assessment challenges. The study will promote interaction among highway agencies to share best practices, cross-train engineers and develop knowledge, and working groups will be formed to examine critical issues. KW - Best practices KW - Bridges KW - Condition surveys KW - Highways KW - Nondestructive tests KW - State departments of transportation KW - Training UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/310 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358393 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01567092 TI - Statewide Geospatial Transportation Development of the All Road Network of Linear Referenced Data (ARNOLD) AB - The purpose of this pooled fund project is to assist States in developing one of their significant capital assets - a State-wide geospatial representation of their public road system. To build a nationwide All Road Network of Linear Referenced Data (ARNOLD) this pooled fund study is open to a variety of approaches; however certain planning steps are required. The scope of work includes the following: (1) Strategic Planning Effort To Develop A "State-Wide All Public Roads Network" (Planning); (2) Developing A Pilot Project to Ensure the Successful Completion of A State-Wide All Public Roads Network via Planning Completed (Pilot); (3) Data Collection Activities Closely Related to Developing the All Public Network. (Optional); (4) Collection of the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) Fundamental Data Elements in a Format to be Linked to the ARNOLD Captured in Task 4 (Optional); and (5) Assisting States in meeting the FMIS 5.0 requirement of mapping projects to the ARNOLD (Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS)) network. (Optional) KW - Asset management KW - Capital investments KW - Data collection KW - Financing KW - Geospatial analysis KW - Highways KW - Linear referencing KW - Pilot studies KW - State departments of transportation KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/563 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358876 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01574047 AU - Qiu, Tong AU - Xiao, Ming AU - Wang, Chaoyi AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Evaluation of Hydraulic Plate Compactor PY - 2014/12/26/Final Report SP - 106p AB - This report presents the results of two parallel field investigations consisting of utility trench backfill compaction tests. The field investigation at State College, Pennsylvania was conducted to establish baseline measurements using a walk-behind vibratory roller compactor and a lift thickness of 8 inches. These baseline measurements were compared to measurements from a field investigation at Harrisburg, Pa. using a hydraulic plate compactor and varied lift thicknesses. The effects of hydraulic plate compactor use and lift thickness on the ability to consistently achieve a minimum specified standard Proctor density of trench backfill, compaction-induced downward earth pressure in the backfill zone, and compaction-induced longitudinal and hoop strains in typical pipes are discussed. A recommendation regarding the lift thickness for hydraulic plate compactors is provided. KW - Compactors KW - Evaluation KW - Field studies KW - Pennsylvania KW - Recommendations KW - Soil compaction test KW - Thickness KW - Trench backfill UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/PSU-2014-05.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366492 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560087 AU - Peckett, Haley AU - Lyons, William M AU - Daddio, David AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Transportation Planning for Megaregions PY - 2014/12/24 SP - 93p AB - Planning transportation across jurisdictions is a challenge faced in geographic areas throughout the U.S. Researchers identify megaregions as the sub-set of major regions, often multi-state, with the most significant transportation challenges, opportunities, and resultant needs based on forecasts of shifts in demographic and economic trends, freight flows, and passenger demand. These areas present major opportunities for transportation to contribute to national, regional, and local areas through improved global trade and competitiveness and economic development. This report explores innovative ways that metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are working with partners to begin to conduct planning to address the transportation issues of megaregions. The research includes a focus on how MPOs are working within their planning agency roles identified in Federal regulations to explore needs outside of their boundaries. This report explores the benefits that MPOs and their partners receive from participating in megaregions planning, as well as the institutional and technical challenges. The report provides insights on successful planning approaches for peer MPOs, their partners, and policymakers with an interest in advancing similar planning initiatives. KW - Benefits KW - Challenges (Impediments) KW - Freight transportation KW - Megaregions KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Multijurisdictional planning KW - Passenger transportation KW - Transportation planning KW - United States UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54600/54607/fhwahep15010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344665 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554158 AU - Gentry, Lance AU - Heartland Market Research LLC AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessing MoDOT’s Efforts to Provide the Right Transportation Solution PY - 2014/12/20/Final Report SP - 70p AB - The basic research design for the project was to sample opinions on a variety of projects spread across the state. A small, medium, and large project from each of the seven Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) districts was selected by a regional manager for the project for a total of 21 projects. The sample included 500 addresses per project area for a total of 10,500 Missouri addresses being mailed a copy of the survey. Each survey was focused on one of 21 individual projects, which was briefly described on the survey, and the majority of survey questions related to the recently completed project, such as determining if the completion of the project increased safety, convenience, and made it easier to drive. KW - Construction projects KW - Customer satisfaction KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Missouri Department of Transportation KW - Public opinion KW - Surveys UR - http://library.modot.mo.gov/RDT/reports/TR201234/cmr15-007.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343862 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551402 AU - Date, Kirby AU - Jenkins, Jacqueline AU - Kellogg, Wendy AU - Hexter, Kathryn AU - Post, Charles AU - Rhodes, Suzann AU - Cleveland State University AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - The Value of Balanced Growth for Transportation PY - 2014/12/20/Final Report SP - 236p AB - The Ohio Balanced Growth Program is a voluntary, locally-driven, incentive-driven program which aims to encourage compact, nodal development patterns. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) provided support for this research to evaluate potential links between Balanced Growth-type policy, land use and development patterns, and transportation benefits. A literature review was completed to understand the existing body of knowledge regarding the connection between policy, land use, and transportation. This included a scan of Balanced Growth-type programs across the U.S. Twenty-six U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) were selected and reviewed for general geographic and policy characteristics. Land use and transportation outcome data were examined via scatterplot and linear regression across all of the MSAs. The results were evaluated broadly in light of policy frameworks in effect in each MSA, by categorizing land use policy into “tiers” based on voluntary vs. mandatory provisions, and applicability to private and public investment. Finally, a policy review was completed to understand the potential benefits of policy change at the state, regional, and local agency levels. Significant relationships were found between land use patterns, measured in terms of a sprawl composite index, and transportation outcomes for freeway lane miles, hours of delay, vehicle miles traveled, emissions, and safety. MSAs with “Tier 3” policies (mandatory, rigorous policy affecting both public and private investment) clustered together on both axes (transportation outcomes and sprawl); and MSAs within states clustered together along the sprawl score axis. Otherwise, there was no apparent pattern in the location of policy tiers along either the transportation or land use axes. Possible alternative explanations that could be evaluated in the future include overall transportation investment levels; inter-state and inter-regional travel demand; size and shape of the MSA; and market, economic and social factors. Conclusions included policy recommendations for ODOT in supporting compact, nodal development at the local, regional and state levels. Future study recommendations include pursuing future data collection, monitoring and evaluation over time. KW - Land use planning KW - Linear regression analysis KW - Literature reviews KW - Metropolitan Statistical Areas KW - Ohio KW - Policy KW - Sustainable development KW - Transportation planning KW - United States KW - Urban sprawl UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/900477092/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340723 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560097 AU - Biernbaum, Lee AU - Price, Megan AU - Wishart, Jacob AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Appendix: Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity PY - 2014/12/19/Final Report SP - 227p AB - This is the Appendix for "Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity Report." Airborne loss of separation incidents occur when an aircraft breaches the defined separation limit (vertical and/or horizontal) with another aircraft or terrain imposed by Air Traffic Control. Identifying conditions that lead to more severe loss of separation incidents can lead to policy implications and future areas of research. Previous research focused on qualitative approaches to analyzing such events, and tended to examine only the frequency of events. This report puts the severity of a loss of separation incident front and center and uses econometric techniques to examine the relationship between severity and conditional factors during the incident. The report utilizes report data from the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP), with a concentration on terminal airspace incidents. A number of other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data sources were merged to provide a robust set of information at the time of event in terms of facility, weather, and other operational characteristics. The primary focus of this research was on the use of discrete choice, multinomial logit models to better understand the relationship between these different sets of factors at the time of the event and the severity outcome. KW - Air Traffic Safety Action Program KW - Aircraft separation KW - Airport terminals KW - Airspace incidents KW - Aviation safety KW - Incident severity KW - Multinomial logits UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54489/Airborne_Incidents_-_Appendix.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344655 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554209 AU - Biernbaum, Lee AU - Price, Megan AU - Wishart, Jacob AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity PY - 2014/12/19/Final Report SP - 163p AB - Airborne loss of separation incidents occur when an aircraft breaches the defined separation limit (vertical and/or horizontal) with another aircraft or terrain imposed by Air Traffic Control. Identifying conditions that lead to more severe loss of separation incidents can lead to policy implications and future areas of research. Previous research focused on qualitative approaches to analyzing such events, and tended to examine only the frequency of events. This report puts the severity of a loss of separation incident front and center and uses econometric techniques to examine the relationship between severity and conditional factors during the incident. The report utilizes report data from the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP), with a concentration on terminal airspace incidents. A number of other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data sources were merged to provide a robust set of information at the time of event in terms of facility, weather, and other operational characteristics. The primary focus of this research was on the use of discrete choice, multinomial logit models to better understand the relationship between these different sets of factors at the time of the event and the severity outcome. KW - Air traffic control KW - Air Traffic Safety Action Program KW - Aircraft separation KW - Airspace (Aeronautics) KW - Aviation safety KW - Choice models KW - Crash causes KW - Crash characteristics KW - Multinomial logits KW - Near midair crashes UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54488/Airborne_Incidents-final_report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342484 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551389 AU - Weiland, Nicholas A AU - Reid, John D AU - Faller, Ronald K AU - Bielenberg, Robert W AU - Lechtenberg, Karla A AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Nebraska Department of Roads AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Increased Span Length for the MGS Long-Span Guardrail System PY - 2014/12/17/Final Report SP - 217p AB - Long-span guardrail systems have been recognized as an effective means of shielding low-fill culverts while minimizing construction efforts and limiting culvert damage and repair. The current Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) long-span design provided the capability to span unsupported lengths up to 25 ft (7.6 m) without the use of nested guardrail. The excellent performance of the MGS long-span system in full-scale crash tests suggested that longer span lengths may be possible with the current design. A detailed analysis of the MGS long-span guardrail system was performed using the finite element software program LS-DYNA®. It was shown that the MGS long-span design had the potential for satisfying Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) evaluation criteria at increased span lengths of 31¼ ft (9.5 m) and 37½ ft (11.4 m). Further increasing the span length led to questionable vehicle capture and severe impacts into the culvert wingwall. It was determined that the 31¼-ft (9.5-m) span MGS long-span system would proceed to full-scale crash testing. A critical impact study identified two impact locations that (1) evaluated the structural capacity of the guardrail system and (2) maximized the vehicle’s extent over the culvert and potential for vehicle instabilities. Ultimately, the sponsors decided to perform full-scale crash testing with Universal Steel Breakaway Posts in lieu of Controlled Release Terminal posts to determine their suitability with the MGS long-span guardrail system. Prior full-scale crash testing indicated that the post-to-guardrail bolt connections were sensitive to the MGS long-span design. A simulation study investigated several techniques to improve the modeling of these bolted connections. KW - AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware KW - Culverts KW - Design KW - Finite element method KW - Guardrails KW - Highway safety KW - Impact tests KW - Midwest Guardrail System KW - Posts KW - Simulation KW - Structural connection UR - http://www.transportation.nebraska.gov/mat-n-tests/pdfs-docs/ARLinks/FinalReportSuppl56.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340568 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560093 AU - Bettisworth, Caitlin AU - Hassol, Josh AU - Maloney, Cynthia AU - Sheridan, Amy AU - Sloan, Suzanne AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Dynamic Mobility Application Policy Analysis: Policy and Institutional Issues for Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) PY - 2014/12/15/White Paper SP - 36p AB - The report documents policy considerations for the Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) connected vehicle applications “bundle.” INFLO aims to optimize network flow on freeways and arterials by informing motorists of existing and impending queues and bottlenecks; providing target speeds by location and lane; and allowing capability to form ad hoc platoons of uniform speed. The policy team documented the following potential issues for INFLO: (1) Compliance with Speed Harmonization. Relying on voluntary compliance with dynamic speed harmonization (SPD-HARM) notices is likely to produce greatly varying results, at least initially. (2) Planning for Mixed-Mode Traffic. It could take a decade or more before INFLO achieves significant fleet penetration to produce realizable benefits. In the transition period, it may be necessary to plan for operations and maintenance of parallel systems (such as the use of changeable message signs) that must be operated consistently as well as to take other steps to ensure the safe and efficient operation of connected vehicle-equipped and non-equipped vehicles on the same roads. (3) Liability. Liability is a concern in all connected vehicle applications. For INFLO, liability concerns stem from three possible sources: the potential for missed messages because of equipment malfunction in individual vehicles; the driver’s reliance on data provided from multiple sources; and [with Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC)] the proper functioning of automated vehicle controls. While the first and the third issue are likely addressable by the existing legal system (there is precedence for both), the second issue of parsing the multiple sources of data that have been fused together to form the INFLO message in order to understand the chain of liability, is still an emerging area in tort law. Research suggests that tort law will address INFLO liability issues in the future. (4) Public Acceptance and Use of Geo-Location Data. INFLO applications will use vehicle location data to send targeted messages to vehicles in specific areas. Although the geo-location data will not include any identifying information about the driver or vehicle, their use could raise privacy concerns among the public – including concerns about vehicle tracking – that might threaten acceptance of the applications. This issue is germane to the entire set of Connected Vehicle applications. Data privacy policies and best practices exist at the State and local levels and are available to address this issue. (5) In-Vehicle vs. Roadside Signage. INFLO’s use of in-vehicle messages raises a broad legal question of whether in-vehicle messages could take precedence over standard road signs (either static or changeable), or whether in-vehicle messages will always be considered “advisory” from a legal standpoint. It will be particularly important to resolve this issue in the case of SPD-HARM, where in-vehicle speed advisories may differ from posted (roadside) speed limits. (5) Technology Obsolescence. As with other connected vehicle applications, the various hardware and software components of INFLO will “age in place.” There is a risk that they will lose interoperability unless formal update and policies are established, including requirements for backward compatibility. Jurisdictions implementing INFLO would benefit from guidance and standards to ensure ongoing backward compatibility and interoperability. (7) Potential Driver Distraction. Visual devices displaying connected vehicle messaging have the potential to distract drivers and compromise safety. Some INFLO messages, due to their role in helping avoid congestion, may be especially alluring to drivers making decisions about route selection while traveling at high speeds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued guidelines for developing visual, in-vehicle displays that reduce distraction. (8) Equipment Interoperability and Certification. For INFLO to be fully and ubiquitously functional, standards may be required so that local infrastructure is fully interoperable with infrastructure on interstate highways and major state roads. (9) Messaging Standards and Priority. Under INFLO, new technology will provide in-vehicle messages about congestion and speed advisories. The role of INFLO in providing this type of information raises potential policy issues about the need for message standards, to insure that INFLO messages comply with all applicable Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards. KW - Arterial highways KW - Freeways KW - Institutional issues KW - Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) KW - Optimization KW - Policy analysis KW - Traffic flow UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54500/54591/FHWA-JPO-14-138_v1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344657 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554198 AU - Fang, Howie AU - Weggel, David C AU - Li, Ning AU - Gutowski, Matthew AU - Baker, Ryan AU - Palta, Emre AU - Kuvila, Daniil AU - University of North Carolina, Charlotte AU - North Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance Evaluation and Placement Analysis of W-beam Guardrails behind Curbs PY - 2014/12/15/Final Report SP - 98p AB - This report summarizes the research efforts of using finite element modeling and simulations to evaluate the performance of North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) W-beam guardrails behind curbs under Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) TL-2 impact conditions. A literature review is included on performance evaluation of W-beam guardrails as well as applications of finite element modeling and simulations in roadside safety research. The modeling and simulation work was conducted on three NCDOT W-beam guardrails (with placement heights of 27, 29, and 31 inches) placed at the curb face and at 12 feet from the curb face. The 29-inch guardrail was also evaluated at 6 feet from the curb face. The guardrails with 27-, 29-, and 31-inch placement heights were impacted by a 1996 Dodge Neon and a 2006 Ford F250 at 44 mph (70 km/hour) and at two impact angles (25° and 15°). The guardrails performance was determined by evaluating the vehicular responses based on MASH exit box criterion, MASH evaluation criterion F, exit angles, yaw, pitch, and roll angles, transverse displacements, and transverse velocities. The simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the 29- and 31-inch guardrails placed at 12 feet from the curb face under MASH TL-2 impact conditions. Under small angle vehicular impacts (i.e., 15°), the guardrails with 27-, 29-, and 31-inch placement heights were shown to be effective at all three placement locations in relation to the curb face. Finite element modeling and simulations were shown to be both effective and efficient and can be used to study crash scenarios that are difficult and/or extremely expensive to conduct with physical crash testing KW - AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware KW - Curbs KW - Evaluation KW - Finite element method KW - Guardrails KW - Height KW - Impact tests KW - Literature reviews KW - Simulation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342595 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554174 AU - Zhou, Fang AU - Eksioglu, Sandra D AU - Marufuzzaman, Mohammad AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation TI - Analyzing the Impact of Intermodal-Related Risk to the Design and Management of Biofuel Supply Chain PY - 2014/12/15 SP - 37p AB - The objective of this project is to design decision-support tools for identifying biorefinery locations that ensure a cost-efficient and reliable supply chain. The authors built mathematical models which take into consideration the benefits (such as accessibility to different modes of transportation), and risks associated with locating a refinery near an intermodal facility. These mathematical models capture the impact of facility disruptions on biorefinery location and supply chain design. A visualization interface is developed and connected to the mathematical models. The web-based interface enables decision-makers to input practical data related to the location problems and display chosen biorefinery locations obtained from the implementation of mathematical models. KW - Biomass fuels KW - Biorefineries KW - Decision support systems KW - Industrial location KW - Intermodal facilities KW - Mathematical models KW - Risk analysis KW - Supply chain management UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20259%20%20-%20Analyzing%20the%20Impact%20of%20Intermodal-Related%20Risk%20to%20the%20Design%20and%20Management%20of%20Biofuel%20Supply%20Chain.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341978 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01587775 AU - Park, Jiyoung AU - Hwang, Ha AU - Cho, DongIn AU - State University of New York, Buffalo AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Game-Theoretic National Interstate Economic Model: An Integrated Framework to Quantify the Economic Impacts of Cyber-terrorist Behavior PY - 2014/12/12/Final Report SP - 36p AB - This study suggests an integrated framework to quantify cyber attack impacts on the U.S. airport security system. A cyber attack by terrorists on the U.S. involves complex strategic behavior by the terrorists because they could plan to invade an airport electronic system without any U.S. border or entry point. At the same time, any defending entity must consider the complex processes that may cause turmoil. The possibility of simultaneous threats from cyber attacks causes another difficulty for defending entities to secure their airports. This highlights the need for improved, integrated inter-governmental collaboration. Collaborative networking requires close intergovernmental coordination to overcome the risk of cyber-terrorist threats. Constructing a new model for strategic cyber-terror security requires a combination of both competitive and cooperative game situations in order to seek specific strategies against cyber-terrorism. Also, the airport shut-down would have ripple impacts throughout the domestic and international economies, which raises the necessity to analyze the impacts with a spatially disaggregate economic model. To combine both competitive and cooperative game situations with an economic impact model, this study suggest a Game Theoretic National Interstate Economic Model (G-NIEMO) framework. G-NIEMO identifies which airport may be most vulnerable in the event that an airport electronic system is subsequently shut-down. Based on the probabilistic costs of airport closure, the model provides the economic importance of cyber security by place of event and by type of industry. From G-NIEMO, equilibrium strategies for U.S. airport protection can be identified and a general guideline for the evaluation of resource allocations can be passed onto the U.S. government agencies. KW - Airports KW - Behavior KW - Computer security KW - Cooperation KW - Economic impacts KW - Game theory KW - National security KW - Risk assessment KW - Terrorism KW - United States UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/Final-Report-Economic-Impacts-of-Cyber-terrorist-Behavior.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1394947 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554352 AU - Mannheim, Daniel AU - McCoy, Kevin AU - Linthicum, Alex AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - National Park Service TI - National Park Service Primer on the Construction of Ferry Boats and Ferry Terminal Facilities Program (FBP) PY - 2014/12/10/Final Report SP - 13p AB - Many National Park Service units are located in areas which are served by vehicle or passenger ferry. These National Park Service units and their partners may be eligible to use funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Construction of Ferry Boats and Ferry Terminal Facilities Program (FBP) to build or acquire new, more efficient ferry boats or terminals, and to improve existing ferry services already serving the parks. FBP funds are allocated to specific ferry services based on the National Census of Ferry Operators (NCFO) conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). KW - Ferries KW - Ferry terminals KW - Government funding KW - National parks KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54412/NPS_WASO_2014_Ferry_Boat_Program.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342220 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551343 AU - Department of Transportation TI - FMCSA Adequately Monitored Its NAFTA Cross-Border Trucking Pilot Program But Lacked a Representative Sample to Project Overall Safety Performance PY - 2014/12/10 SP - 23p AB - Under the 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the United States and Mexico agreed to long-haul cross-border transportation of cargo and passengers between the two countries. Congress prohibited the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from processing Mexico-domiciled motor carrier applications to operate beyond United States commercial zones until certain requirements are met and a pilot program for granting long-haul authority to Mexico-domiciled motor carriers has evaluated the potential impact on safety. FMCSA formally initiated the pilot program on October 14, 2011, and ended the program on October 10, 2014. The Office of Inspector General's (OIG's) audit objectives were to determine whether (1) Federal and State monitoring and enforcement activities are sufficient to ensure that participants in the pilot program are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, (2) the Department has established sufficient mechanisms to determine whether the pilot program is having any adverse effects on motor carrier safety, and (3) the pilot program consists of an adequate and representative sample of Mexico-domiciled carriers likely to engage in cross-border operations beyond the United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border. KW - Border regions KW - Compliance KW - Law enforcement KW - Monitoring KW - Motor carriers KW - North American Free Trade Agreement KW - Trucking KW - Trucking safety KW - U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration KW - United States-Mexico Border UR - https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/NAFTA%20Pilot%20Final%20Report_508.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339974 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01613846 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Road Safety Peer Exchange for Tribal Governments PY - 2014/12/09 SP - 16p AB - This report provides a summary of the proceedings of the Road Safety Peer Exchange for Tribal Governments held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 9th and 10th, 2014. The peer exchange brought together safety practitioners from across the United States to facilitate the exchange of information on road safety and to explore opportunities for collaboration between tribes, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), State Departments of Transportation (DOT), Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Centers and other government entities on tribal road safety and safety plans by tribes. The peer exchange covered the following key topics: (1) Strategies, challenges, and opportunities for reducing fatal and severe injury crashes on tribal roads; (2) Developing and implementing safety plans by tribes; (3) Improving safety data and applying the systemic approach to safety; (4) Conducting road safety evaluations and road safety audits; (5) Addressing behavioral safety issues; and (6) Exploring new safety partnerships for tribes. KW - Cooperation KW - Highway safety KW - Peer exchange KW - Safety programs KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic crashes KW - Tribal government KW - Tribal Technical Assistance Program KW - U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs KW - United States UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/59000/59800/59830/peer_report_NM_Dec2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1425497 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573303 TI - Western Maintenance Partnership AB - The purpose of the Western Maintenance Partnership (WMP) continuation is to provide a partnering forum for promoting effective maintenance strategies through the following objectives: (1) Provide travel reimbursement funds for an annual meeting (WASHTO Committee on Maintenance) and a multi-day annual workshop/scan tour, for discussion and exchange of information and knowledge about each state's maintenance program (2) Provide a means to define, support and share technology of mutual interest. (3) Provide funds for formal training presentations during the annual workshop. (4) Provide funds for management support of WMP. (5) Provide funds for special studies, investigations, research and training. KW - Financing KW - Information dissemination KW - Maintenance KW - Partnerships KW - Technology transfer KW - Training KW - Workshops UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/561 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366527 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560089 AU - Schroeder, Jeremy AU - Smith, Theodore AU - Turnbull, Katie AU - Balke, Kevin AU - Burris, Mark AU - Songchitruksa, Praprut AU - Pessaro, Brian AU - Saunoi-Sandgren, Emily AU - Schreffler, Eric AU - Joy, Barbara AU - Battelle AU - Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Seattle/Lake Washington Corridor Urban Partnership Agreement: National Evaluation Report PY - 2014/12/02/Final Report SP - 344p AB - This document presents the final report on the national evaluation of the Seattle/Lake Washington Corridor (LWC) Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) UPA Program. The Seattle UPA projects focus on reducing congestion by employing strategies consisting of combinations of Tolling, Transit, Telecommuting/TDM, and Technology, also known as the 4Ts. Those strategies include tolling all lanes of the SR 520 bridge, additional bus service in the SR 520 corridor, implementing active traffic management systems, and real-time traveler information signs on highways and at transit stops and stations. The national evaluation of the Seattle/LWC UPA projects is guided by the National Evaluation Framework, the Seattle/LWC UPA National Evaluation Plan, and individual test plans for various components. This report provides information on the use of the new Seattle/LWC UPA projects. Changes in travel speeds, travel times, trip-time reliability, park-and-ride lot use, and transit ridership are described. The results of interviews and workshops with local stakeholders, surveys of different user groups, and interviews and focus groups with Washington State Patrol officers, bus operators, and service patrol personnel are presented. The air quality, energy, and safety impacts of the Seattle/LWC UPA projects are examined. Information on changes in unemployment rates, gasoline prices, and parking costs is also summarized. KW - Evaluation KW - Public transit KW - Seattle (Washington) KW - Telecommuting KW - Tolls KW - Traffic mitigation KW - Traveler information and communication systems KW - Urban Partnership Agreements UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54470/120214_seattle_upa_final_report.pdf0.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344669 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554455 AU - Shankar, Venky AU - Park, Minho AU - Oh, Junseok AU - Sathyanarayanan, Sudhakar AU - Sharma, Vikas AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - An Assessment of Interstate Safety Investment Priorities in Washington State PY - 2014/12/01/Final Report SP - 24p AB - The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) commissioned the current study, targeting the entire interstate mainline network in Washington State, to provide strategic direction to multi-biennial investment interstate locations that offer the greatest return in terms of cumulative and annualized safety benefits. The objectives of this study were to prioritize interstate locations strategically in terms of risk of high social cost, while targeting locations that repeat in nature. As such, the methodological questions that arise relate to the following: what measurements are required to comprehensively address the “strategic risk evaluation” aspect, and what measurements are required to adequately address the “repeat location identification” aspect. Using a step-wise procedure to systematically assess mainline interstate accident risk, a multi-objective approach was employed in order to factor in multiple criteria for ranking of segments, while accounting for multiple accident types as inputs in the ranking process. The planned scope of this study produced a target priority list of 202 locations with a total length of 154.5 miles. This list should be evaluated in detail for scoping improvements, associated costs and benefits prior to evaluating locations in the “tracking list.” The next step in ensuring implementation and successful deployment of this procedure will be to carefully evaluate cost improvement strategies and estimate associated benefits. Once costs and benefits are computed, one can systematically proceed to evaluate various measures of cost efficiency and effectiveness using lifecycle and annualized benefits and costs. KW - Crash rates KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Externalities KW - Highway safety KW - Interstate highways KW - Investments KW - Risk analysis KW - Strategic planning KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/PSU-2012-03.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342485 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01611958 AU - Martin, Dennis AU - Hurst, Clayton AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Implementation of Pesticide Applicator Certification Schools and Continuing Education Workshops PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 18p AB - The Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) herbicide applicator training program consists of initial pesticide applicator training schools followed by independent Certification testing and then on-going yearly continuing education workshops. In support of this on-going effort three pesticide applicator initial certification schools were conducted by Oklahoma State University (OSU) extension staff in fall of 2013 and mid-winter of 2014 to train a total of 103 ODOT participants. One hundred of the attendees at these workshops took the Core as well as Right-of-Way Certification exams administered by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry (ODAFF). Seventy-nine percent (79 participants) passed both the Core and Category 6 (Right-of-Way) examinations to become Oklahoma Certified Pesticide Applicators. Fourteen Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education (CEU) Workshops were conducted by OSU extension staff across a total of eight ODOT Field Divisions in 2014 to provide 637 Certified Applicators with continuing education training. Records of participation in ODAFF approved CEU programs by ODOT personnel were furnished to ODAFF as well as the ODOT Field Divisions, the Maintenance Division Headquarters and the Materials and Research Division. Participation in CEU workshops resulted in granting of CEU credit to ODOT participants in the workshops. The ODOT participants also gained knowledge on various Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) products, topics and techniques. This increase or maintained operational knowledge of the participants should insure continued effective vegetation management skills. KW - Certification KW - Education and training KW - Herbicides KW - Implementation KW - Oklahoma Department of Transportation KW - Pesticides KW - Vegetation control KW - Workshops UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60300/60306/FHWA-OK-14-18_2156_Martin.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1423500 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01610865 AU - Amirkhanian, Serji AU - Herndon, David AU - Corley, Mary AU - Tri-County Technical College AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Cost Benefits to the SCDOT with Increased RAP-RAS Usage PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 249p AB - Over 90% of U.S. highways and roads are constructed with hot mix asphalt (HMA) and as this infrastructure ages, these highways and roads must be maintained and rehabilitated. The 1970s marked the beginning of the widespread use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in asphalt pavements in the United States. However, in early years, many state Department of Transportations (DOTs) used only a low percentage of RAP materials in their hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. One major reason for this was that the mixtures containing high RAP contents could result in increased “blue smoke” emissions from plants since the RAP materials were fed directly into the path of hot gases. However, with the modern design of new plants, this is no longer a major concern. There were three major objectives for this research project. The first was to analyze the cost benefits to the Department from the past utilization of RAP, recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), and RAP/RAS in various mixtures around the state. The second objective was to develop a proposed pay schedule for aged binder versus virgin binder in the form of a draft specification. The third was to predict the potential cost savings to South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) from the use of the proposed alternate pay schedule. The researchers mined data from three different databases (Site Manager, Job-Mix-Formula (JMF) Log, and each individual JMF form per project) in order to generate the necessary information to complete project objectives. KW - Aging (Materials) KW - Bituminous binders KW - Costs KW - Evaluation KW - Payment KW - Reclaimed asphalt pavements KW - Recycled materials KW - Savings KW - Shingles KW - South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation UR - http://www.scdot.scltap.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Final-Report-Evaluation-of-Cost-Benefits-to-the-SCDOT-with-Increased-RAP-final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1420971 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01610851 AU - Hunter, Michael P AU - Rodgers, Michael O AU - Pratyaksa, Prabha AU - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Safety Performance Evaluation of Converging Chevron Pavement Markings PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 155p AB - The objectives of this study were (1) to perform a detailed safety analysis of converging chevron pavement markings, quantifying the potential safety benefits and developing an understanding of the incident types addressed by the treatment, and (2) to develop guidance for selecting additional implementation sites that have a high likelihood of significant improvements in safety performance. Some important conclusions from this study are the following: (1) Analysis of the demographic variables showed no statistically significant observations that the effectiveness of the chevron treatment in reducing crashes was influenced by driver age, gender, proximity of driver registration, daytime/nighttime or pavement conditions. (2) The chevron markings are effective at reducing crashes for the curved portions of ramps when evaluated using the before and after periods, regardless of the type of base conditions selected. Crash modification factors (CMFs) ranged from 0.453 to 0.689. The lower limit of the 95% confidence interval ranges from 0.281 to 0.428 while the upper limit ranges from 0.624 to 0.949. This indicates that even in the least effective scenario, the treatment still has the potential to reduce crashes by 5.1%. (3) The chevron markings were effective for the approaches to the ramp (Ramp Section 1), the ramp segment where the treatment would generally be installed, when evaluated using the before and after periods. When evaluated using calendar year 2007 and 2009 data, no tangible benefits were observed. Fatal/injury-only crashes were not evaluated for this ramp segment due to small sample size. KW - Before and after studies KW - Crash analysis KW - Crash rates KW - Demographics KW - Evaluation KW - Highway safety KW - Ramps (Interchanges) KW - Road markings KW - Statistical analysis UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/12-02.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1422683 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01599207 AU - Thatcher, Russell AU - Hoesch, Karen AU - TranSystems AU - ACCESS Transportation Systems AU - National Aging and Disability Transportation Center AU - Easter Seals Incorporated AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Determining ADA Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, Recommendations and Training Materials PY - 2014/12//2014 Updated Edition SP - 357p AB - Determining ADA Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, Guidance and Training Manual was developed and disseminated by Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) in 2003 to provide fixed-route transit providers with information and resources regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) complementary paratransit service eligibility process. This manual is a revision and update of the 2003 document prepared by ESPA. It includes information about the latest revisions to the Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA regulations. It also incorporates information about successful approaches and materials developed by transit agencies since 2003, and it addresses common questions and issues raised by transit agencies as well as by persons with disabilities. This update: (1) Presents ADA paratransit eligibility determinations as part of a broader, holistic process for meeting the transportation needs of people with disabilities, including coordination with travel training efforts; (2) Presents and discusses several approaches for developing processes that are appropriate to the local setting; (3) Stresses the importance of involving people with disabilities in the development, implementation, and management of the process; and (4) Includes a new section on key process management issues. KW - Americans with Disabilities Act KW - Manuals KW - Paratransit services KW - Persons with disabilities KW - Recommendations KW - Regulations KW - Training KW - Transit authorities UR - http://www.nadtc.org/wp-content/uploads/NADTC-Determining-ADA-Paratransit-Eligibility.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1407256 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01596856 AU - Crook, Geoff AU - Mohney, Curran AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Options Study PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 185p AB - The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recognized that the State’s transportation infrastructure is vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather and climate events. To better understand and respond to these impacts, ODOT conducted a regional vulnerability assessment and adaptation options study. This pilot study identifies vulnerable highway corridors and evaluates a range of site-specific adaptation strategies that address landslides, coastal erosion, and storm surge hazards. The study was prepared with funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Climate Change Resilience Pilot Program. FHWA’s Vulnerability Assessment Framework was used to help guide ODOT's evaluation of state highways. The pilot covers Tillamook and Clatsop counties on Oregon’s north coast, within ODOT’s Maintenance District 1. This area is served by ten State highway routes that run along coastal bluffs, rivers and estuaries, and across the Coast Range. Nearly 300 miles of State highways were assessed as part of the study. The project involved: (1) Analysis of projected climate changes and sea level rise; (2) Qualitative assessment of vulnerabilities and risks from climate impacts; (3) Baseline data collection and adaptation strategies developed for high-risk sites; (4) Benefit-cost analysis; and (5) Review of regulatory constraints. ODOT conducted a workshop with maintenance and technical staff to collect climate risk information and identify priorities. Vulnerable hazard sites along north coast highways were identified using the best available climate science, existing conditions data, and known and anticipated hazards information. ODOT ranked highway corridors and critical connections (Seismic Lifeline Routes) for vulnerability to climate impacts. Adaptation options were developed at five locations identified as vulnerable “climate hazard sites” and selected for analysis within a 25-mile Study Corridor. A benefit-cost analysis was then prepared at two sites to enable comparison between the options and inform the overall assessment. ODOT also reviewed regulatory and land use constraints that have the potential to limit the feasibility of coastal adaptation projects. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Climate change KW - Coasts KW - Erosion KW - Highway corridors KW - Landslides KW - Oregon Department of Transportation KW - Regulations KW - Risk assessment KW - Sea level KW - Storm surges KW - Weather and climate UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/climate_change/adaptation/resilience_pilots/2013-2015_pilots/oregon/odotreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1403122 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01596740 AU - Hogan, Michael AU - Elder, David AU - Molden, Stephanie AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Connecticut Department of Transportation Climate Change and Extreme Weather Vulnerability Pilot Project Final Report PY - 2014/12 SP - 131p AB - This report presents the results of a Climate Resilience Pilot Project conducted by Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and sponsored in part by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). CTDOT was awarded a pilot to conduct a systems-level vulnerability assessment of bridge and culvert structures six feet to 20 feet in length from inland flooding associated with extreme rainfall events. The project focused on structures in the northwest corner of the state. The Department chose to conduct a vulnerability assessment of inland flooding because in recent years extreme precipitation events have been more frequent and intense, resulting in damage to the Department’s infrastructure in several locations in the State. While this damage has not been significantly widespread, it poses safety concerns and can be costly to repair or replace. The Scope of Work for this project included the following main elements: data collection and field review, hydrologic and hydraulic evaluation, criticality assessment and hydraulic design criteria evaluation. Identification of structures six feet to 20 feet in length in the northwest corner of the state and data collection was accomplished using the state’s bridge inventory. This inventory included over 176 structures on the state system. This inventory was pared down to 60 structures identified for field evaluation. Of the 60 identified for field evaluation, 52 were selected for hydrologic and hydraulic evaluations. KW - Bridges KW - Climate change KW - Connecticut Department of Transportation KW - Culverts KW - Data collection KW - Evaluation KW - Floods KW - Hydraulics KW - Hydrologic phenomena KW - Rainfall KW - Risk assessment KW - Weather and climate UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/climate_change/adaptation/resilience_pilots/2013-2015_pilots/connecticut/final_report/ctclimatepilot.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1403117 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01592622 TI - Motorcoach and School Bus Fire Safety Analysis AB - The purpose of this effort is to gather and analyze data regarding the severity and frequency of motorcoach and school bus fires from 2009–13 and to update the previous analysis of fires, which focused only on motorcoaches. The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) analyzed motorcoach fire incidents that took place between 1995 and 2008 and submitted two reports to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In 2009, Volpe published the very first report in this area—the “Motorcoach Fire Safety Analysis Report.” This report was updated in 2012 with a report entitled “Motorcoach Fire Safety Analysis: The Causes, Frequency, and Severity of Motorcoach Fires in the United States.” FMCSA’s Vehicle and Roadside Operations Division and Commercial Passenger Carrier Division both requested that the most recent “Motorcoach Fire Safety Analysis Report” be updated for fire incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2012, and the latter Division requested that school buses be included in the updated analysis. Volpe will update its latest analysis to include data on motorcoach fires that occurred from 2009–13. In addition, Volpe will include an evaluation of school bus fires, expand on the evaluation of the effectiveness of automatic fire detection and suppression systems, and identify fires caused by replacement of a diesel engine or automatic purging of diesel particulate filters, all contingent on the availability of applicable data. The outcome of the analysis will be a report that identifies potential ways to prevent, reduce, or mitigate the causes, frequencies, and severity of motorcoach and school bus fires with a focus on improving the effectiveness of State and Federal motorcoach and school bus inspection practices. KW - Analysis KW - Fire KW - Highways KW - Motor Coach KW - Safety KW - School buses UR - www.fmcsa.dot.gov UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1400204 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01590459 AU - Lu, Wei AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Optimization and Mechanism Design for Ridesharing Services PY - 2014/12 SP - 81p AB - This research studies operations research problems of ridesharing services. In the first part of the research, the large-scale ridesharing optimization problem (RSP) is formally defined with its complexity analyzed. A mixed-integer program is then developed to solve RSP to optimality. Since RSP is NP-hard, heuristic algorithms are developed to efficiently solve larger instances of RSP. The quality of heuristic solutions is evaluated by comparing with benchmark algorithms. Experimental results showed that the solutions produced by heuristic are good-enough approximation of the optimum and outperformed the matching solution by a non-trivial margin. The second part of this dissertation studies the fairness and stability problems in ridesharing. The fair cost allocation problem in ridesharing is formulated as a cooperative game. An algorithm based on coalition generation techniques is developed to efficiently find the nucleolus of this game. Experiments showed that this algorithm could save significant amount of computational resources compared to the enumeration method. The output of this research provides both insights and tools for understanding and operating large-scale ridesharing services. KW - Costs KW - Game theory KW - Heuristic methods KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Optimization KW - Ridesharing UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00034-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1397172 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01584280 AU - Tayabji, Shiraz AU - Bledsoe, Jay AU - Raghunathan, Deepak AU - Sadasivam, Suri AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Georgia Demonstration Project: Pavement Replacement Using a Precast Concrete Pavement System Along a Section of SR 11/Broad Street in Winder, Georgia PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 67p AB - As part of a national initiative sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration under the Highways for LIFE program, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) was awarded a $700,000 grant to demonstrate the use of precast concrete pavement systems (PCPS) in the city of Winder. The project is located along a section of SR 11 (commonly referred to as Broad Street) in a historic downtown area with on-street parking and variable width roadway, typically three lanes wide. This project was a cooperative effort between the GDOT and the city of Winder. This report documents the application of PCPS technology for pavement rehabilitation of a 0.72 mile section on SR 11/SR 53/SR 211/Broad Street from CSX R/R to Stephens Street in Downtown Winder. Using PCPS technology on this project improved safety and mobility performance in the work zone. No incidents occurred or worker injuries during the construction period, including the lane closure periods. There was little impact on trip time through the length of the project primarily because of signalized intersections within the project length and the rail crossing at one end of the project. Several innovations included in this project are expected to improve the durability and performance of the roadway. An economic analysis indicated that agency costs were $1,220,931 (54 percent) more for this project than they would have been using conventional construction practices, and user costs were $21,560 (35 percent) more. The as-built total project cost was $3,466,615 compared to $2,245,684 for the traditional alternative. Considering that the GDOT was using this innovation for the first time, and like with any innovation, the cost premium with the use of PCPS is expected to decrease with subsequent applications. KW - Central business districts KW - Demonstration projects KW - Economic analysis KW - Highways for LIFE KW - Innovation KW - Precast concrete pavements KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Winder (Georgia) UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdf_2/GA%20PCPS%20-%20Final%20Report%20to%20FHWA%20121114.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1377217 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01582190 AU - Tantillo, Michael J AU - Roberts, Edwin AU - Mangar, Uzoamaka AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Roles of Transportation Management Centers in Incident Management on Managed Lanes PY - 2014/12 SP - 102p AB - This guidebook examines traffic incident management practices that are implemented by transportation management centers on managed lanes. The document examines the unique operating environment of managed lanes from an incident management perspective. The roles of the transportation management center in the managed lane environment are discussed in terms of incident preparedness and real-time incident management activities and support. A comparison of best practices for eight case studies is presented, and an in-depth analysis of the role of the transportation management center in incident management is presented for three of the managed lane facilities examined in the case studies. KW - Analysis KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Handbooks KW - Incident management KW - Managed lanes KW - Traffic control centers UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop14022/fhwahop14022.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1375675 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01581091 AU - Hu, Jingwen AU - Klinich, Kathleen D AU - Reed, Matthew P AU - Ebert-Hamilton, Sheila M AU - Rupp, Jonathan D AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Characterizing Child Head Motions Relative to Vehicle Rear Seat Compartment in Motor Vehicle Crashes PY - 2014/12 SP - 34p AB - Improved padding or other countermeasures in vehicle rear compartments could reduce the incidence of head trauma for child occupants. However, knowledge of likely child head impact locations for a range of crash scenarios is needed to determine which areas and structures should be padded and where a side curtain should be deployed to protect child occupants. The objective of this study is to use a scalable MAthematical DYnamic MOdels (MADYMO) model of a child occupant to estimate the distributions of possible head impact locations as a function of crash type, vehicle interior characteristics, and child size. To achieve this goal, a series of simulations using a scalable MADYMO child anthropometric test device (ATD) model was conducted. The geometries of the second-row compartment from 5 vehicles were recorded using a laser scanner to provide high-resolution data for assessing probable head contact zones. Distributions of lateral and longitudinal delta V were calculated as a function of principal direction of force (PDOF) using the National Automotive Sampling System – Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) dataset to provide proper simulation conditions based on real-world crashes. Simulations of crashes ranging from pure frontal to pure side impact (9 o’clock to 3 o’clock) with child ATDs with and without backless boosters were conducted using University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's (UMTRI’s) parametric child ATD model in MADYMO, UMTRI's child ATD positioning procedure, and UMTRI's automated belt-fit and crash simulation system. The simulation results were used to create a model of the spatial distribution of head trajectories based on child body size and crash direction. By combining the head motion model and the vehicle second-row geometry models, the likely head contact zones with respect to interior components were identified. The findings of this study provide a reference for future vehicle rear compartment design to reduce head injuries for older children. KW - Children KW - Crash victim simulation KW - Dummies KW - Geometry KW - Head KW - Mathematical models KW - National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System KW - Rear seats KW - Vehicle design UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crashworthiness/Child Safety Crashworthiness Research/812105_CharacterizingChildHeadMotions.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1375495 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01580959 AU - Frosch, Robert J AU - Labi, Samuel AU - Samdariya, Ashish AU - Ye, Qing AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Increasing Bridge Deck Service Life: Volume II—Economic Evaluation SN - 9781622603350 PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 54p AB - Deterioration of bridge decks is a primary factor limiting the lifespan of bridges especially in cold climates where deicing salts are commonly used. While controlling deck cracking or decreasing the permeability and porosity of concrete can improve performance and service life, chloride and moisture ingress as well as cracking cannot be eliminated. Full-depth cracks which are caused by restrained shrinkage allow for corrosive conditions at early ages for both the top and bottom reinforcement mats. Therefore, the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcement is essential to mitigate deterioration of bridge decks. The objective of this research program to examine the efficacy of using alternative materials in a bridge deck from both technical and economic perspectives. For the economic evaluation (Volume II), a decision support methodology and associated spreadsheet tool for robust analysis of the cost-effectiveness of alternative material types for bridge deck reinforcement was developed. The two evaluation criteria are agency and user costs, and the input data that influence this criteria include the deck service life, material process, discount rate, detour length, and bridge size. The methodology incorporates analytical techniques that include life cycle analyses to evaluate the long-term cost and benefits of each material over the bridge life; Monte Carlo simulation to account for the probabilistic nature of the input variables; stochastic dominance to ascertain the probability distribution of the outcome that a specific reinforcement material is superior to others; and analytical hierarchical process to establish appropriate weights for the agency and user costs. The study methodology is demonstrated using a case study involving three reinforcement material alternatives: traditional (epoxy-coated) steel, zinc-clad steel, and stainless steel. Through this study, it is demonstrated that the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcing materials can significantly increase bridge deck life, reduce agency and user costs associated with bridge deck rehabilitation and maintenance, and thus lower the financial needs for long-term preservation of bridges. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Bridge decks KW - Case studies KW - Coatings KW - Corrosion resistant materials KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Decision support systems KW - Economic analysis KW - Monte Carlo method KW - Reinforcing materials KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Service life KW - Spreadsheets UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315517 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1373829 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01580925 AU - Frosch, Robert J AU - Labi, Samuel AU - Sim, Chungwook AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Increasing Bridge Deck Service Life: Volume I—Technical Evaluation SN - 9781622603336 PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 289p AB - Deterioration of bridge decks is a primary factor limiting the lifespan of bridges especially in cold climates where deicing salts are commonly used. While controlling deck cracking or decreasing the permeability and porosity of concrete can improve performance and service life, chloride and moisture ingress as well as cracking cannot be eliminated. Full-depth cracks which are caused by restrained shrinkage allow for corrosive conditions at early ages for both the top and bottom reinforcement mats. Therefore, the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcement is essential to mitigate deterioration of bridge decks. The objective of this research program to examine the efficacy of using alternative materials in a bridge deck from both technical and economic perspectives. For the technical evaluation (Volume I), a three phase experimental investigation was conducted considering a wide range of corrosion-resistant reinforcing materials. These materials included stainless steels, microcomposite steel, and coated steels considering a variety of metallic and nonmetallic coatings. The first phase evaluated the bond between corrosion-resistant reinforcement and concrete using lap splice tests. The second phase evaluated the cracking behavior of slabs reinforced with corrosion-resistant reinforcement. Finally, the third phase evaluated corrosion resistance under uncracked and cracked conditions using macrocell test specimens. Transverse steel was also tied to the longitudinal steel to simulate actual bridge deck conditions. Recommendations are provided on development and splice lengths for both conventional black and corrosion-resistant reinforcing steel, control of cracks widths, as well as the selection, design, and construction of corrosion-resistant reinforcement. For the economic evaluation (Volume II), a decision support methodology and associated spreadsheet tool for robust analysis of the cost-effectiveness of alternative material types for bridge deck reinforcement was developed. The two evaluation criteria are agency and user costs, and the input data that influence this criteria include the deck service life, material process, discount rate, detour length, and bridge size. The methodology incorporates analytical techniques that include life cycle analyses to evaluate the long-term cost and benefits of each material over the bridge life; Monte Carlo simulation to account for the probabilistic nature of the input variables; stochastic dominance to ascertain the probability distribution of the outcome that a specific reinforcement material is superior to others; and analytical hierarchical process to establish appropriate weights for the agency and user costs. The study methodology is demonstrated using a case study involving three reinforcement material alternatives: traditional (epoxy-coated) steel, zinc-clad steel, and stainless steel. Through this study, it is demonstrated that the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcing materials can significantly increase bridge deck life, reduce agency and user costs associated with bridge deck rehabilitation and maintenance, and thus lower the financial needs for long-term preservation of bridges. KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge decks KW - Coatings KW - Corrosion resistant materials KW - Cracking KW - Evaluation KW - Recommendations KW - Reinforcing materials KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Service life UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315516 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1373830 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01577860 AU - Bledsoe, Jay AU - Raghunathan, Deepak AU - Ullman, Jerry AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Kansas Demonstration Project: Improvements to the Homestead Lane/I-35 Interchange in Johnson County PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 57p AB - The project described in this report was located at the intersection of I-35 and Homestead Lane in Johnson County, Kansas. Prior to construction, Homestead Lane was a two-lane highway passing over I-35 just outside Olathe, Kansas. There was no access to I-35 at this location. At the time of construction, I-35 was a four-lane interstate route carrying more than 25,000 vehicles per day. While the interchange design (diverging diamond) at this location is itself new to Kansas, the Highways for LIFE innovation involves the use of a real-time traffic system intended to provide direct information to the traveling public. It consists of a series of portable trailer-mounted message boards that display information from traffic detection trailers spaced along the route. The messages are intended to provide the public with information concerning travel time, delay, congestion, or other events within the work zone far enough in advance of their decision points to allow alternate route selection. The trailer-mounted sensors collect vehicle speed, classification, volume, and lane occupancy data for up to 10 lanes of traffic in each direction. These data are supplied to software via the internet and analyzed, resulting in a completely automated system to provide appropriate messages to the public through the variable message boards. There was only one crash reported during the construction period. However, the crash was reported as a “medical emergency” and was not considered related to the construction activities. The Smart Work Zone technology employed on this project did not eliminate any of the costs associated with traditional construction. All costs, excluding the construction costs, associated with the innovation were considered. An economic analysis showed that the implementation of the Smart Work Zone technology resulted in an additional cost of approximately $1,650,000. The majority of this cost was associated with the lease/purchase of the portable message system, the associated software and upgrades to existing software, and data analysis. KW - Construction KW - Costs KW - Demonstration projects KW - Design KW - Diverging diamond interchanges KW - Economic analysis KW - Highways for LIFE KW - Interchanges KW - Johnson County (Kansas) KW - Portable trailer-mounted message boards KW - Technological innovations KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdf_2/Kansas%20HfL%20Final%20Report_12-18-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370463 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01577100 AU - Shen, Junan AU - Xie, Zhaoxing AU - Li, Bo AU - Georgia Southern University, Statesboro AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comprehensive Evaluation of the Long-Term Performance of Rubberized Pavement: Phase II: The Influence of Rubber and Asphalt Interaction on Mixture Durability PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 171p AB - This project investigated the long-term performance of hot asphalt mixes containing crumb rubber modifiers (CRM) added in dry or wet processes. A total of eight asphalt mixtures—four Porous European Mixtures (PEMs) and four Stone Matrix Asphalts (SMAs)—were designed with performance-grade (PG) 76-22 modified with CRM, which was added in either a dry or wet process. These mixtures were compared to control mixtures using a styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS)-modified PG 76-22. Mixtures incorporating a “hybrid”-modified PG 76-22 were also evaluated. First, the samples were weathered in the Georgia Weathering Asphalt Device (GWAD) for 1,000 hrs and 3,000 hrs and tested to determine their dynamic modulus, fatigue life, rutting, and Cantabro. Binders extracted from the weathered samples were then evaluated using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), gel-permeable chromatography (GPC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Second, the interactions of dry- and wet-processed CRM with asphalt binder were compared during storage and paving. Results indicated: 1) adding transpolyoctenamer (TOR) to the CRM binder improved PG grade and separation resistance; 2) the dynamic modulus, |E*|, of both rubberized PEM and SMA in dry process did not differ significantly from that of the control mixtures or mixtures using the “hybrid”- modified binders before and after weathering; 3) the fatigue life (Nf) of unaged rubberized PEM and SMA in the dry process was similar to that in wet process, although lower than that of control SBS; 4) after 3000-hrs aging, the fatigue life of the dry-processed rubberized SMA is similar to that of the wet-processed but lower than that of hybrid and SBS SMA, regardless of strain and stress levels or test temperatures; 5) the rutting and Cantabro loss of the rubberized PEM and SMA in dry process were higher than those of control SBS after weathering; 6) CRM and asphalt binder interact during the production and paving stages based on DSR, GPC, FTIR, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results. The effect of weathering on the properties of the asphalt binders in rubberized, dry-processed PEMs and SMAs was similar to that in the wet-processed mixtures but greater than that in the control SBS. KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Asphalt rubber KW - Bituminous binders KW - Crumb rubber KW - Durability KW - Dynamic modulus of elasticity KW - Evaluation KW - Fatigue limit KW - Mix design KW - Pavement performance KW - Rutting KW - Weathering UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/12-29.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370175 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576249 AU - Burt, Matthew AU - Cuddy, Matthew AU - Razo, Michael AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Department of Transportation TI - Big Data’s Implications for Transportation Operations: An Exploration PY - 2014/12//White Paper SP - 56p AB - The purpose of this white paper is to expand the understanding of big data for transportation operations, the value it could provide, and the implications for the future direction of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Connected Vehicle Real-Time Data Capture and Management (DCM) Program. Big data is an approach to generating knowledge in which a number of advanced techniques are applied to the capture, management and analysis of very large and diverse volumes of data – data so large, so varied and analyzed at such speed that it exceeds the capabilities of traditional data management and analysis tools. This paper is not intended as a primer or “how to” on big data, per se, but rather is intended to explore the potential value of big data approaches in a future connected vehicle environment. Big data is a process of knowledge generation that features the following approaches: (1) Data capture that includes massive datasets encompassing all or most of the population being studied (as opposed to small samples); use of data from both purpose-specific and repurposed data collection; and utilization of crowdsourced and “electronic breadcrumb” data. (2) Data management that features storage in decentralized and virtual locations (i.e., the cloud) and handles both structured and unstructured data. (3) Data analysis that is often automated, with computers doing more of the work to find complex patterns among a large number of variables. Big data approaches are needed to contend with the coming volume of connected vehicle and traveler data, to: enable a wide range of new strategies that are expected to provide safety, mobility and environmental benefits, and reduce the need for traditional data collection mechanisms (e.g., connected vehicle probes replacing traffic detectors). This paper identifies two additional, broad areas where big data analytical approaches may be able to provide further value: 1) Transportation System Monitoring & Management; and 2) Traveler-Centered Transportation Strategies. KW - Data analysis KW - Data collection KW - Data management KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Real time information UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55000/55002/Big_Data_Implications_FHWA-JPO-14-157.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369014 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576244 AU - Guthrie, W Spencer AU - Yaede, Joseph M AU - Bitnoff, Amanda C AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comparison of Conventional and Internally Cured Concrete Bridge Decks in Utah: Mountain View Corridor Project PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 123p AB - The objectives of this research were to (1) monitor in-situ moisture and diffusivity for both conventional concrete and concrete containing pre-wetted lightweight fine aggregate (LWFA), (2) compare deck performance in terms of early-age cracking, compressive strength, and chloride ingress, and (3) compare concrete properties in terms of compressive strength, chloride permeability, elastic modulus, and water content in the laboratory using cylinders cast in the field at the time of deck construction. The research involved field and laboratory evaluations of four newly constructed bridge decks located in northern Utah, two constructed using conventional concrete and two constructed using pre-wetted LWFA to promote internal curing. Data from sensors embedded in the concrete decks indicate that the volumetric moisture content and electrical conductivity of the internally cured concrete were higher than those of the conventional concrete during the 2-year monitoring period. Laboratory data indicate that the internally cured concrete was weaker at 1 year following deck construction, passed less current in rapid chloride permeability testing, had a lower modulus in free-free resonant testing, and had a higher gravimetric moisture content than the conventional concrete. In the field, the internally cured concrete was weaker at 2 years in Schmidt rebound hammer testing and exhibited greater chloride concentrations at both 1 and 2 years than the conventional concrete. The conventional concrete bridge decks had more reflection cracking from the joints between the underlying pre-cast half-deck panels than the internally cured concrete decks. KW - Bridge decks KW - Chloride content KW - Compressive strength KW - Concrete bridges KW - Concrete curing KW - Cracking KW - Diffusivity KW - Field studies KW - Fine aggregates KW - Laboratory tests KW - Moisture content KW - Utah UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=21175803886277777 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369251 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576150 AU - Varner, Robert L AU - Burns Cooley Dennis, Incorporated AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Influence of Fly Ash, Slag Cement and Specimen Curing on Shrinkage of Bridge Deck Concrete PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 203p AB - Cracks occur in bridge decks due to restrained shrinkage of concrete materials. Concrete materials shrink as cementitious materials hydrate and as water that is not chemically bonded to cementitious materials migrates from the high humid environment of the concrete to an environment with lower humidity. Reinforcing steel and structural supporting members provide restraint to this shrinkage which causes tensile stress in the concrete. When these tensile stresses exceed the tensile strength of the concrete, cracks occur and provide relief for these stresses. Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) engineers wanted to determine the usefulness of supplementary cementitious to reduce shrinkage of concrete materials and subsequent cracking. This research project investigates length change of concrete as influenced by supplementary cementitious materials including Class C fly ash, Class F fly ash, and slag cement. The use of liquid membrane and 7-day, 14-day, and 28-day moist curing periods were also investigated to determine the influence of curing on length change of standard prism specimens. KW - Bridge decks KW - Concrete bridges KW - Concrete curing KW - Cracking KW - Fly ash KW - Mississippi KW - Shrinkage KW - Slag cement UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20247%20-%20Influence%20of%20Fly%20Ash%2C%20Slag%20Cement%20and%20Specimen%20Curing%20on%20Shrinkage%20of%20Bridge%20Deck%20Concrete.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369976 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576034 AU - Refai, Hazem AU - Bitar, Naim AU - Schettler, Jesse AU - Al Kalaa, Omar AU - University of Oklahoma, Norman AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - The Study of Vehicle Classification Equipment with Solutions to Improve Accuracy in Oklahoma PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 104p AB - The accuracy of vehicle counting and classification data is vital for appropriate future highway and road design, including determining pavement characteristics, eliminating traffic jams, and improving safety. Organizations relying on vehicle classifiers for data collection should be aware that systems can be affected by hardware and sensor malfunction, as well as the equipment’s implementation of classification scheme (i.e., algorithm). This report presents outcomes from an extensive statewide examination of vehicle misclassification at Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) automatic vehicle classifier (AVC) stations employing the PEEK Traffic ‘FHWA-USA’ classification algorithm. A ground truth system utilizing continuous video recordings was developed and utilized. Results from the rigorous investigation are reported herein. Also detailed in this report is a novel method for an improved classification algorithm designed to reduce the number of classification errors. Thirteen Gaussian distributions were employed to model axle spacing for each of the 13 FHWA vehicle types. Classifications obtained from video recordings and PEEK Traffic axle spacing measurements for a sample of 20,000 vehicles were recorded and analyzed to obtain 13 good-fit Gaussian distributions that correspond with each vehicle class. An optimization algorithm was then implemented to develop axle spacing thresholds for vehicles currently traveling Oklahoma’s highways and to minimize vehicle misclassification. The new scheme was then implemented in the PEEK Traffic automatic data record equipment and experimentally evaluated for accuracy. Results demonstrated its effectiveness in improving vehicle classifications and reducing persistent overall system errors characteristic of the ‘FHWA-USA’ Scheme. Analysis methodology detailed in this report will benefit organizations interested in improving vehicle classification and overall system accuracy. KW - Accuracy KW - Algorithms KW - Automatic vehicle classification KW - Axle spacing KW - Errors KW - Gaussian distributions KW - Oklahoma UR - http://l92018.eos-intl.net/elibsql16_L92018_Documents/FHWA-OK-14-17%202250%20Refai.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1368758 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01574093 AU - Eksioglu, Sandra D AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - National Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic Competitiveness AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Mission Intermodal Excellence PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 11p AB - The main objective of this project is to continue educating K-12 students about intermodal transportation. In 2012, the National Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic Competitiveness (NCITEC) funded a K-12 project which aimed to develop tools, such as, lesson plans and hands-on activities that would introduce K-12 students to intermodal transportation. The authors delivered the first summer training program for K-12 teachers during June and August, 2013. The second year had similar planned outcomes including additional lesson plans which will be developed by the principal investigators (PIs) and the teachers. Learning activities were developed and refined through the course of the spring of 2014. A new cadre of teachers were recruited during this time as well and the summer 2014 session was planned and implemented. This second cadre then implemented the curricula in their classrooms. The outcomes of this program include additional learning materials that will be continually available via the program website. These will continue to impact student learning in grades K-12 nationwide. The teachers trained in the program will continue to implement the curricula in their classroom extending the effect impact from year to year. KW - Curricula KW - Education and training KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Students KW - Teachers UR - http://www.ncitec.msstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012-06FR.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1363640 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01573562 AU - Wang, Kelvin C P AU - Li, Joshua Q AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - 3D Laser Imaging for ODOT Interstate Network at True 1-MM Resolution PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 151p AB - With the development of 3D laser imaging technology, the latest iteration of PaveVision3D Ultra can obtain true 1mm resolution 3D data at full-lane coverage in all three directions at highway speed up to 60MPH. This project provides rapid survey using PaveVision3D Ultra for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) interstate highways and SH-51 from I-35 to Sand Springs with approximately 1,280 center miles of pavement. With sophisticated Automated Distress Analyzer 3D (ADA-3D) software interface, the collected 1mm 3D data provide ODOT solutions for automated evaluation of pavement surface including longitudinal profile for roughness, transverse profile for rutting, predicted hydroplaning speed for safety analysis, and cracking and various surface defects for distresses. The Pruned Exact Linear Time (PELT) method, an optimal partitioning algorithm, is implemented to identify change points and dynamically determine homogeneous segments so as to assist DOT effectively using the available 1mm 3D pavement surface condition data for decision-making. The application of 3D 1mm laser imaging technology for network survey is unprecedented. This innovative technology allows highway agencies to use the 1mm 3D system for design and management purposes, particularly to meet the data needs for pavement management system (PMS), bridge deck evaluation without requiring field visits to individual bridges, Pavement ME Design and Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). KW - Automated distress analyzer KW - Condition surveys KW - Interstate highways KW - Laser imaging KW - Oklahoma KW - Pavement cracking KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement management systems KW - Roughness KW - Rutting KW - Technological innovations UR - http://l92018.eos-intl.net/elibsql16_L92018_Documents/FHWA-OK-14-14%202251%20Wang.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1363435 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01573561 AU - Yang, Xiaoming AU - Bulut, Rifat AU - Poudyal, Roman AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Prototype Geotechnical Report Database PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 42p AB - Archive geotechnical reports in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) contain valuable information such as site maps, photographs, borehole data, laboratory and field test data, and design analyses. A proper use of the information may bring significant cost saving for future projects. Currently, thousands of archive geotechnical reports are stored in paper file boxes in the material division of the department. The current way of file storage makes it very difficult to search and distribute the geotechnical information. The objective of this study is to develop a prototype geotechnical report database to allow easy report archiving and accessing for the department. The research team investigated the practice and recent development of other state DOTs and assessed the efficiency of the current file storage in the material division. The prototype database developed currently allows all computers under ODOT network to search and view about one hundred geotechnical reports in pdf format. The database was developed using Microsoft Access. However, the information in the database can also be accessed from an equivalent KML file using Google Earth, Google Map, ArcGIS desktop, ArcGIS explorer or other compatible programs. With the KML file, users can view all available reports on a map and access the PDF reports by clicking the hyperlink on the map. KW - ArcGIS KW - Databases KW - Geographic information systems KW - Geotechnical engineering KW - Information storage and retrieval systems KW - Oklahoma Department of Transportation KW - Prototypes KW - Reports UR - http://l92018.eos-intl.net/elibsql16_L92018_Documents/FHWA-OK-14-11%202259%20Yang.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1363438 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01570355 AU - Klinich, Kathleen D AU - Manary, Miriam A AU - Orton, Nichole R AU - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Feasibility of Center LATCH PY - 2014/12 SP - 58p AB - This paper explores the geometric feasibility of installing dedicated lower anchors in the center rear seating positions of vehicles. Analysis was based on a previous research study in which the lateral spacing of seat belt and LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) lower anchorages were measured in 85 model year 2010-2011 vehicles. The goal of this study was to determine how many vehicles would have the physical space to incorporate a third set of dedicated lower anchors in the center seating position for child restraint installation. Usability of all of the lower anchors, as well as the seat belts, was also considered. To begin, nine vehicles that currently have dedicated lower anchors in the center position were reviewed. The distances between all seat belt anchors and lower anchors across the vehicle sample were also analyzed to identify spacings that are currently feasible in production. The arrangement of seat belt and lower anchor hardware across the rear seat was also reviewed with respect to usability. Based on these analyses, a lateral distance between the outboard webbing and outboard lower anchor of 75 to 100 mm is common. The suggested minimum distance between lower anchors and seat belt hardware is 25 mm. Based on these dimensions, vehicles with 710 mm or more between the outboard lower anchor centerlines (OBLACL) should have sufficient space to provide three sets of usable, dedicated lower anchors in the right, center, and left seating positions. Providing the highest level of usability with regard to use of seat belt or LATCH hardware in adjacent seating positions would be achieved by placing each pair of lower anchors between the webbing and buckle hardware for the seating position. If the OBLACL is less than 710 mm, an improvised center LATCH position (permitting use of the inboard lower anchors from the outboard seating positions to secure a child restraint in the center seating position) may be feasible. The maximum spacing of this improvised center LATCH position would be 480 mm. If a vehicle allowed an improvised center LATCH position, placing the inboard lower anchor between the outboard buckle and nearest center seat belt hardware would maximize usability of the seat belt in the outboard seating position and lower anchors in the center seating position. KW - Child restraint systems KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) KW - Seat belts KW - Vehicle design UR - http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/111831/103191.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359893 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01570352 AU - Shuler, Scott AU - Colorado State University, Fort Collins AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Use of Waste Tires (Crumb Rubber) on Colorado Highways PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 111p AB - The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using waste tires (crumb rubber) in the construction of asphalt pavements in Colorado. Two pilot test sections and one control section were constructed and observed over a five-year period to meet this objective. The two pilot test sections were built using two crumb rubber modified (CRM) asphalt processes. One process uses ground tire rubber (GTR) blended with hot asphalt cement at the asphalt plant to form the hot mix asphalt. This is referred to as the Wet Process. The other process blends GTR and asphalt cement at a remote blending facility and is then transported to the hot mix plant to produce the hot mix asphalt. This process is the Terminal Blend method. In addition, a control section was constructed containing a conventional binder. Binders in the two test sections containing GTR and the control section met the specifications for PG 64-28 asphalt. Each of the three test sections contains approximately 1,000 tons of 2-inch asphalt overlay placed over a cold-milled surface in the eastbound driving lane of US 34 Bypass near Greeley, CO. Construction of the test and control sections occurred in the summer of 2009. The goal of this research project is to evaluate the performance of the crumb rubber test sections compared with the conventional control section and depending on performance, develop Colorado-specific materials and construction specifications for ground tire modified asphalt pavements. Also, the research project aims to develop guidelines and best management practices for the construction of ground tire modified asphalt pavements. Transverse cracking began in the rubber modified sections after 22 months of service and longitudinal cracking began after 29 months. The control sections have no transverse cracking to date with longitudinal cracking beginning to appear after 56 months. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Best practices KW - Colorado KW - Crumb rubber KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Pavement cracking KW - Pavement performance KW - Specifications KW - Surface course (Pavements) KW - Test sections KW - Tires UR - https://www.codot.gov/programs/research/pdfs/2014/use-of-waste-tires-crumb-rubber-on-colorado-highways/at_download/file UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1360209 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567436 AU - Everett, Stephanie R AU - Athigakunagorn, Nathee AU - Woldermariam, Wubeshet AU - Varadarajan, Vinay AU - Arman, Mohammad AU - Roshandeh, Arash M AU - Gkritza, Konstantina AU - Labi, Samuel AU - Sinha, Kumares C AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Impact of HB‐1481 on Indiana’s Highway Revenue Generation, Asset Degradation, Modal Distribution, and Economic Development and Competitiveness SN - 9781622603312 PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 188p AB - The Indiana House Enrolled Act 1481 (HEA-1481) requires that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) delivers the HEA-1481 study by December 31, 2014. This will precede the adoption of final rules for the issuance, fee structure, and enforcement of permits for overweight divisible loads; a fee structure of permits for loads on extra heavy duty highways; and a fee structure of permits for overweight loads. On December 26, 2013, INDOT adopted the Emergency Rules regarding these items, as required by HEA-1481, which became effective January 1, 2014. HEA-1481 requires INDOT to use the results of this impact study to inform the setting of the final rules. Three different fee structures were considered: Pre-HEA-1481 fee structures were in place prior to HEA-1481; Interim Policy fee structures that were in place between June 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013; and the Emergency Rules that took effect January 1, 2014 and superseded the above two fee structures. INDOT commissioned this study to evaluate the impacts of overweight divisible load permits on revenue, asset consumption, alternative transportation modes, and Indiana’s economic development and economic competitiveness relative to other Midwestern states. The results of the analysis indicate that overall, the overweight commodities divisible permit structure arising from HEA-1481 is not expected to dramatically change the consumption of Indiana's pavement and bridge assets, but it will lead to a slight increase in the revenue collected per permit and a slight decrease in the gap between consumption and revenue. However, the gap between revenue and consumption is still significant: for the pre-HEA-1481 and the Emergency Rules periods, the consumption-revenue gaps were estimated as approximately $33 million and $30 million, respectively. From an operations standpoint of mobility and safety, it was estimated that HEA-1481 will have an ambiguous impact due to the twin but opposing effects of traffic impairment and trips reduction associated with overweight vehicles; the net effect depends on the prevailing characteristics of the traffic stream and extent of overweight loading. Also using the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Intermodal Transportation and Inventory Cost (ITIC) analysis tool, it was found that HEA-1481 will lead to little or no shift in the modal share across truck and rail, but a significant shift across the specific configurations of vehicles used in trucking operations. HEA-1481 is expected to increase the economic competitiveness of trucking operations in Indiana compared to the pre-HEA 1481 era, and in some cases, compared to other Midwestern states. Finally, HEA-1481 is expected to increase economic development at least in the long term by reducing the cost of transporting commodities by highways, an essential expenditure item of many major businesses in Indiana. Overall, HEA-1481 is expected to help protect the highway bridge and pavement infrastructure by providing incentives for less-damaging loading behavior, reduce the gap between revenue and consumption, increase the economic competitiveness of trucking operations relative to other states, and provide a more industry-friendly environment for increased economic development in the state of Indiana. KW - Asset management KW - Deterioration KW - Economic analysis KW - Fees KW - Heavy vehicles KW - Indiana KW - Indiana Department of Transportation KW - Laws and legislation KW - Overweight loads KW - Permits KW - Revenues KW - Transportation modes UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315514 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358313 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567381 AU - Golden, Marilyn AU - Chia, David AU - Ellis, Buffy AU - Thatcher, Russell AU - Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Accessible Transit Services for All PY - 2014/12 SP - 381p AB - Ensuring the provision of accessible transit services for all requires that both accessible fixed-route transit services and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services be provided. Significant progress has been made on both since the passage of the ADA in 1990. Some challenges remain, including the provision of high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable ADA paratransit. Between 1999 and 2012, demand for ADA paratransit increased from 68 million trips per year to 106 million trips per year, and the average nationwide cost per trip increased from $13.76 to $32.74. This report presents successful strategies for providing high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable ADA paratransit service and describes examples of inclusive service designs that can be used to effectively meet the transit needs of all riders. A nationwide survey of transit agencies was conducted to identify strategies and service designs. Twelve in-depth case studies were conducted to gather information about implementation and effectiveness. The disability community was involved to identify and select service strategies, designs, and case studies. KW - Accessibility KW - Americans with Disabilities Act KW - Case studies KW - Implementation KW - Paratransit services KW - Persons with disabilities KW - Public transit KW - Surveys KW - Sustainable transportation UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0081.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55563/FTA_Report_No._0081.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358319 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567316 AU - Havens, Scott AU - Marshall, Hans-Peter AU - Trisca, Gabriel AU - Johnson, Jeffery B AU - Boise State University AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Real Time Avalanche Detection for High Risk Areas PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 62p AB - Avalanches routinely occur on State Highway 21 (SH21) between Lowman and Stanley, Idaho each winter. The avalanches pose a threat to the safety of maintenance workers and the traveling public. A real-time avalanche detection system will allow the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) avalanche forecasters to remotely monitor the major avalanche paths on this corridor. Information from the real-time system will aid avalanche forecasters in determining the current avalanche hazard, provide information about the timing and location of avalanche activity, initiate response/clearing of roadway, and provide information for when the road may be safe to open. The overall project objective was to develop a real-time avalanche detection system that could be easily deployed and expanded to other avalanche areas within Idaho. In addition, the system developed through the research needed to be capable of providing information to avalanche forecasters in a format they can interpret. In this project, the authors demonstrate that: (1) Avalanches can be detected using low-cost sensor arrays that measure infrasound (sound below the threshold of human hearing, less than 20 Hz); (2) These arrays can be reliably deployed for continuous remote monitoring throughout the winter; and (3) The multi-sensor high resolution data can be processed on-site and high level information can be relayed back to ITD avalanche forecasters. KW - Avalanches KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Highways KW - Idaho KW - Infrasound KW - Real time information KW - Sensors KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55100/55102/RP219Final12312014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1356213 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563771 AU - Ullman, Gerald L AU - Iragavarapu, Vichika AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Work Zone Positive Protection Guidelines for Idaho PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 80p AB - The Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Title 23 Part 630 Subpart K - Temporary Traffic Control (630.1102–630.1110) rule states that positive protection shall be considered where work zone conditions place workers at increased risk from motorized traffic and where positive protection devices can significantly improve safety. This project developed Idaho-specific work zone positive protection guidelines that Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) staff can use when designing work zone traffic management plans. The guidelines address conditions where positive protection device (i.e. devices that contain and/or redirect vehicles and meet the federal crashworthiness evaluation criteria) application can be recommended on the basis of reduced work zone crash costs. For sites where such conditions do not exist, guidelines are provided regarding intrusion and crash reduction countermeasures (e.g., closer channelizing device spacing and supplemental speed management devices) that could be employed. These guidelines are based on the theory of encroachment hazard analysis, which was conducted using the Roadside Safety Analysis Program (Version 3, NCHRP 22-27, 2012). KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Guidelines KW - Idaho KW - State of the practice KW - Temporary barriers KW - Traffic crashes KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zone traffic control UR - https://itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/RP228WorkZoneFinal01122015.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55100/55103/RP228WorkZoneFinal01122015.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1353738 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563768 AU - Mahoney, Joe P AU - Slater, Megan AU - Keifenheim, Chris AU - Uhlmeyer, Jeff AU - Moomaw, Tim AU - Willoughby, Kim AU - University of Washington, Seattle AU - Washington State Transportation Center AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - WSDOT Chip Seals—Optimal Timing, Design and Construction Considerations PY - 2014/12//Research Report SP - 93p AB - The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) does not have sufficient pavement preservation funding to keep up with inflation and pavement needs. This has caused WSDOT to emphasize in its preservation program lower-cost options such as chip seals. The study was conducted on several aspects of WSDOT chip seals including (1) the optimum timing for alternating chip seals (or Bituminous Surface Treatments (BSTs)) with hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlays, (2) design of chip seal application rates, and (3) a range of construction and performance factors. The research incorporated surveys, literature reviews, and five BST meetings that were held between 2006 and 2011. All of these activities are summarized in this report. WSDOT has continuously changed both policy and specifications as new information became available for improving their chip seal performance. In recent years, a policy change resulted in using chip seals on roadways with up to 10,000 annual daily traffic (ADT). As such, a secondary factor examined in this study was maximum ADT levels which provide for sensible chip seal construction. KW - Annual average daily traffic KW - Bituminous overlays KW - Chip seals KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Literature reviews KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Surveys KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/837.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1354249 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563766 AU - Trejo, David AU - Chen, Jiaming AU - Oregon State University, Corvallis AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Extended Discharge Time and Revolution Counts for Ready-Mixed Concrete PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 379p AB - Specifications for ready-mixed concrete limit drum revolution and mixing time to 250 drum revolutions and/or 1.5 hours before discharge. These specifications have been in place for many years with the objective of ensuring the quality and performance of the finished concrete product; however, these limitations could potentially increase construction costs without additional benefits, especially when longer transport distances are required. Because there have been significant changes in concrete constituent materials (e.g., chemical admixtures) and equipment since these limits were first implemented, research is needed to assess the effects of time to discharge and drum revolution counts on concrete performance. The objective of this research program is to evaluate and verify whether existing specifications for mixing and transporting concrete are applicable for today’s materials and equipment and if not, to identify key variables or tests that can ensure adequate placeability and good mechanical and durability characteristics. This study evaluated the influence of coarse and fine aggregate, supplementary cementitious materials quantity and type, chemical admixtures, temperature and mixing time and drum revolution on the mechanical and durability characteristics of concrete. Results indicate that existing specifications may be appropriate due to loss of workability. However, mixing time and drum revolution counts had no significant effects on the majority of mechanical properties and durability characteristics of ready-mixed concrete and results from this research indicate that existing specification limits are very conservative. KW - Admixtures KW - Aggregates KW - Concrete mixing KW - Durability KW - Mechanical properties KW - Ready mixed concrete KW - Specifications KW - Workability UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/831.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1354248 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563409 AU - Kingsley, Gordon AU - Boyer, Eric AU - Rogers, Juan AU - Knox-Hayes, Janelle AU - Georgia Institute of Technology AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Implementing Communities of Practice in the Georgia Department of Transportation PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 135p AB - This study explored strategies through which the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) can develop communities of practice to help managers facilitate critical exchanges of knowledge, support organization learning, and ultimately achieve improvements in performance outcomes. Communities of practice (COPs) are groups of professionals working on behalf of an organization, who develop on-going informal knowledge exchanges as a means of learning about and performing key job-related processes and skills. The study consisted of five main objectives: 1) to map the incidence of COP in GDOT, 2) to monitor patterns of knowledge flows through COPs, 3) to assess the costs and benefits of COP, 4) to develop a strategy for application of SharePoint to the development of COPs and 5) to assess the impact of employee retirements on knowledge retention. The study identified the practices and functions of four communities of practice within GDOT. Strategies for supporting COPs through training and the creation of SharePoint sites were applied to two of the COPs. The effectiveness of these strategies was tested by comparing the two COPs who received interventions with the two COPs with no interventions. The findings indicate that investing in communities of practice can lead to improved performance and operational efficiency. This finding was most pronounced in decentralized communities of practice where personnel are spread widely across many offices and locations within GDOT. Much of the role of supporting COPs, the authors find, occurs through providing increased authoritative support, improved definition of roles, and adaptation of COP knowledge to job-related skills. KW - Benefits KW - Communication systems KW - Costs KW - Employees KW - Georgia Department of Transportation KW - Information dissemination KW - Knowledge KW - Performance KW - Planning methods KW - Retirement KW - Training UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/11-37.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352904 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01562610 AU - Biernbaum, Lee AU - Minnice, Paul AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Integrated Corridor Management Transit Vehicle Real-Time Data Demonstration: Dallas Case Study PY - 2014/12 SP - 35p AB - As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) purchased new automatic passenger counter (APC) technology for its Red and Orange line light rail vehicles to provide real-time passenger counts to its train control center and to provide data to the ICM decision support system. By gaining access to real-time passenger counts, DART hopes to respond more effectively to unplanned incidents on the rail network by enabling more responsive service adjustments. This report summarizes how DART responded to incidents before ICM, addresses what has changed after ICM deployment, and identifies constraints to optimum responses. KW - Before and after studies KW - Case studies KW - Dallas Area Rapid Transit KW - Data collection KW - Integrated corridor management KW - Passenger counting KW - Public transit KW - Real time information KW - Technological innovations UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0077.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54700/54768/FTA_Report_No._0077.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352130 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560984 AU - Lukasik, Dan AU - Castellanos, Monica AU - Chandler, Adam AU - Hubbard, Elliot AU - Jagannathan, Ramanujan AU - Malone, Teresa AU - Leidos Corporation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guidelines for Virtual Transportation Management Center Development PY - 2014/12 SP - 146p AB - The purpose of this project is to develop guidelines for the creation, implementation and operation of a Virtual Traffic Management Center (TMC). This guidebook is intended to serve as a detailed reference that addresses the concepts, methods, processes, tasks, techniques, and other related issues for practitioners to consider associated with planning and development for a virtual TMC. The guidebook describes the business planning process for developing a virtual TMC and provides guidance and procedures for addressing technical, operational and institutional issues such as data needs, communications, responsibilities, and agreements for collaborating remotely. KW - Case studies KW - Guidelines KW - Implementation KW - Information dissemination KW - Information management KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic control centers UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop14016/fhwahop14016.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349695 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560896 AU - Bennert, Thomas AU - Rutgers University, New Brunswick AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Determining Binder Flushing Causes in New York State PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 117p AB - In 2007, a number of asphalt pavements in New York State flushed. An extensive forensic and laboratory investigation was conducted to determine why particular New York State asphalt pavements constructed in 2007 had undergone “atypical” flushing. Analysis of quality control records, laboratory characterization of field cores, and a laboratory mixture evaluation component were conducted to help best determine the potential reasoning for unexpected pavement flushing. At the conclusion of this study, there were no definitive reasons as to why these pavements had flushed. For every task evaluated where a potential reason was identified that may have caused the flushing issue, there were always exceptions that prohibited a conclusive answer. Therefore, although the findings in the study outline how material testing and specification can be improved in New York State to help reduce the potential for rutting/flushing in the future, the exact reasoning for the flushing in 2007 is still unknown. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Bituminous binders KW - Bleeding (Pavements) KW - Cores (Specimens) KW - Laboratory studies KW - Materials tests KW - Mix design KW - New York (State) KW - Rutting UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-08-15%20Final%20Report_12-2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347462 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560858 AU - Salem, Ossama (Sam) AU - Syracuse University AU - TranLIVE AU - University of Idaho, Moscow AU - Research and Special Programs Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Work Zones in Arterial Improvement Projects PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 89p AB - Preservation treatments help in extending the remaining service lives of pavements, but at the same time, they may have substantial environmental impacts due to the acquisition of raw materials, transportation of the extracted materials, manufacturing of the final product, and the use of various equipment during the treatment process. Traditional and accelerated maintenance, repair and rehabilitation (MRR) techniques were identified for both flexible and rigid pavements. Environmental impacts of the commonly used MRR strategies were calculated. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used, taking into account the life extension of the pavement for each type of strategy. The scope boundary included only the construction activities relevant to pavement MRR. LCA results showed that for flexible pavements, accelerated rehabilitation techniques like partial or full depth reclamation have less life cycle environmental impacts than traditional techniques like milling and overlay or total reconstruction. For rigid pavements, all the rehabilitation techniques are comparatively new. The environmental impacts were found to be similar for both traditional techniques like concrete full depth repair and accelerated techniques like precast concrete pavement systems. Minor treatment processes for both flexible and rigid pavements like fog seal, crack seal, concrete seal joints, diamond grinding, and concrete partial depth repair have minimum impacts with maximum benefits when the corresponding life extensions are compared. The results obtained can assist highway construction management professionals to select environmentally sustainable MRR solutions. KW - Arterial highways KW - Environmental impacts KW - Flexible pavements KW - Life cycle analysis KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Rigid pavements KW - Work zones UR - http://tranliveutc.org/~/media/Files/orgs/ENGR/Research/NIATT/TranLIVE/Final%20Reports/SU_TranLIVE_Final%20Report_Assessing%20the%20Environmental%20Impacts%20of%20Work%20Zones%20in%20Arterial%20Improvement%20Projects UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348915 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560376 AU - Rigdon, Heather AU - Atkinson, Jennifer AU - Bosack, John AU - O’Donnell, Cara AU - Lambert, Julie AU - Leidos AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - North American Conference on Elderly Mobility: Noteworthy Practices Guide PY - 2014/12 SP - 47p AB - It is increasingly important to account for the safety and needs of older adults in our transportation system as the population ages. The North American Conference on Elderly Mobility (NACEM) was held May 11-14, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan and featured best practices in older adult mobility and highlighted new developments since the conference was first held in 2004. This guide showcases national and international noteworthy practices presented during each conference track: infrastructure and vehicles; driver screening and assessment; driver education and training; alternative transportation, mobility management, and coordination; and housing and land use. The agencies and organizations featured in this guide have significantly improved the safety and mobility of our older population through the use of various techniques and programs that can be replicated nationwide. KW - Aged KW - Aged drivers KW - Best practices KW - Mobility KW - North America KW - Safety UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_users/noteworthy/elderlymobilitynpg.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54800/54864/elderlymobilitynpg.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349706 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560237 AU - Epstein, Aexander K AU - Peirce, Sean AU - Breck, Andrew AU - Cooper, Coralie AU - Segev, Eran AU - New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Truck Sideguards for Vision Zero: Review and Technical Recommendations for Safe Fleet Transition Plan Pilot Deployment PY - 2014/12 SP - 81p AB - Volpe, The National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) partnered with the New York City (NYC) Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) in establishing recommendations for implementing large truck side underride protection as part of the landmark Vision Zero program. This report details findings and recommendations from the study. Large truck crashes are more likely to result in a pedestrian or bicyclist fatality than crashes involving passenger vehicles and more likely to be side-impact crashes. Sideguards are vehicle-based safety devices that prevent pedestrians and cyclists, and in some instances motorcyclists, from falling into the exposed space between the axles of trucks with high ground clearance. Volpe’s review of available information related to sideguard design and crash outcomes in countries requiring these safety devices for up to three decades indicates that the safety effectiveness of sideguards has been well established. The fatality rate for bicyclists and pedestrians colliding with the side of a truck decreased by 61% and by 20%, respectively, following a national sideguard requirement in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Volpe reviewed regulatory and voluntary sideguard precedents, as well as existing international technical specifications, to develop a foundation for New York City-based sideguard standards. With input from the City’s Fleet Federation, the Fleet Specifications Committee, and constituent DCAS fleets, Volpe tailored the recommendations to focus on the most relevant types of vehicles in NYC’s municipal fleets. These recommendations build upon existing European and United Kingdom sideguard standards and are intended to advance the Safe Fleet Transition Plan for DCAS fleet vehicles, the largest potential truck sideguard pilot deployment for bicyclist and pedestrian safety in the U.S. The recommendations may also inform future regulatory requirements. KW - Bicycle crashes KW - Fleet safety KW - New York (New York) KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Recommendations KW - Safety programs KW - Side crashes KW - Truck crashes KW - Underride override crashes KW - Vision Zero UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54700/54711/Truck_Sideguards_NYC.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1348740 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560094 AU - Schneeberger, J D AU - Jacobi, Amy AU - Torng, Gwo-Wei AU - Noblis AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transit Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) Applications: Near Term Research and Development; Transit Bus Stop Pedestrian Safety Application: Operational Concept PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 58p AB - This document serves as an Operational Concept for the Transit Bus Stop Pedestrian Safety application. The purpose of this document is to communicate user needs and desired capabilities for and expectations of the Transit Bus Stop Pedestrian Safety application. This document also serves to build consensus among transit user groups and stakeholders concerning these needs and expectations. The Transit Bus Stop Pedestrian Safety application will alert nearby pedestrians indicating the transit vehicle’s intention of pulling into or out of a bus stop. The application allows messages to be sent from transit vehicles to instrumented transit stops that in turn provide audible or visual alerts to pedestrians in the vicinity of a bus stop. This Operational Concept describes how the application applies to motor buses; however the application is also applicable to other transit types such as light rail. Three scenarios are described, including: Scenario 1. Motor Bus Approaching the Transit Bus Stop; Scenario 2. Motor Bus Departing from the Transit Bus Stop; and Scenario 3. Warning to Pedestrians of Oncoming Vehicles when Alighting the Motor Bus at the Transit Bus Stop, This document is intended to convey at a high-level how the application may work, so others may design and implement systems in the future. As such, the Transit Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) Operational Concept documents are “generalized” and not specific to a geographic area, an operating entity (e.g., transit agency), existing systems that may be in place for a region, agency operating procedures, nor political environment. KW - Bus stops KW - Operational concept description KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Transit buses KW - Vehicle to infrastructure communications KW - Warning systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54483/FHWA-JPO-14-174_v1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344674 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560082 AU - Jackson, D AU - Semler, C AU - Ryus, P AU - Nevers, B AU - Kittelson and Associates, Incorporated AU - CH2M Hill AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - How to Guide - Transit Operations Decision Support Systems (TODSS) PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 120p AB - Transit Operations Decision Support Systems (TODSS) are decision support systems designed to support dispatchers in real-time bus operations management in response to incidents, special events, and other changing conditions in order to restore service when disruptions occur. This How-To Guide is intended for use by agencies planning, deploying, operating, and maintaining (TODSS). It was developed based on the outcomes and lessons learned from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) sponsored TODSS Prototype project with Pace in Chicago IL, and from interviews with agencies and vendors that have recently deployed TODSS and TODSS-like systems. KW - Bus transit operations KW - Decision support systems KW - Guidelines KW - Handbooks KW - Integrated corridor management KW - Service disruption KW - Transit Operations Decision Support Systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54471/FHWA-JPO-14-144_v1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344660 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01559870 AU - Strauss, Rachel AU - Middleton, Scott AU - Nash, Logan AU - Peckett, Haley AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - 2013/2014 Eco-Logical Program Annual Report PY - 2014/12//Annual Report SP - 61p AB - The Eco-Logical approach offers an ecosystem-based framework for integrated infrastructure and natural resource planning, project development, and delivery. The 2013/2014 Eco-Logical Program Annual Report provides updates on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA's) Eco-Logical Program, in particular the Implementing Eco-Logical initiative funded through the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) in coordination with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The report discusses program accomplishments of Implementing Eco-Logical as well as from Implementing Eco-Logical Implementation Assistance Program recipients and past Eco-Logical Grant Program recipients. The report provides findings and updates on recipients’ projects and shares recommendations for next steps for the FHWA Eco-Logical Program. KW - Ecological highways KW - Ecosystems KW - FHWA Eco-Logical Program KW - Highway planning KW - Implementation KW - State of the practice KW - Strategic Highway Research Program 2 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54500/54588/2013-2014_Eco-Logical_Annual_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344651 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558320 AU - Miller, Adam M AU - Jahren, Charles T AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Rapid Replacement of Bridge Deck Expansion Joints Study – Phase I PY - 2014/12//Interim Report SP - 73p AB - Bridge deck expansion joints are used to allow for movement of the bridge deck due to thermal expansion, dynamics loading, and other factors. More recently, expansion joints have also been utilized to prevent the passage of winter de-icing chemicals and other corrosives applied to bridge decks from penetrating and damaging substructure components of the bridge. Expansion joints are often one of the first components of a bridge deck to fail and repairing or replacing expansion joints are essential to extending the life of any bridge. In the Phase I study, the research team focused on the current means and methods of repairing and replacing bridge deck expansion joints. Research team members visited with Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Bridge Crew Leaders to document methods of maintaining and repairing bridge deck expansion joints. Active joint replacement projects around Iowa were observed to document the means of replacing expansion joints that were beyond repair, as well as, to identify bottlenecks in the construction process that could be modified to decrease the length of expansion joint replacement projects. After maintenance and replacement strategies had been identified, a workshop was held at the Iowa State Institute for Transportation to develop ideas to better maintain and replace expansion joints. Maintenance strategies were included in the discussion as a way to extend the useful life of a joint, thus decreasing the number of joints replaced in a year and reducing the traffic disruptions. KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge decks KW - Expansion joints KW - Iowa KW - Maintenance KW - Service life KW - Workshops UR - http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/intrans_reports/110/ UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/19136/1/IADOT_InTrans_Jahren_Rapid_Replacement_Bridge_Deck_Expansion_Joint_Phase_I_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347302 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557311 AU - Perry, Ernie AU - Zietlow, Ben AU - Jermier, Aaron AU - Wagner, Steve AU - Umentum, Andrew AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Brown County AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Wisconsin Commercial Ports Development Initiative: Strategic Development to Grow PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 196p AB - The National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE)-led team assessed Wisconsin's commercial port infrastructure, the current and potential port markets, and related freight and maritime policies, planning and programs. This information was then combined with input and direction from the state’s port leadership, industries, agencies and the logistics sector. Combined, the assessments and stakeholder input are then used to create a strategic action plan to attract sustainable markets, encourage community development, and direct policy and programs in support of the state’s ports, communities and overall economy. KW - Economic development KW - Infrastructure KW - Market assessment KW - Policy KW - Ports KW - Stakeholders KW - Strategic planning KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/CFIRE_09-02_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345897 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557292 AU - Paul, Alvaro AU - Kurtis, Kimberly E AU - Kahn, Lawrence F AU - Singh, Preet M AU - Georgia Institute of Technology AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of Sand Quality on Concrete Performance: Examination of Acidic and Sulfate/Sulfide-Bearing Sands PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 108p AB - The purpose of this research is to examine how the presence of sulfide- and sulfate-containing minerals in acidic aggregates may affect the properties of mortar and concrete. Analyses were performed to compare two sands from a deposit in the Georgia coastal area with Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)-approved natural sand. Results show that sulfide- and sulfate-bearing acidic sands present an important variability and could delay the hydration reactions of cement at early-age, could result in variability in the mechanical properties of concrete, and could accelerate the onset of delayed ettringite-induced expansion when subjected to a high temperature curing cycle. Also, these acidic sands may reduce the corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete. Based on these results, it is recommended that the use of this type of sand be avoided in prestressed concrete, precast operations, mass concrete, and other applications where an initial high temperature could be reached. It is also recommended that such sands be avoided in concrete structures exposed to marine environments. In other applications, if the sand source must be used, preliminary recommendations include the use of a sulfate-resistant Type V cement and use of appropriate supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), although further evaluation of such material combinations is advised to ensure adequate performance. KW - Aggregates KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Assessments KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Durability KW - Georgia KW - Recommendations KW - Sand KW - Sulfates KW - Sulfides UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1346748 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557284 AU - Ashuri, Baabak AU - Mostaan, Kia AU - Georgia Institute of Technology AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Innovative Project Delivery Using Alternative Financing Mechanisms: Assessment of Benefits, Costs, and Risks PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 194p AB - The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) and state DOTs across the nation seek private investments to leverage their shrinking financial resources and fulfill their growing funding shortfalls. Involvement of the private sector in financing highway projects is subject to various limitations and challenges that affect state DOTs’ project planning and development, and limit the expansion of private financing for highway projects. Private sector involvement in highway financing across the U.S. is subject to various limitations. State DOTs face different kinds of financial, political, legal, management, and organizational issues affecting their ability to attract private investments in highway projects. The main purpose of this project is to enhance the understanding of Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) regarding the complexity of incorporating financing into the innovative project delivery process. Particularly, the objective of this study is to capture the underpinnings of private financing in highway projects in the following areas: (1) The latest developments and trends in utilizing innovative financing mechanisms for highway projects; (2) main objectives and major concerns of state DOTs in the decision-making processes; (3) deal-breaker issues and major concerns of private sector participants; and (4) recommended best practices to enhance adoption of private financing for highway projects. A comprehensive review of academic and professional literature was conducted in order to analyze and document the latest developments and trends in utilizing private financing for highway projects. In order to document the current state of private financing for highway projects a survey was conducted from state DOTs. Following the nationwide survey of state DOTs’ practices for incorporating private financing in highway projects, this study identified a list of deal-breaker issues and major challenges that hinder private sector involvement in financing highway projects through conducting interviews with the industry experts in private financing. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Best practices KW - Construction projects KW - Decision making KW - Financing KW - Georgia Department of Transportation KW - Project delivery KW - Public private partnerships KW - Risk analysis KW - State departments of transportation KW - Surveys UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1346746 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557024 AU - Arizona Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Long Range Transportation Plan for the Hualapai Indian Tribe PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 399p AB - The Hualapai Indian Tribe and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) conducted a long-range transportation plan to identify and address the most critical current and future transportation needs on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. The study was funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) State Planning and Research Program and administered through ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division's Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) program. The primary goal of this study was to develop a transportation improvement plan that promotes safety and mobility, enhances economic vitality, improves community livability, encourages environmental and cultural sensitivity, and supports current and planned economic development. The study also included a comprehensive inventory update of the Hualapai Tribe's roads in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) Road Inventory Field Data System (RIFDS). Roadway conditions currently in the inventory were updated, additional roadways were added, and some roads were removed. KW - Arizona KW - Condition surveys KW - Economic development KW - Hualapai Indian Tribe KW - Long range planning KW - Mobility KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Quality of life KW - Roads KW - Safety KW - Transportation planning UR - http://apps.azdot.gov/adotlibrary/Multimodal_Planning_Division/Tribal_Transportation/Hualapai_Long_Range-FR-1412.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345768 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556718 AU - Huseth, Andrea AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Anticipatory Guidance Provision Related to Driving Safety/Cessation for Older Drivers: A Rural-Urban Comparison PY - 2014/12 SP - 32p AB - Older drivers are overrepresented in motor vehicle crash fatalities. As the U.S. population continues to age, this problem will grow. Health care providers (HCPs) are in a position to provide their older patients with education which may prevent further motor vehicle fatalities. Rural older adults are more likely to equate driving with mobility and quality of life due to a lack of alternative transportation options, often leading them to continue driving longer. This study sought to compare the frequency of mobility counseling provision among rural and urban HCPs to older adults, in addition to determining barriers to providing this information. Surveys were administered to HCPs and older adults in rural and urban areas in the upper Midwest. Older adults in general received little counseling from their HCPs in regard to driving safety or driving cessation, with a majority of respondents having never received any information on this topic. Frequency of mobility counseling provision related to driving cessation as offered by HCPs in general increased with patient age. Rural HCPs were less likely than their urban counterparts to provide this type of information to their patients. One of the greatest barriers HCPs listed to providing mobility counseling was the lack of time during a patient visit. Rural HCPs were also less likely than urban HCPs to feel there are adequate resources for older drivers in their communities, and were less likely to know where to refer their patients in need of testing for their fitness for continued driving. KW - Aged drivers KW - Counseling KW - Driving cessation KW - Health care KW - Medical personnel KW - Midwestern States KW - Mobility KW - Rural areas KW - Surveys KW - Urban areas UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-277.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345409 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556497 AU - Kim, Yong-Rak AU - Im, Soohyok AU - Ban, Hoki AU - Aragão, Francisco Thiago Sacramento AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Impact of Truck Loading on Design and Analysis of Asphaltic Pavement Structures-Phase IV: Mixed-mode Fracture Characterization PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 47p AB - Cracking in asphalt concrete pavements causes primary failure in the pavement structure. It is considered one of the key issues to be addressed when selecting paving materials and designing sustainable pavement structures. Due to the diverse nature of truck loads and pavement geometry, the asphalt mixture in the pavement is subjected to complex cracking behavior, such as mixed-mode fracture, which is a combination of opening mode and shearing mode of fracture. For a better understanding of asphalt fracture and a more accurate design of pavement structure, mode-dependent fracture behavior needs to be characterized. This study presents integrated experimental-numerical efforts to characterize the mixed-mode fracture of a fine aggregate matrix (FAM) which is the primary phase of cracks around stiffer coarse aggregates when typical asphalt concrete mixtures are subjected to heavy truck loads at intermediate service temperatures. Experimentally, semicircular bend (SCB) fracture tests were conducted by varying the geometric-loading configurations with different initial notch inclination angles and supporting spans to achieve different fracture modes (opening, shearing, and mixed). The SCB fracture test results were then integrated with the extended finite element modeling which is also incorporated with mode-dependent cohesive zone fracture to properly identify the mode-dependent fracture properties. The test and model simulation results indicated that the cohesive zone fracture toughness of mode-II (shearing) is quite different from mode-I (opening) fracture toughness. The critical fracture energy was related to the mixed-mode ratio, which presented a power relationship between the total fracture toughness and involvement of mode-II fracture in the total. Findings and observations from this study, although they are limited at this stage, imply that the mixed-mode fracture characteristics are significant and need to be considered in the structural design of asphalt pavements with which multiaxial cracking is usually associated. KW - Aggregates KW - Asphalt concrete pavements KW - Finite element method KW - Fracture properties KW - Fracture tests KW - Mix design KW - Overweight loads KW - Traffic loads UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Kim_ImpactofTruckLoadingonDesignandAnalysisofAsphalticPavementStructures-PhaseIV.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344945 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01555794 AU - Barr, Paul J AU - Halling, Marv W AU - Pettigrew, Christopher S AU - Utah State University, Logan AU - Rutgers University, Piscataway AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Forensic Testing of a Double Tee Bridge PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 240p AB - This report describes an investigation to quantify the behavior of precast, prestressed concrete double-tee bridge girders made with lightweight concrete. As part of the investigation, three bridge girders were salvaged from a decommissioned bridge in Coalville, Utah. Each girder was subjected to a cracking test to determine the residual prestress force after approximately forty-eight years of service life. Once the prestress losses were quantified, a flexural capacity test was performed on each girder, as well as shear capacity tests performed at various distances from the support. The measured losses and capacities were compared to estimated values calculated according to procedures in the AASHTO LRFD Specifications. It was concluded that the AASHTO LRFD procedures for calculating prestress losses were accurate and the calculated shear capacities were conservative. However, the calculated flexural capacities were not conservative, which is believed to be a result of deck deterioration. In addition to the physical tests, a nonlinear finite-element analysis (FEA) was conducted using ANSYS that was found to replicate the experimental behavior, failure mechanism, and magnitude. KW - AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications KW - ANSYS (Computer program) KW - Coalville (Utah) KW - Finite element method KW - Flexural capacity KW - Girders KW - Lightweight concrete KW - Precast concrete KW - Prestress losses KW - Prestressed concrete KW - Shear capacity UR - https://cait.rutgers.edu/files/CAIT-UTC-044-final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342953 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01555756 AU - Bektas, Fatih AU - Smadi, Omar AU - Al-Zoubi, Mazin AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Pavement Management Performance Modeling: Evaluating the Existing PCI Equations PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 79p AB - The work described in this report documents the activities performed for the evaluation, development, and enhancement of the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) pavement condition information as part of their pavement management system operation. The study covers all of the Iowa DOT’s interstate and primary National Highway System (NHS) and non-NHS system. A new pavement condition rating system that provides a consistent, unified approach in rating pavements in Iowa is being proposed. The proposed 100-scale system is based on five individual indices derived from specific distress data and pavement properties, and an overall pavement condition index, PCI-2, that combines individual indices using weighting factors. The different indices cover cracking, ride, rutting, faulting, and friction. The Cracking Index is formed by combining cracking data (transverse, longitudinal, wheel-path, and alligator cracking indices). Ride, rutting, and faulting indices utilize the International Roughness Index (IRI), rut depth, and fault height, respectively. KW - Condition surveys KW - Evaluation KW - Friction KW - Iowa KW - Pavement cracking KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance KW - Ratings KW - Rutting UR - http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/existing_PCI_equations_w_cvr.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344388 ER - TY - SER AN - 01555382 JO - LTPP TechBrief PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Franta, Daniel P AU - Wojtkiewicz, Steven F AU - Khazanovich, Lev TI - Classification of Features of Pavement Profiles Using Empirical Mode Decomposition PY - 2014/12 SP - 16p AB - The Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database contains surface profile data for numerous pavements that are used mainly for computing International Roughness Index (IRI). In order to obtain more information from these surface profiles, a Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) based surface profile algorithm was developed to analyze LTPP field road profile data in order to extract smoothed, consistent profiles from noise-filled data sets using empirical mode decomposition (EMD). The application of this algorithm to concrete surface profiles resulted in the successful separation of the intrinsic mode functions contained within the profile data for several LTPP pavement test sections from Wisconsin, Arizona, and Utah. Arizona was the only test section where the profiles showed consistent “curl” deflections for the same slab over a 20-month timespan and during both winter and early fall seasons. The consistent slab shape is likely due to built-in curl. Built-in curl is defined as permanent concrete slab deformation that occurs early in the life of the pavement. By categorizing and separating intrinsic mode functions contained within LTPP profile data, the results can be used to analyze specific portions of LTPP surface profile data in order to improve concrete pavement models in the future. Currently, no comprehensive procedure exists to model or estimate long-term, effective built-in curling. The developed surface profile algorithm that has proven to be universal can be applied to any LTPP profile data for analysis. KW - Algorithms KW - Arizona KW - Classification KW - Concrete pavements KW - Curling KW - Deflection KW - Empirical Mode Decomposition KW - Hilbert-Huang transform KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Pavement performance KW - Utah KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/13093/13093.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344147 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554458 AU - Al-Nazer, Leith AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Track Profile Approximation Using Railcar Body Acceleration Data PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 46p AB - Accelerations are frequently measured from the car body of a rail vehicle, which is mounted above one or more suspension systems. Measuring accelerations in the car body is largely done for convenience, as mounting an accelerometer to a truck or axle of a railcar is more cumbersome than simply placing an accelerometer inside the railcar body. For those involved with track research, maintenance, and safety, there is a desire to correlate these car body accelerations with track conditions. However, a railcar suspension system acts as a filter that can interfere with taking precise acceleration measurements. To complicate matters further, the railcar body, in combination with the suspension system, has several natural modes of vibrations. As a result, some accelerations that exceed a predefined threshold measured from the railcar body do not correlate with track conditions. Thus, the use of acceleration data in this manner to accurately and reliably identify track defects or exceptions may be hampered--potentially triggering further inspection by railroad personnel when unnecessary--or masking such indicators. This report puts forth a simplified model of a railcar and a corresponding deconvolution filter (also known as an inverse filter) which theoretically eliminates the amplification and attenuation effects of the railcar suspension system. KW - Acceleration (Mechanics) KW - Railroad cars KW - Railroad tracks KW - Ride quality KW - Suspension systems UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14326 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341313 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554450 AU - Pankow, James AU - Figliozzi, Miguel AU - Bigazzi, Alexander AU - Portland State University AU - National Institute for Transportation and Communities AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Evaluation of Bicyclists Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution along Distinct Facility Types PY - 2014/12//Draft Final Report SP - 97p AB - While bicyclists and other active travelers obtain health benefits from increased physical activity, they also risk an uptake of traffic-related air pollution. But pollution exposure for urban bicyclists is not well understood due to a lack of direct measurements and insufficient analysis of the determinants of exposure. This knowledge gap impedes pollution-conscious transportation planning, design, and health impact assessment. The research presented in this report generates new connections between transportation system characteristics and pollution exposure for bicyclists. The primary research questions are: 1) How does urban bicyclists’ exposure to air pollution vary with roadway and travel characteristics? and 2) To what extent can transportation-related strategies reduce exposure? Novel methods to collect and integrate bicycle, rider, traffic, and environmental data are also introduced. Bicyclist exposure concentrations and travel characteristics were collected on a wide range of facilities in Portland, Oregon. High-resolution trajectory and pollution data were then integrated with roadway and traffic data. Models of exposure were estimated from the on-road data. Important new quantifications in the models include the effects of facility type, average daily traffic (ADT), stop-and-go conditions, and industrial corridors on multi-pollutant exposure. Findings from this research and the literature are distilled so that they can be incorporated into bicycle network design guidelines. KW - Air pollution KW - Bicycle facilities KW - Cyclists KW - Data collection KW - Evaluation KW - Health KW - Portland (Oregon) KW - Transportation planning KW - Urban areas UR - http://ppms.otrec.us/media/project_files/NITC-RR-560.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343864 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554430 AU - Bullough, John D AU - Skinner, Nicholas P AU - Besenecker, Ute C AU - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - High Visibility Reflective Sign Sheeting Evaluation PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 47p AB - Highway signs are a critical part of the roadway infrastructure, providing important information to drivers to assist in navigation, identify potentially hazardous roadway locations, and to remind drivers of safe operating practices. Ensuring that signs have sufficient visibility to the driving public is a key undertaking by transportation agencies such as the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). In order to assist NYSDOT in evaluating and comparing different materials for photometric and visual performance, the present project was conducted to select and validate a visibility model for use as a basis for performance specifications, to develop a practical methodology for conducting field measurements of sign performance along roadways, and to develop practical tools to assist highway engineers in making informed quantitative decisions about the levels of performance provided by different materials. In addition to describing the methods for an approach to visual performance based specifications, a spreadsheet tool for calculating sign luminance and visibility was also developed. KW - Evaluation KW - Luminance KW - Methodology KW - New York (State) KW - Performance based specifications KW - Photometry KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Sign sheeting KW - Traffic signs KW - Visibility UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-07-03 Final Report_12-2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342133 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554408 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Federal Highway Administration Focus Area Data Definitions PY - 2014/12//Summary Report SP - 6p AB - Roadway departure (RwD), intersections, and pedestrians have been focus areas of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research and safety programs for well over a decade because of elevated motor vehicle crash incidents. Countermeasures within each focus area have evolved as the data are further evaluated, and data-driven thinking has resulted in new processes for applying countermeasures. This analysis has led to an interest in improving not only the data that are used but also the definitions by which FWHA measures the crashes within each of its focus areas. The latter is the focus of this technical summary. The primary objectives of this report are as follows: (1) Inform safety specialists and data analysts of the FHWA revisions to the focus areas and (2) Provide detailed information on the current Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) attributes of each FHWA focus area. KW - Definitions KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - Intersections KW - Pedestrians KW - Ran off road crashes KW - Traffic crashes KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342952 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554406 AU - Cantor, David E AU - Osborn, Ethan AU - Singh, Prabhjot AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Midwest Transportation Center AU - Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Firm Size and Safety Performance Profile of the U.S. Motor Carrier Industry PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 59p AB - The purpose of this study was the development of a driver-focused truck crash prediction model with a particular focus on the size of the carrier that the driver is associated with at the time of a state reportable crash. While previous studies have shown that the characteristics of the driver affect driver involvement in reportable crashes, scant attention has been paid to how the size of the carrier affects crash rates. Generally speaking, smaller carriers do not have the resources to invest in monitoring and implementing sound safety practices to ensure safe operations in the U.S. motor carrier industry. This represents a significant problem because the majority of carriers in the industry are small carriers. This study seeks to enhance the understanding of how the characteristics of carriers contribute to driver involvement in state reportable crashes. KW - Crash rates KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Motor carriers KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucking safety KW - United States UR - http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=intrans_reports UR - http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/motor_carrier_firm_size_safety_performance_w_cvr.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/56000/56600/56663/A_Firm_Size_and_Safety_Performance_Profile_of_the_U.S._Motor_Carr.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341977 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554394 AU - Qin, Xiao AU - Wang, Kai AU - Wang, Zhiguang AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - South Dakota Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Selection of Interest and Inflation Rates for Infrastructure Investment Analyses PY - 2014/12 SP - 62p AB - Engineering economic analyses (EEA) apply economic methodologies to engineering problems for decision-making support. When conducting an EEA, interest and inflation rates are the two critical factors. Using inappropriate values for interest and inflation rates could affect decision-making, such as unfairly favoring specific industries (e.g. concrete over asphalt or vice versa), over- or under-budgeting future projects. It is necessary to identify the appropriate methodology to measure interest and inflation rates to enhance the credibility and reliability of investment decisions. The current assumption of a zero interest rate in the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) EEAs may be problematic. Zero interest rate is unable to differentiate projects with various life cycles but in reality interest rates vary by time. Additionally, the use of a general inflation rate may be debatable because the price of materials and labor can vary by type and area. In this research, SDDOT's current uses of interest and inflation rates were identified through interviews. The new approach to establishing interest and inflation rates was developed from the combination of basic economic principles and state-of-the-art methodologies. Specifically, a non-zero interest rate was calculated by the treasury and state-issued bond yields; the region- and material-specific inflation rates were measured, calculated, and applied to the SDDOT Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) studies; and the composition of the South Dakota Construction Cost Index (SDCCI) was re-examined and modified. In conclusion, this study introduced improved methodologies to calculate the discount rate for an EEA, presented the advantages of using a more specific inflation rate over a general inflation rate, and illustrated the consequence of selecting inappropriate rates. KW - Cost indexes KW - Decision making KW - Economic analysis KW - Inflation KW - Infrastructure KW - Interest rates KW - Investments KW - Life cycle costing KW - Methodology KW - South Dakota Department of Transportation UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-275.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341461 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554377 AU - Bilgin, Ömer AU - Arens, Kevin AU - Salveter, Mark AU - University of Dayton AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Analysis of Aggregate Pier Systems for Stabilization of Subgrade Settlement PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 166p AB - Every year, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) undertakes numerous pavement patching/resurfacing projects to repair pavement distress and structural failure due to soft and/or organic soils constituting the subgrade. Other than the temporary solution of patching/resurfacing, removal of weak soils and replacement with new suitable engineered fill can be used for permanent remediation. However, when problem soils are relatively deep this method can be too costly. There are various vertical column support methods used for civil engineering structures when soils are not strong enough to support the structure. Although some of these methods are utilized by several state departments of transportation (DOTs) to remediate settlement problems of existing roadways, they were not used in Ohio for this purpose. This study investigated the applicability of various vertical column support systems to improve subgrade and reduce settlements for existing roadways in Ohio. A decision matrix has been developed to identify the feasible methods. Two sites with ongoing subgrade settlements have been investigated through detailed subsurface investigations for possible implementation. Several technically feasible vertical column support methods have been identified for these sites. Lifetime cost-benefit analysis performed show that although there are some upfront costs associated with these remediation methods, the vertical column support ground improvement methods are significantly more cost effective compared to the current practice of patching/resurfacing temporary alternative during the project’s lifetime, and can result in significant cost savings to ODOT and roadway users. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Ground settlement KW - Ohio KW - Piers (Supports) KW - Soft soils KW - Soil stabilization KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Vertical supports UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/903208509/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341458 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554360 AU - Hiltunen, Dennis R AU - University of Florida, Gainesville AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - Synthesis/Literature Review for Determining Structural Layer Coefficients (SLC) of Bases PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 33p AB - Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT’s) current method of determining a base material structural layer coefficient (SLC) is detailed in the Materials Manual, Chapter 2.1, Structural Layer Coefficients for Flexible Pavement Base Materials. Currently, any new base material not approved under FDOT specifications must undergo (1) laboratory testing, (2) test pit investigation, and (3) a project test section for constructability and roadway performance evaluation to determine a SLC for design purposes. The test section evaluation phase can take up to five years to compare the pavement performance of the new base material with a limerock base control section. In this project, a thorough review of literature has been conducted of current and past practices for the determination of structural layer coefficients (SLC) of pavement base materials. The review organizes the methodologies into three broad categories: (1) methods that determine SLCs via relationships with other material parameters; (2) methods that determine SLCs via estimates of the structural number (SN) of existing and available pavement sections; and (3) methods that establish SLCs via equivalencies with a reference material. Several of the strategies reviewed provide opportunities for estimating SLCs of both traditional and new base course materials in a more accelerated fashion and in considerably less time than the five years often required at present. KW - AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Layer coefficient (Pavements) KW - Literature reviews KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement layers KW - Structural number (Pavements) UR - http://www.fdot.gov/research/Completed_Proj/Summary_SMO/FDOT-BDV31-977-27-rpt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341465 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554346 AU - Dong, Jing AU - Albrecht, Chris AU - Johnson, Patrick AU - Makaiwi, Micah AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Study of the Regulatory Issues Affecting Truck Freight Movement in the Midwest PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 51p AB - This project investigated regulatory issues that may affect or limit freight movement in Iowa and other Midwest states: Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Current state regulations for the following are reviewed and summarized: vehicle dimensions, vehicle weights, speed limits, weight compliance enforcement, fees and taxes, driver qualifications, medical certification, Hours of service, and oversize-overweight permits. KW - Certification KW - Drivers KW - Fees KW - Freight traffic KW - Hours of labor KW - Iowa KW - Midwestern States KW - Oversize loads KW - Overweight loads KW - Permits KW - Policy KW - Regulations KW - Speed limits KW - Taxes KW - Trucking KW - Vehicle size KW - Vehicle weight UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/18652/1/MATC_CTRE_Dong_Regulatory_Issues_Affecting_Truck_Frieght_Movement_Midwest_2014.pdf UR - http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/midwest_truck_regulatory_issues_w_cvr.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341975 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554329 AU - Dunn, Naomi J AU - Hickman, Jeffrey S AU - Soccolich, Susan AU - Hanowski, Richard J AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Driver Detention Times in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 65p AB - The purpose of this project was to quantitatively identify detention times in the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry. Although there is currently no standard definition, the industry commonly defines detention time as “any time drivers have to wait beyond 2 hours, which is the average time it takes to load or unload their cargo.” Results indicated that drivers experienced detention time on approximately 1 in every 10 stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours. This represents the length of time the driver was detained beyond 2 hours; thus, he/she was loading/unloading at that delivery location for 3.4 hours in total. Medium-sized carriers (51–500 power units) had similar average detention times as large carriers (more than 500 power units); however, they experienced driver detention about twice as often as large carriers. For example, 19 percent of stops made by medium-sized carriers were accompanied by detention time compared to 9 percent of stops made by large carriers. The calculation of odds ratios (ORs) provided similar results for medium-sized carriers when compared to large carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were 2.17 times greater for medium-sized carriers than for large carriers. Operation type did not have much impact on the average length of detention time; however, operation type influenced how frequently drivers experienced detention time, with for-hire truck load (TL) carriers experiencing detention time more than twice as frequently as for-hire less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and four times more often than private carriers. The OR analysis also indicated that for-hire TL carriers were worse off than for-hire LTL or private carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were nearly 5 times greater for for-hire TL carriers than for private carriers and 2.6 times greater than for for-hire LTL carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were 6.3 and 1.9 times greater for temperature controlled freight carriers than for dry bulk carriers, and liquid bulk/tank freight carriers, respectively. KW - Carriers KW - Commercial drivers KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Detention KW - Loading and unloading KW - Time duration KW - Truck drivers KW - Waiting time UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54300/54378/13-060-Detention-508C-Dec14.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54300/54379/13-060-Detention_Research_Brief-508C-Dec14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342147 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554296 AU - Chang, George AU - Xu, Qinwu AU - Rutledge, Jennifer AU - Garber, Sabrina AU - Transtec Group, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Study on Intelligent Compaction and In-Place Asphalt Density PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 321p AB - Intelligent Compaction (IC) technology is an innovation of roller technology that can be used to improve quality control (QC) of the asphalt pavement compaction process. It is increasingly used by the asphalt paving industry in the U.S. Currently, IC is being adopted by many federal and state highway agencies. Asphalt IC technology uses accelerometer-based methods to collect IC measurement values (ICMV) that relate to the stiffness of the compacted materials. Across the U.S., in-place asphalt density measurement is still the de facto method for acceptance as the in-place densities relate to long-term performance of asphalt pavements. Past limited research has not been successful in finding a strong correlation between ICMV and measured in-place density. To accelerate the implementation of IC technology, it is essential to further study the relationship between IC measured data and core density to assess the use of IC measurements beyond QC. This project includes extensive field studies and data analysis and modeling in order to investigate the relationship between ICMV and other IC measurements (such as pass counts, temperatures, vibration frequencies/amplitudes, direction, speed, etc.) and asphalt in-place densities. The pass-by-pass ICMV correlate well with nuclear density gauge measurements during breakdown compaction. As the final ICMV does not correlate well with core densities, the final ICMV data is not recommended to replace cores for acceptance. An IC-based nonlinear panel data model was also developed to reasonably predict asphalt in-place density as an enhanced QC tool. Recommendation are also provided regarding future research and implementation to maximize the potential benefits of IC. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Compaction KW - Data analysis KW - Field studies KW - In place density KW - Nuclear density gages KW - Paving KW - Quality control KW - Recommendations KW - United States UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/ictssc/pubs/hif14017.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342629 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554286 AU - Eudy, L AU - Post, M AU - Gikakis, C AU - National Renewable Energy Laboratory AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2014 PY - 2014/12//Technical Report SP - 47p AB - This report, published annually, summarizes the progress of fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) development in the United States and discusses the achievements and challenges of introducing fuel cell propulsion in transit. It provides a summary of results from evaluations performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It tracks the progress of the FCEB industry toward meeting technical targets, documents the lessons learned, and discusses the path forward for commercial viability of fuel cell technology for transit buses. Its intent is to inform Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Department of Energy (DOE) decision makers who direct research and funding; state and local government agencies that fund new propulsion technology transit buses; and interested transit agencies and industry manufacturers. The 2014 summary results primarily focus on the most recent year for each demonstration, generally from August 2013 through July 2014. The results for these buses account for more than 938,444 miles traveled and 85,061 hours of fuel cell power system operation. The summary results are from four demonstrations at three transit agencies: (1) Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) Demonstration Group led by Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) in California; (2) BC Transit Fuel Cell Bus Project (final year of in-service operation) in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada; and (3) Advanced Technology FCEB and American Fuel Cell Bus Project at SunLine Transit Agency in California. KW - Alameda Contra Costa Transit District KW - British Columbia Transit KW - Demonstration projects KW - Evaluation KW - Fuel cell vehicles KW - Hybrid vehicles KW - Sunline Transit Agency KW - Technological innovations KW - Transit buses KW - United States UR - http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/fc_buses_2014_status.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343861 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554270 AU - Schneider, William H AU - Miller, Christopher AU - Crow, Mallory AU - Holik, William A AU - University of Akron AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of the Viking-Cives TowPlow for Winter Maintenance PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 92p AB - To maximize efficiency while minimizing costs within Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT’s) winter maintenance budget, ODOT is evaluating new methods of snow and ice removal. One method is the use of the Viking-Cives TowPlow. The TowPlow is pulled behind a tandem axle truck and has the ability to treat an additional lane. A thorough evaluation of the TowPlow is conducted to determine the feasibility for implementation into an ODOT garage, including: level of service (LOS), equipment usage in different types of weather, and impacts on the traveling public. To successfully evaluate the TowPlow, three main areas of data (weather, utilization, and speed data) are collected from three counties that used the TowPlow in the 2013–2014 winter season. It is observed that the TowPlow causes slightly higher delays to motorists during all storm severities, except in heavy snow, when the TowPlow’s delay is equal to that of the standard truck. There is an annualized cost savings averaging $22,551 when compared to the equivalent standard trucks needed to match the TowPlow’s ability. KW - Costs KW - Evaluation KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Ohio KW - Snow and ice control KW - Snowplows KW - Traffic delays KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/SPR/Research/reportsandplans/Reports/2015/Maintenance/134704_FR.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343184 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554259 AU - Cummings, Scott AU - Transportation Technology Center, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Broken Rims in Railroad Wheels PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 59p AB - Broken wheels are one of the most common types of equipment-caused train accidents. The failure of rail car wheel rims, which are usually the result of shattered rims or vertical split rims (VSR), are the leading cause of wheel-related accidents, and they are increasing as a percentage of all equipment-related accidents. The root causes of shattered rims have been agreed upon in the literature and effective mitigation procedures have already been implemented. Inspection, analysis, and testing of microcleanliness and residual stresses have increased confidence in a theory about the root cause of VSR failures in railroad wheels. However, two attempts to replicate the VSR failure mode under controlled conditions in the laboratory were unsuccessful, indicating that more research is needed to better understand VSRs and to assess the best potential mitigation methods. VSRs are thought to be the result of tread damage on the wheel surface in the form of a shell or spall that initiates cracking in the rim and produces impact loads when it comes in contact with the rail. If the crack propagates vertically to an area of tensile residual stress in the wheel rim, further crack growth is encouraged until a portion of the rim breaks free from the wheel. KW - Cracking KW - Impact loads KW - Railroad safety KW - Railroad trains KW - Wheel rims KW - Wheels UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14325 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341314 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554248 AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - U.S. Air Force TI - Operational Implications and Proposed Infrastructure Changes for NAS Integration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) PY - 2014/12//Technical Report, Version 0.1 SP - 143p AB - The intent of this report is to provide (1) an initial assessment of National Airspace System (NAS) infrastructure affected by continuing development and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems into the NAS, and (2) a description of process challenges attendant to timely infrastructure changes in response to a growing demand for safe and efficient air traffic control services for unmanned aircraft systems. KW - Air traffic control KW - Airspace (Aeronautics) KW - Assessments KW - Drone aircraft KW - Infrastructure KW - National Airspace System KW - Remotely piloted aircraft UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54491/Volpe_NAS_Integration_of_RPA.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342277 ER - TY - SER AN - 01554222 JO - Research Results PB - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Autonomous Broken Rail Detection Technology for Use on Revenue Service Trains PY - 2014/12 IS - RR 14-40 SP - 4p AB - ENSCO Inc. in collaboration with Virginia Tech (VT) has developed, tested, and integrated a wavelet-based broken rail detection algorithm. This algorithm utilized acceleration data that was recorded by the Vehicle/Track Interaction (V/TI) Monitor, an autonomous measurement system that proved promising during an experimental blind test. To compliment the V/TI Monitor, a geo-fencing technology identified single axle impacts that occur at locations away from known track features. Both of these methods were evaluated using historical data collected in 2011 and data recorded as part of this study (between December 2012 and April 2013). Difficulties in establishing ground truth data led the researchers to perform dynamic simulations with LS-DYNA and arrange a controlled test over known rail breaks at the Transportation Technology Center (TTCI). For all data sets analyzed, the algorithms were unable to identify broken rails with a high degree of accuracy while minimizing the number of false-positive alerts. This report will focus on the results produced by the rail-detection algorithm from the 2011 historical data and a controlled test at TTCI. KW - Algorithms KW - Detection and identification KW - Maintenance of way KW - Railroad tracks KW - Simulation KW - Wavelets UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14327 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341312 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554202 AU - Ocel, Justin AU - Kogler, Robert AU - Ali, Mir AU - Rampart AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Interlaboratory Variability of Slip Coefficient Testing for Bridge Coatings PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 64p AB - All steel bridge systems need some type of a corrosion protection scheme to ensure a serviceable life. The most common approach is to use a multilayered paint system with a zinc-rich primer. In addition to corrosion performance, other factors need to be considered in the selection of the corrosion protection system. Steel bridges are usually fabricated in smaller components and assembled onsite using high-strength bolted connections with slip-critical connections. Slip-critical connections use the high clamping force of the bolt to develop frictional shear stresses in excess of the load demand such that slip within the connection would not be expected under service loads. Primers used on faying surfaces of slip-critical connections must demonstrate a predetermined level of slip resistance in accordance with the Research Council of Structural Connections (RCSC). This study seeks to evaluate the details of the RCSC slip test specification as applied by four different laboratories. A commonly manufactured set of test panels spanning five typical organic zinc-rich primers was tested independently and in parallel by four laboratories. The data were compared, and subtle yet important variations in test approach taken by each lab are discussed. Recommendations are provided for revisions to the RCSC test protocol to reduce variability. KW - Coatings KW - Laboratory tests KW - Primers (Materials) KW - Recommendations KW - Research Council on Structural Connections KW - Slip resistance KW - Steel bridges KW - Test procedures UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/bridge/14093/14093.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342274 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554152 AU - Stavrinos, Despina AU - Ross, Lesley AU - Sisiopiku, Virginia AU - Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE) AU - Alabama Department of Transportation AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Naturalistic Driving Study Across the Lifespan PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 83p AB - In high-risk populations, the ability to drive safely requires striking a balance between maintaining independent mobility and the avoidance of unsafe driving. In the United States, where alternative transportation is often limited, motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are one of the leading causes of death for individuals across the lifespan. The Senior and Adolescent Naturalistic Driving Study (SANDS) investigated the complexities surrounding driving in two high risk age groups (teens and older adults). We employed naturalistic driving technologies to measure unbiased real-world driving mobility (amount traveled throughout environment), driving safety (crashes/risky driving behavior), and driving behavior (how/when travel occurred). SANDS participants were recruited to participate in the following stages: (1) a comprehensive baseline assessment of demographics, cognitive, sensory, and physical/health functioning; (2) installation of a Naturalistic Data Acquisition Device (N-DAD) into participants’ vehicles for two weeks, providing objective driving data via photographs, high g-force events (i.e., MVCs, near MVCs, and critical incidents), and Geographical Positioning System (GPS); and (3) a post-test assessment during which participants provided self-reported information about driving safety, mobility and behavior and removal of devices. Overall, due to limitations with the N-DAD, the results should be interpreted with great caution. Results indicated a general lack of association between self-reported and objective data, with one exception: there was a significant relationship between self-reported and objectively measured interaction with cell phones. Several possible demographic, cognitive, sensory, and physical predictors of driving emerged for the sample, with different predictors for older adults and teens. Qualitative data suggested that participants were satisfied with the N-DAD overall and see its utility for other’s to review their driving behavior, particularly if incentives were involved (e.g., discount on car insurance). Implications of findings and possible future directions are discussed. KW - Aged drivers KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Behavior KW - Cellular telephones KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Demographics KW - Driving KW - Mobility KW - Teenage drivers KW - Traffic safety UR - http://stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/Stavrinos_Ross_STRIDE_Final_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343109 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554095 AU - Mielke, Jon AU - Winchell, Dick AU - Murphy, Ashley AU - Eastern Washington University, Cheney AU - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Emergency Preparedness Handbook for Tribal Governments PY - 2014/12 SP - 40p AB - Many Native American tribal governments are lacking in emergency preparedness, a part of the emergency management cycle where planning for disasters happens. These governments need assistance planning for future disasters. Federal, and state governments, along with other agencies and organizations, have the knowledge and resources to help tribal governments develop emergency response plans. This handbook is a resource to help tribes develop and implement an emergency preparedness plan for responding to natural and man-made disasters if and when they occur. KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - Handbooks KW - Native Americans KW - Planning KW - Tribal government UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-276.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343070 ER - TY - SER AN - 01552137 JO - Research Results PB - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Crippling Test Of An M1 Passenger Railcar PY - 2014/12 IS - 14-43 SP - 4p AB - Occupied volume integrity (OVI) refers to a passenger railcar’s ability to preserve interior cabin space for passengers and crew during an accident. By preventing or minimizing structural deformation of, or intrusions into the rail vehicle's interior, passengers are better able to withstand, sustain and survive the immense forces resulting from an impact or other high magnitude event. The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) is sponsoring research to investigate OVI. The principal objective of the crippling test was to increase the compressive load on the M1 car until the ultimate load capacity of the car was reached. The key outputs from this test were the force-versus-displacement behavior and the overall mode of deformation of the M1 car at crippling. The key measurements that were made included the applied loads, the reaction loads, the displacements of the underframe and the ends of the car, and the strains in key longitudinal members. KW - Compression tests KW - Deformation KW - Load tests KW - Passenger cars KW - Railroad safety UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14328 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341311 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551441 AU - Lu, Pan AU - Bratlien, Andrew AU - Tolliver, Denver AU - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Understanding Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for North Dakota Implementation PY - 2014/12 SP - 59p AB - North Dakota currently designs roads based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Design Guide procedure, which is based on the empirical findings of the AASHTO Road Test of the late 1950s. However, limitations of the current empirical approach have prompted AASHTO to move toward the new mechanistically based pavement design procedure described in the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), which was released to the public for review in 2004 under National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 1-37A. MEPDG combines mechanistic and empirical methodology and provides more realistic characterization of in-service pavements. Its mechanistic approach is both more thorough and more computationally complex than the existing AASHTO design method, and as a result the method can require an extensive number of detailed material, foundational, traffic, and environmental inputs. This and other factors can present a challenge to agencies wishing to implement the new method. Because AASHTO has adopted the MEPDG and highway agencies across the nation are moving towards its implementation, it is critical that North Dakota becomes familiar with the MEPDG documentation and software and identify input data requirements for design. This report summarizes the findings of MEPDG implementation in North Dakota, identifies input data needs and research steps of the MEPDG implementation in the state and also prepares North Dakota for successful implementation of the MEPDG statewide. KW - Calibration KW - Implementation KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - North Dakota KW - Sensitivity analysis KW - Software UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-274.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340557 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551375 AU - Coolbeth, Elise AU - Ellis, Wendy AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Aexcel Roadzilla™ Methyl Methacrylate Pavement Marking PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 17p AB - Pavement markings provide an important means of communication for all roadway users and must be capable of conveying information during inclement weather and evening hours when there may be little to no contribution from overhead lighting. The following report outlines the observations concerning the second application of an experimental pavement marking, known as Aexcel Roadzilla™ Methyl Methacrylate, with respect to long line application. In addition, the report contains information pertaining to field data collection to assess the luminance, durability, and the ability to uphold the retroreflectivity requirements over time. The Aexcel Roadzilla™ Methyl Methacrylate was applied on the Chester Bridge #49 deck replacement BHF-ST 0134 (31) project, located along Vermont (VT) Route 11 at approximately mile marker (MM) 5.7 by the manufacturer, Aexcel Corporation of Mentor, Ohio. The rolled beam bridge structure has approximately an 82’-0” span. A total of 34 readings were taken on both the white edge lines and yellow centerlines on the concrete surface. On the bituminous concrete bridge approaches, 18 readings were taken on the white edge lines and 12 readings were taken on the yellow centerlines. Following the placement of the markings, retroreflectivity and wear readings were collected using uniform methods. Retroreflectivity readings were taken on each line (white edge, white skip, yellow edge) at five-foot intervals on both the bare concrete bridge deck surface and bituminous concrete bridge approaches using the LTL 2000 Retroreflectometer. Readings were collected four times over the course of the first year of the evaluation. At the fourth site visit, it was determined that due to the poor performance of the yellow centerline, it needed to be reapplied. All readings were taken after the reapplication of the yellow. The first year there were losses of retroreflectivity of 83% of the white on concrete and 93% of the white on asphalt. For the first application of the yellow markings, there was a loss of 89% on concrete and 94% on asphalt. For the reapplication, the yellow markings had losses of 92% on the concrete and 81% on the asphalt. The following report summarizes the application, performance and observations. KW - Durability KW - Field studies KW - Luminance KW - Methyl methacrylate KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Road marking materials KW - Road markings KW - Vermont UR - http://vtransplanning.vermont.gov/sites/aot_policy/files/documents/planning/2014-15%20Aexcel%20Roadzilla%E1%B5%80%E1%B4%B9%20Methyl%20Methacrylate%20Pavement%20Marking.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339598 ER - TY - SER AN - 01551336 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - 2013 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview PY - 2014/12 SP - 6p AB - In 2013, 32,719 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States, a 3.1-percent decrease from the 33,782 fatalities in 2012. This decline shows a continuation in the general decline in fatalities that started in 2006, except for the increase in 2012, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). In 2013, an estimated 2.31 million people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes, compared to 2.36 million in 2012 according to NHTSA’s National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) General Estimates System (GES), a decrease of 2.1 percent. The change in the number of injured people from 2012 to 2013 is not statistically significant. KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - General Estimates System KW - National Automotive Sampling System KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic safety KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812101.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339703 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551313 AU - Shippen, Norris AU - Kennedy, Marie AU - Pennington, Lani S AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Review of Studded Tires in Oregon PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 188p AB - This study provides an update to the previous studded tire study for Oregon completed in 2000. The focus of this research was to quantify current use of studded tires and the wear and cost caused by that use. Some results include a decline in studded tire use from about 16 percent of registered vehicles in 1995 to about 4 percent in the 2013-14 winter season. A wear rate for Portland cement concrete (PCC) of about 0.0091 inches per 100,000 studded tire passes, while the wear rate of asphalt pavement is about 0.0295 inches per 100,000 studded tire passes. Three different cost categories of studded tire damage mitigation were identified. The three scenarios are included in this study, but the base case scenario for these estimates predicts an annual average expenditure of about $4 million from the year 2012 up to the year 2022. These estimates are only for the State Highway System and exclusive of any amounts to be spent by the cities and counties on their road systems. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Costs KW - Oregon KW - Pavement performance KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Studded tires KW - Wear UR - http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/ResearchReports/SPR304-671_StuddedTires_FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339978 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551302 AU - Hedrick, John C AU - Fritz, Steven G AU - Southwest Research Institute AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Locomotive Emissions Measurements for Various Blends of Biodiesel Fuel PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 47p AB - The objective of this project was to assess the effects of various blends of biodiesel on locomotive engine exhaust emissions. The emission tests were conducted on two locomotive models, a Tier 2 EMD SD70ACe and a Tier 1 Plus GE Dash9-44CW, using two baseline fuels: (1) conventional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ASTM No. 2-D S15 certification diesel fuel and (2) commercially available California Air Resource Board (CARB) Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel. A single batch of soy-based B100 was mixed in with the EPA and CARB diesel to yield a 5 percent and 20 percent blend of fuel. A randomized test matrix was used to perform triplicate tests on each of the six test fuels (EPA0, CARB0, EPA5, CARB5, EPA20, and CARB20). General emissions and fuel economy trends seen in other studies and applications for biodiesel use were also observed in this study. Higher blend levels of biodiesel were associated with lower carbon monoxide and particulate matter, as well as with higher levels of nitrogen oxides and fuel consumption. Use of diesel fuel with 20 percent biodiesel often resulted in statistically significant differences from the fuel with 0 percent or 5 percent biodiesel, while the difference between 0 percent and 5 percent biodiesel was generally not statistically significant. KW - Biodiesel fuels KW - Carbon monoxide KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Fuel consumption KW - Locomotives KW - Nitrogen oxides KW - Particulates KW - Passenger trains KW - Pollutants UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14322 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339997 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551297 AU - Phares, Brent M AU - Lee, Yoon-Si AU - Keierleber, Brian AU - Hupp, Jack AU - Samudrala, Anurag AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Investigation of Field Corrosion Performance and Bond/Development Length of Galvanized Reinforcing Steel PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 39p AB - In reinforced concrete systems, ensuring that a good bond between the concrete and the embedded reinforcing steel is critical to long-term structural performance. Without good bond between the two, the system simply cannot behave as intended. The bond strength of reinforcing bars is a complex interaction between localized deformations, chemical adhesion, and other factors. Coating of reinforcing bars, although sometimes debated, has been commonly found to be an effective way to delay the initiation of corrosion in reinforced concrete systems. For many years, the standard practice has been to coat reinforcing steel with an epoxy coating, which provides a barrier between the steel and the corrosive elements of water, air, and chloride ions. Recently, there has been an industry-led effort to use galvanizing to provide the protective barrier commonly provided by traditional epoxy coatings. However, as with any new structural product, questions exist regarding both the structural performance and corrosion resistance of the system. In the fall of 2013, Buchanan County, Iowa constructed a demonstration bridge in which the steel girders and all internal reinforcing steel were galvanized. The work completed in this project sought to understand the structural performance of galvanized reinforcing steel as compared to epoxy-coated steel and to initiate a long-term corrosion monitoring program. This work consisted of a series of controlled laboratory tests and the installation of a corrosion monitoring system that can be observed for years in the future. The results of this work indicate there is no appreciable difference between the bond strength of epoxy-coated reinforcing steel and galvanized reinforcing steel. Although some differences were observed, no notable difference in either peak load, slip, or failure mode could be identified. Additionally, a long-term monitoring system was installed in this Buchanan County bridge and, to date, no corrosion activity has been identified. KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Corrosion resistance KW - Epoxy coatings KW - Galvanized metals KW - Iowa KW - Laboratory tests KW - Reinforced concrete bridges KW - Reinforcing bars KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/18412/1/IADOT_InTrans_TR-666_Phares_Investigation_Field_Corrosion_galvanized_Reinforcing_Steel_2014_report.pdf UR - http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/galvanized_steel_bridge_w_cvr.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341235 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551287 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2013 Data: Alcohol-Impaired Driving PY - 2014/12 SP - 7p AB - There were 10,076 fatalities in 2013 in crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher; this was 31 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year. An average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality occurred every 52 minutes in 2013. The estimated economic cost of alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States in 2010 (the most recent year for which cost data is available) was $49.8 billion. Of the traffic fatalities among children 14 and younger in 2013, about 17 percent occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. In 2013, the 21- to 24-year-old age group had the highest percentage of drivers in fatal crashes, with BAC levels of .08 or higher (33%). The percentage of drivers with BACs of .08 or above in fatal crashes in 2013 was highest for motorcycle riders (27%). The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2013 was nearly four times higher at night than during the day. Among the 10,076 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in 2013, 68 percent (6,860) were in crashes in which at least one driver in the crash had a BAC of .15 g/dL or higher. Additional statistics on alcohol-impaired-driving fatal crashes in 2013 are provided in this traffic safety fact sheet. KW - Age groups KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Drunk drivers KW - Drunk driving KW - Economic impacts KW - Fatalities KW - Periods of the day KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812102.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341299 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01549329 AU - Copeland, Kyle AU - Mertens, Christopher AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - National Aeronautics and Space Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - CARI-NAIRAS: Calculating Flight Doses from NAIRAS Data using CARI PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 68p AB - The CARI computer program is galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) dose calculation software developed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. It serves the aerospace industry and flying public by providing a means of calculating GCR doses for flights, and as such, is a valuable radiation monitoring tool aiding industry and individuals in their radiation protection efforts. The information the software provides is also used by research scientists to investigate health effects of chronic exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation present in the atmosphere. CARI-6 and previous versions were increasingly inaccurate above 60,000 feet because of the superposition approximation built into their global dose rate tables. This report describes CARI-NAIRAS, a new version of CARI that uses pre-calculated global tables of dose rates generated by the NAIRAS (Now-Cast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety) system developed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center. The NAIRAS system uses the NASA radiation transport code HZETRN (High charge (Z) and Energy TRaNsport), which does not use the superposition approximation, as well as satellite and ground-based data inputs to generate the global tables. CARI-NAIRAS is shown to be in good agreement with Monte Carlo based calculations in the altitude range 27,000 to 87,000 feet, thus eliminating the need for the altitude limit of 60,000 ft. Flight dose estimates are similar to those of CARI-6 and CARI-7. For 24 of the 32 flights investigated, CARI-NAIRAS estimated an effective dose within 20% of the mean of the three programs (CARI-6W, CARI-7, and CARI-NAIRAS). CARI-NAIRAS estimates are expected to improve once the latest version of HZETRN is incorporated into NAIRAS. KW - Aviation safety KW - Calculation KW - CARI (Computer program) KW - CARI-NAIRAS (Computer program) KW - Galactic cosmic radiation KW - NAIRAS (Computer model) KW - Radiation doses UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201413.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1336390 ER - TY - SER AN - 01548656 JO - Research Results PB - Federal Railroad Administration AU - Sharma & Associates AU - Federal Railroad Administration AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Prototype Design and Test of a Collision Protection System for Cab Car Engineers PY - 2014/12 IS - RR 14-37 SP - 4p AB - Advancements in the design of rail cars can potentially prevent the structural collapse of space occupied by a cab car engineer during a train collision. With adequate survival space maintained, the next crashworthiness objective is to minimize the consequences of any resulting secondary impact between the engineer and the control stand. A conceptual Engineer Protection System (EPS) has been developed to meet these design objectives and requirements, using finite element analyses and component-level tests. The system was fabricated and dynamically tested using an instrumented Hybrid III 95th percentile male anthropomorphic test device (ATD). The scope of the effort was as follows: (1) Design and fabricate an EPS to meet the performance requirements, (2) Design and fabricate a baseline cab console to which the EPS components will be installed, (3) Evaluate the design performance using computer model(s) and component tests, (4) Conduct a sled test to verify EPS performance, and (5) Compare the test performance of the EPS with the analysis predictions. KW - Crashworthiness KW - Dummies KW - Finite element method KW - Locomotive engineers KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Prototypes KW - Railroad cars KW - Sled tests UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14244 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334398 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548645 AU - Colgrove, George W AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of the “Bridge in a Backpack” Bridge System from Advanced Infrastructure Technologies (AIT) PY - 2014/12//Initial SP - 28p AB - The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) installed a Bridge in a Backpack (BiaB) system, or also referred to as a Rigified Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Tube Arch (RFTA) Structure on a low volume road in a rural setting. The value of using this system is the potential to use smaller and lighter construction equipment for a restricted delivery location such as forest or farm roads. The BiaB does not require large cranes and there is a potential for in-field fabrication of the tube arch members where large truck delivery is limited. Advantages of the system include good waterway characteristics and suitability for ledge controlled or spread footings. Disadvantages of the system are that few have been constructed and that it has aesthetic limitations. The construction of the Fairfield BiaB project proceeded smoothly. Generally, site conditions and limited experience with the BiaB led to less than ideal means and methods for construction of the system. During construction, it was noted that several opportunities remain for further expedited construction and cost reduction. Generally, VTrans’ experience with the BiaB showed that the system provides a benefit to the State. KW - Arch bridges KW - Assessments KW - Bridge construction KW - Fairfield (Vermont) KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Rural areas KW - Technological innovations UR - http://vtransplanning.vermont.gov/sites/aot_policy/files/2014%20-%2012%20Assessment%20of%20the%20%E2%80%9CBridge%20in%20a%20Backpack%E2%80%9D%20bridge%20system%20from%20Advanced%20Infrastructure%20Technologies%20%28AIT%29.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334946 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548625 AU - Wasiuddin, Nazimuddin M AU - Ashani, Saeid S AU - Islam, M Readul AU - Louisiana Tech University, Ruston AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Dynamic Shear Rheometer Tests for Emulsions PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 253p AB - Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)-based rheological tests of 20 different asphalt emulsion residues were performed and relationships with elastic recovery (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) T301) and force ductility (AASHTO T300) were investigated. In strain sweep test from 2% to 52%, it was observed that emulsions prepared of hard pen base asphalt have relatively lower strain tolerances. Using frequency sweep data, complex modulus master curves were constructed at 25°C to understand overall rheological behavior. Temperature sweep of phase angle from 52°C to 94°C showed that a maximum phase angle in the range of 75° to 85° may be used as a criterion for polymer identification. Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) (AASHTO TP70) at 58°C has been recommended to replace the elastic recovery test (AASHTO T301). At 0.1kPa creep stress, a minimum percent recovery of 25 and at 3.2kPa, a minimum percent recovery of 9 are recommended to identify the presence of polymer replacing elastic recovery test (AASHTO T301). Also, percent recovery of MSCR and phase angle can be used to replace force ductility requirements (AASHTO T300). It is recommended that at 58°C, a maximum phase angle of 81° and a minimum MSCR percent recovery (at 0.1kPa creep stress) of 30 can be specified to replace the force ductility test (AASHTO T300). These criteria are applicable for emulsion residues prepared according to the low temperature evaporative method specified in ASTM D7497. However, a comparative study among ASTM D7497 (24 hr at 25°C and 24 hr at 60°C), ASTM D6934 (3 hr at 163°C), AASHTO TP 72 Method B (6 hr at 60°C), vacuum dry method (6 hr at 60°C, a method developed in this study) and field curing have been performed in order to develop a low temperature low duration recovery method. It was observed that the MSCR test on residue prepared with the vacuum dried method can be used for polymer identification replacing elastic recovery and force ductility tests. Finally, the current specification viscosity range for low and high viscous emulsions using the saybolt furol viscometer to ensure quality control and quality assurance can also be replaced by the rotational viscometer. The ranges recommended are 220 - 730 cP and 5 – 90 cP (gives 98% probability) at 50 rpm and 30°C for high and low viscous emulsions, respectively. KW - Asphalt emulsions KW - Ductility KW - Elasticity (Mechanics) KW - Evaluation KW - Multiple Stress Creep Recovery KW - Performance based specifications KW - Rheological properties KW - Shear modulus KW - Test procedures KW - Viscosity UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/FR_519.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1335544 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548616 AU - Sharif, Hatim AU - Weissmann, José AU - Dessouky, Samer AU - University of Texas, San Antonio AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Safety and Economic Impact of Texas Travel Information Centers PY - 2014/12 SP - 86p AB - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) operates and maintains 12 Travel Information Centers (TICs) which serve visitors traveling into and through Texas. The mission of TxDOT’s Travel Information Division is to promote travel to and within Texas. The TICs, established in 1936, work to fulfill this mission by offering professional travel counseling services and providing routing and highway condition information. This report looks at two key quantifiable benefits of TIC operations: safety benefits and economic benefits. A four-tiered approach was established to provide evidentiary data supporting the safety impact of Texas TICs, by means of the following methodologies: (1) Sourcing existing literature and research studies which demonstrate safety benefits of TICs, particularly for risks of fatigued driving, impacts of commercial trucks, and influences on traveler behavior; (2) Collection and analysis of visitor surveys at TICs, weighted and indexed for safety factors; (3) Analysis of peaks in DriveTexasTM – Travel Information line call volume answered by Texas TIC staff during emergency or extreme weather events affecting travel; and (4) Analysis of crash data for stretches of roadway served by TICs, demonstrating a reduction in crash rates immediately downstream of TIC facilities. Economic impact data for Texas TICs was established through two years of data collection through visitor surveys, combining analysis of annual TIC visitation and that of average daily per-person spending figures. KW - Crash rates KW - Economic impacts KW - Highway facilities for motorized users KW - Highway safety KW - Literature reviews KW - Surveys KW - Texas UR - http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trv/travel-industry/safety-economic-impact-rpt.pdf UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6821-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1335035 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548582 AU - Ellis, Wendy AU - Tremblay, Jason P AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of BlinkerSign® Crosswalk Lighting System PY - 2014/12 SP - 25p AB - Concerning pedestrian safety, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is constantly searching for ways to improve areas where large volumes of people and heavy vehicular traffic may come in direct conflict with one another. In an effort to address this matter, VTrans installed BlinkerSigns®, produced by Tapco, in November 2008 to enhance the visual delineation limits of a preexisting crosswalk adjacent to the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center in Hartford, Vermont. The signs incorporate Day-Viz™ LEDs and 3M™ VIP Diamond Grade™ sheeting giving drivers notice much further in advance than conventional signs. After analyzing the results from the speed studies, the BlinkerSigns® have proven more effective, and therefore safer, than having no system in place. Four years following installation of the BlinkerSigns®, yielding compliance has increased by 8% on average, and a 20% increase was found in the number of vehicles slowing down as they approach within 300 feet of the crosswalk. From these findings, it has been determined that the BlinkerSigns® have provided long-term benefits. The product should be considered at future crosswalks and emergency crossings on Vermont Agency of Transportation projects where increased visibility is warranted. Other recommended applications are crossings that are not well lit, locations of high pedestrian crossings and at critical crossings in urban areas where significant automotive and pedestrian traffic conflicts occur. KW - Crosswalks KW - Field studies KW - Hartford (Vermont) KW - Light emitting diodes KW - Lighting systems KW - Pedestrian signs KW - Sign sheeting KW - Traffic speed UR - http://vtransplanning.vermont.gov/sites/aot_policy/files/2014%20-%2013%20Evaluation%20of%20BlinkerSign%C2%AE%20Crosswalk%20Lighting%20System.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334945 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548567 AU - Farzaneh, Reza AU - Chen, Yuche AU - Johnson, Jeremy AU - Zietsman, Josias AU - Gu, Chaoyi AU - Ramani, Tara AU - White, L D AU - Kenney, Megan AU - Zhang, Yue AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Accounting for Electric Vehicles in Air Quality Conformity PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 134p AB - Electric vehicles (EVs) obtain at least a part of the energy required for their propulsion from electricity. The market for EVs, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles continues to grow, as many new and affordable models have become available in recent years. The proliferation of EVs in the vehicle fleet has implications for energy use and emissions. The mobile source (vehicle exhaust) emissions component is of particular relevance to transportation agencies, especially those in nonattainment and attainment maintenance areas that need to meet transportation conformity requirements. This report presents a framework to incorporate EVs into mobile source emissions estimations. The framework uses the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) model. It integrates EV driving characteristics, emissions rates, and market penetration information into a MOVES-based emissions inventory analysis. Vehicle activity data collection and drive schedule development, along with in-use emissions measurements, were conducted for a sample of EVs in Texas. Additionally, market penetration scenarios were developed using a consumer choice model. The collected data and market penetration scenarios were then used in the framework to conduct a pilot application for a large county in Texas. The pilot application demonstrated successful use of the framework and showed that including EVs in emissions analyses can potentially have an impact on the overall analysis results specifically for future years. KW - Air quality KW - Choice models KW - Electric vehicles KW - Market share KW - Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) KW - Pollutants KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6763-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334391 ER - TY - SER AN - 01548563 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Eriksson, Jakob AU - University of Illinois, Chicago AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Leveraging Traffic and Surveillance Video Cameras for Urban Traffic PY - 2014/12 IS - 14-024 SP - 18p AB - The objective of this project was to investigate the use of existing video resources, such as traffic cameras, police cameras, red light cameras, and security cameras for the long-term, real-time collection of traffic statistics. An additional objective was to gather similar statistics for pedestrians and bicyclists. Throughout the course of the project, several methods were investigated for tracking vehicles under challenging conditions. The initial plan called for tracking based on optical flow. However, it was found that current optical flow–estimating algorithms are not well suited to low-quality video—hence, developing optical flow methods for low-quality video has been one aspect of this project. The method eventually used combines basic optical flow tracking with a learning detector for each tracked object— that is, the object is tracked both by its apparent movement and by its appearance should it temporarily disappear from or be obscured in the frame. The authors have produced a prototype software that allows the user to specify the vehicle trajectories of interest by drawing their shapes superimposed on a video frame. The software then tracks each vehicle as it travels through the frame, matches the vehicle’s movements to the most closely matching trajectory, and increases the vehicle count for that trajectory. In terms of pedestrian and bicycle counting, the system is capable of tracking these “objects” as well, though at present it is not capable of distinguishing between the three classes automatically. Continuing research by the principal investigator under a different grant will establish this capability as well. KW - Cyclists KW - Data collection KW - Detection and identification technologies KW - Pedestrians KW - Real time information KW - Software KW - Traffic surveillance KW - Urban areas KW - Vehicle trajectories KW - Video cameras UR - https://apps.ict.illinois.edu/projects/getfile.asp?id=3346 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334686 ER - TY - SER AN - 01548525 JO - TRAFFIC TECH PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of a High-Visibility Seat Belt Enforcement Program on the Blue Ridge Parkway PY - 2014/12 SP - 2p AB - There were 136 passenger vehicle fatalities in national parks from 2006 to 2010. Among these, only 50.7 percent were wearing seat belts when fatally injured. In one effort to reduce the number of unrestrained motor vehicle fatalities in national parks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Park Service (NPS) conducted a high-visibility enforcement (HVE) seat belt program to increase seat belt use on the Roanoke Corridor, a 24-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) that sees frequent commuter traffic. NHTSA conducted an independent evaluation of two of the three program waves, spring and fall 2010, with the spring wave coinciding with the national Click It or Ticket (CIOT) program. The evaluation described the program activity and measured changes in public awareness and observed belt use. KW - Awareness KW - Blue Ridge Parkway KW - Click It or Ticket KW - Evaluation KW - National parks KW - Safety programs KW - Seat belt use KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812089-Eval-HVE-BlueRidge-TrafficTech.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1335031 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548516 AU - Finley, Melisa D AU - Venglar, Steven P AU - Iragavarapu, Vichika AU - Miles, Jeffrey D AU - Park, Eun Sug AU - Cooner, Scott Allen AU - Ranft, Stephen E AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of the Effectiveness of Wrong Way Driving Countermeasures and Mitigation Methods PY - 2014/12 SP - 171p AB - This report describes the methodology and results of tasks performed regarding the effectiveness of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers reviewed the state of the practice regarding wrong way driving in the United States and Texas. Based on Texas crash data from 2007 through 2011, the majority of wrong way driving crashes on controlled-access highways occur in major metropolitan areas at night between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Driving under the influence was the primary contributing factor. Therefore, researchers designed and conducted two closed-course studies to determine the effectiveness of select wrong way driving countermeasures on alcohol-impaired drivers. In addition, researchers obtained data from several Texas agencies that had installed wrong way driving countermeasures and/or mitigation methods on their road network. Using these datasets, researchers assessed the effectiveness of these strategies in actual operational environments. Researchers used the findings from these studies to develop recommendations regarding the implementation of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers used the focus group discussion method to obtain motorists' opinions regarding the design manuals to gain insight into the design of wrong way driver warning messages that could be posted on dynamic message signs. Based on the findings, researchers developed two single-phase wrong way driver warning messages for dynamic message signs. KW - Countermeasures KW - Crash data KW - Drunk driving KW - Focus groups KW - Recommendations KW - State of the practice KW - Texas KW - Variable message signs KW - Wrong way driving UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6769-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1335034 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548512 AU - Llana, Patricia AU - Stringfellow, Richard AU - TIAX, LLC AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Development, Fabrication, and Testing of Locomotive Crashworthy Components PY - 2014/12//Final Report SP - 73p AB - The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) are continuing to evaluate new technologies for increasing the safety of passengers and operators in rail equipment. In recognition of the importance of override prevention in train-to-train collisions in which one of the vehicles is a locomotive, and in light of the success of crash energy management technologies in cab car-led passenger trains, the Volpe Center seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of components that could be integrated into the end structure of a locomotive that are specifically designed to mitigate the effects of a collision and, in particular, to prevent override of one of the lead vehicles onto the other. The research program described in this report aims to develop, fabricate, and test two crashworthy components for the forward end of a locomotive: (1) a deformable anti-climber and (2) a push-back coupler. KW - Couplers KW - Crashworthiness KW - Design KW - Fabrication KW - Impact tests KW - Locomotives KW - Railroad crashes KW - Technological innovations KW - Train components KW - Underride override crashes UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/14245 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54413/Locomotive_Crashworthiness_20141110_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334396 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573302 TI - Technology Transfer Concrete Consortium (TTCC) AB - The goal of the Technology Transfer Concrete Consortium (TTCC) is to: (1) Identify needed research projects; (2) Develop pooled fund initiatives; (3) Provide a forum for technology exchange between participants; (4) Develop and fund technology transfer materials; (5) Provide on-going communication of research needs faced by state agencies to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), industry, and CP Tech Center; (6) Provide guidance on priorities for the Next Gen CP Road Map (For information on the CP Road Map: http://www.cproadmap.org/); (7) Provide assistance as requested by the Next Gen CP Road Map Executive Committee on other select tracks as needed; (8) Provide technical leadership for the national initiative to develop performance engineered concrete mixes. It is anticipated that this consortium would become the national forum for state involvement in the technical exchange needed for collaboration and new initiatives, and provide input to the Next Gen CP Road Map Mix Design and Analysis Track team. KW - Admixtures KW - Concrete KW - Mix design KW - State departments of transportation KW - Technological innovations KW - Technology transfer KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/562 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366526 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548628 AU - Kreis, Doug AU - Sturgill, Roy E AU - Howell, Brian K AU - Van Dyke, Chris AU - Voss, D Steve AU - University of Kentucky, Lexington AU - Multimodal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Inland Waterway Operational Model & Simulation Along the Ohio River PY - 2014/11/21/Research Report SP - 232p AB - The purpose of this report is to 1) develop a comprehensive profile of the Ohio River that provides an overview of how it is integral to U.S. economic security 2) identify salient river characteristics or externally-driven variables that influence the amount of water flowing through the main channel which consequently impacts vessels' capacity to navigate 3) use this information (along with a 10-year data set encompassing over 600,000 observations) to develop an inland Waterway Operational Model (IWOM). The IWOM objective is to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, shippers, carriers, and other interested parties with access to a robust method that aids in the prediction of where and when conditions will arise on the river that have the potential to significantly impact lockage times and queue times (i.e. how long a vessel has to wait after it arrives at a facility to lock through). After qualitatively reviewing different features of the river system that affect vessel traffic, this report outlines two approaches to modeling inland waterway system behavior – a discrete event simulation (DES) model which uses proprietary software, and the IWOM. Once completed, the IWOM was used to parameterize a simulation model. This provided a graphical representation of vessels moving along the river. This information will be of great use for stakeholders wanting to gain a better understanding of what conditions lockage times will increase or decrease, why delays emerge, and consequently how these impact traffic flows on the river.  KW - Channel flow KW - Commodity flow KW - Inland waterways KW - Locks (Waterways) KW - Ohio River KW - Simulation KW - Traffic flow KW - Traffic queuing KW - Water traffic UR - http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2014/12/KTC_14_13_MTIC3_14_1F_.pdf UR - http://www.mticutc.org/assets/pdf/FINAL_Inland_Waterway_Operational_Model_Simulation_Along_the_Ohio_River_Final_Report_MTIC.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333209 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548599 AU - Kreis, Doug AU - Gibson, Bryan AU - Van Dyke, Christopher AU - Wallace, Candice AU - McCormack, Sarah AU - University of Kentucky, Lexington AU - Multimodal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Inland Waterways Funding Mechanisms Synthesis PY - 2014/11/21/Research Report SP - 34p AB - The inland waterway system is a vital part of the nation’s multi-modal freight network. Although less visible than other modes, inland waterways allow shippers to transport bulk commodities in a relatively cheap and environmentally-friendly method. To ensure this transportation mode remains a feasible option and accommodates growth, it must continue to be safe, efficient, and functional. This synthesis provides comprehensive perspective on the financial prospects of the inland waterways system. It analyzes current funding levels, along with proposed funding changes and reforms. KW - Financing KW - Freight transportation KW - Inland waterways UR - http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2014/12/KTC_14_14_MTIC4_14_1F_.pdf UR - http://www.mticutc.org/assets/pdf/FINAL_Inland_Waterways_Funding_Mechanisms_Synthesis_Final_Report_MTIC.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333208 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548526 AU - Kreis, Doug AU - McCormack, Sarah AU - Van Dyke, Christopher AU - Gibson, Bryan AU - University of Kentucky, Lexington AU - Multimodal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Audit Template for Inland Port Sustainability PY - 2014/11/21 SP - 290p AB - This report serves as an assessment of port sustainability and its potential applications for the inland river ports of Kentucky and the surrounding region. The report discusses and defines sustainability, both generally as it relates to business and industry and specifically as it relates to the port industry.  Given the unique nature of the inland port industry, the report reviews lessons learned from 11 port site visits conducted by Kentucky Transportation Center in 2012, primarily at major U.S. coastal ports but also representative inland ports. The Kentucky Transportation Center's (KTC’s) analysis identifies the sustainability challenges facing various domestic and international ports, and what policy and operating initiatives are being undertaken to meet these challenges. This report then discusses KTC’s progress in tailoring the sustainability process identified during these visits to the inland port industry. Field visits to 13 public ports along the Ohio River were conducted in order to develop a sustainability self-assessment tool, which took the lessons learned at coastal ports and large-scale inland ports and applied them to the inland ports of Kentucky and the surrounding regions. From these visits and the associated research, an audit template has been developed that allows inland port operators to assess and improve sustainability levels. The wealth of information compiled in this report, along with the associated appendices, will prove invaluable to the inland port industry. The research relayed to the industry has already proven to be a boon to the ports that participated in the project. The preliminary results indicate that ports along the region’s inland waterways would have little difficulty improving their sustainability profiles at low expense, so long as they follow the advice laid out by this report and the audit template.    KW - Assessments KW - Field studies KW - Kentucky KW - Ohio River KW - River ports KW - State of the practice KW - Sustainable development UR - http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2014/12/KTC_14_11_MTIC1_14_1F_.pdf UR - http://www.mticutc.org/assets/pdf/Port_Audit_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333211 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01546164 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Planning for High-Priority NextGen Capabilities Underway, but Much Work Remains for Full Realization of Benefits PY - 2014/11/20 SP - 18p AB - In July 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tasked the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) to review the Agency’s current plans and activities affecting Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) implementation and recommend investment priorities, citing uncertainty around funding for NextGen projects. In September 2013, the NAC delivered its report—providing FAA with industry’s highest priorities for NextGen primarily based on their benefits, technological maturity, and implementation readiness. Given the potential of the NAC’s report to shape the future of NextGen, the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Aviation requested that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) examine FAA’s response to the report. In this interim report, OIG identifies the steps FAA is taking to address the NAC’s recommended investment priorities. In addition, OIG identifies FAA’s initial challenges in achieving viable joint industry-Agency commitments. OIG will provide a separate report at a later time to evaluate FAA’s plans for implementing the prioritized NextGen capabilities. KW - Financing KW - Implementation KW - Next Generation Air Transportation System KW - Transportation planning KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration UR - https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/FAA%20NAC%20Priorities%20Final%20Report%5E11-20-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1332697 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551262 AU - Zhang, Li AU - Huang, Zhitong AU - Wen, Yi AU - Zhang, Lei AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - I-55 Integrated Diversion Traffic Management Benefit Study PY - 2014/11/17/Final Report SP - 148p AB - Traffic congestion, recurrent and non-recurrent, creates significant economic losses and environmental impacts. Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) is a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) research initiative that has been proven to effectively relieve recurrent congestion and reduce non-recurrent congestion in a transportation network. Traffic signal coordination is an effective approach to improve travel speed and to decrease delays resulting in better travel times. Incorporating traffic signal coordination into ICM can further improve the benefits of ICM strategies. In this project, the authors propose an ICM optimization system. The optimization approach and the expert system are major components for the ICM optimization system. With respect to the expert system, it serves as a decision support system and a backup system for the optimization approach. For the optimization approach, an ICM optimization model is presented first. The effectiveness of the ICM optimization model is verified by a case study. To maximize the support of implementing ICM strategies from local transportation agencies and residents, the authors propose a real time and proactive offset tuning algorithm to reduce delays of detour traffic without disrupting the existing traffic. The presented algorithm explicitly incorporates diverted traffic and the diversion traffic patterns into existing traffic. The offsets of each coordinated intersection are fine-tuned and updated every ten cycles to provide smooth traffic progression for upcoming traffic within the next ten cycles. Case studies were conducted to prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The benchmark cases were established as the TRANSYT-7F coordination traffic signal timing plans. Based on the results, the proactive real time offset tuning algorithm can outperform TRANSYT-7F when the accurate diversion rates are not known in advance which conforms to reality. While, when the diversion rates are predetermined and the average additional diversion volume is taken into consideration for optimization by TRANSYT-7F, the proposed algorithm significantly reduces the number of stops and has comparable performances with TRANSYT-7F. The benefits and costs of implementing the proposed algorithm are analyzed. The net benefit and benefit to cost ratio over 10 years are nearly $2.5 million and 1.6, respectively, which shows that the proposed algorithm is worthy of application. The upcoming ICM simulation test bed, the Enhanced Transportation Flow Open-source Microscopic Model (ETFOMM), is introduced. It has two major advantages which are that it has convenient ICM built-in functions and its computation time is low which makes it have the ability to become an online decision support system for ICM strategies. In the last section, conclusions and recommendations of this study are presented. KW - Algorithms KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Case studies KW - Highway traffic control KW - Integrated corridor management KW - Mississippi KW - Optimization KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic diversion KW - Traffic signal timing KW - TRANSYT-7F UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20223%20-%20%20I-55%20Integrated%20Diversion%20Traffic%20Management%20Benefit%20Study.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340961 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01546183 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Top Management Challenges for Fiscal Year 2015 PY - 2014/11/17 SP - 38p AB - In this report, the Office of Inspector General identifies the Department of Transportation's top management challenges for fiscal year 2015, including their impact on safety, documented vulnerabilities, large dollar implications, and the ability of the Department to effect change in these areas: (1) Modernizing the National Airspace System and Addressing Organizational Challenges; (2) Enhancing Safety and Oversight of a Diverse and Dynamic U.S. Aviation Industry; (3) Increasing Efforts To Promote Highway, Vehicle, Pipeline, and Hazmat Safety; (4) Improving Oversight, Project Delivery, and System Performance of Surface Transportation Programs; (5) Leveraging Existing Funding Mechanisms To Finance Surface Transportation Projects in a Challenging Fiscal Environment; (6) Managing Acquisitions and Grants To Maximize Performance and Save Federal Funds; and (7) Securing Information Technology Resources. KW - Air transportation KW - Financing KW - Ground transportation KW - Information technology KW - Management KW - National Airspace System KW - Transportation safety KW - U.S. Department of Transportation UR - https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/DOTs%20Top%20Management%20Challenges%20for%20FY%202015.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1332692 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01610786 AU - Andrus, Ronald D AU - Ravichandran, Nadarajah AU - Aboye, Shimelies A AU - Bhuiyan, Ariful H AU - Martin, James R AU - Clemson University AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Seismic Site Coefficients and Acceleration Design Response Spectra Based on Conditions in South Carolina PY - 2014/11/15/Final Report SP - 399p AB - The simplified procedure in design codes for determining earthquake response spectra involves estimating site coefficients to adjust available rock accelerations to site accelerations. Several investigators have noted concerns with the site coefficients recommended in current codes, herein called the 1994 National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) site coefficients, including (1) the suitability of the 1994 NEHRP coefficients for conditions different from Western United States geology; (2) the appropriateness of using a single coefficient for a wide range of soil stiffnesses; and (3) the suitability of using coefficients that are independent of depth to top of rock. This report describes a systematic ground response study to determined site coefficients (F) appropriate for South Carolina’s geologic and seismic conditions. The study involves assuming conditions at seven locations in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and four locations in the South Carolina Piedmont. Over 60,000 total stress, one-dimensional equivalent linear (SHAKE2000) and nonlinear (DMOD2000) ground response simulations are conducted using numerous representative shear wave velocity profiles and a suite of over 130 synthetic rock outcrop motions generated with the computer program Scenario_PC assuming return periods of 475 and 2,475 years. Results of the ground response analyses are compiled into over 400 plots of computed values of F versus average shear wave velocity in the top 100 ft (VS100ft) grouped by site location, depth to top of soft rock (HB-C) or hard rock (HHR), spectral period (T), and spectral acceleration of the rock input motion (Soutcrop). In nearly all the plots, the following three distinct features can be seen—(1) an increasing trend in F as VS100ft increases from zero; (2) a zone of peak values of F; and (3) a decreasing trend in F as VS100ft increases to the velocity of the reference rock. A new mathematical model for F is developed from the results to capture these three distinct features. Development of the model begins by estimating the peak site coefficient (FP) and the corresponding average shear wave velocity (VS100ftP) for each plot. Next, the values of FP and VS100ftP are studied to determine the most significant influencing variables. In addition to VS100ft, variables found to be most influential are: HB-C, HHR, Soutcrop, mean predominant period of the rock input motion (Tm), and average shear wave velocity in the top 330 ft (VS330ft). Finally, overall median relationships for F that are functions of FP, VS100ftP, and the most influential variables are derived from regression analysis. The amount of variability within the plotted values of F is characterized by 95% upper bound and 5% lower bound relationships. The 95% upper bounds are, on average, 42% higher than the median relationships; and the 5% low bounds are, on average, 36% lower than the median relationships. Computed values of F are generally higher for the Piedmont than for the Coastal Plain. This difference can be explained by the fact that the Piedmont site coefficients are referenced to hard rock, instead of soft rock, and because of the higher impedance contrasts between soil and hard rock in the Piedmont. The median F relationships for spectral periods of 0.0, 0.2 and 1.0 s are compared with the 1994 NEHRP site coefficients. The 1994 NEHRP coefficients are found to be often over conservative for NEHRP Site Class E sites; and sometimes unconservative for NEHRP Site Class C and D sites, particularly where the top of rock lies at shallow depths. Based on this comparison, the model of F developed in this study is recommended for seismic design in South Carolina. Because the recommended model of F is based on a very broad range of soil/rock conditions and general rock motion properties, it can be directly applied to other areas with similar geologic and seismic conditions. In areas outside of South Carolina, calibration or modification of model variables may be required. The simplified procedure for determining acceleration design response spectrum (ADRS), sometimes called the 3-point ADRS method, is found to be generally valid when VS100ft > 650 ft/s. However, when VS100ft ≤ 650 ft/s, the results of this and other studies indicate that significant spectral peaks may occur at periods greater than 1.0 s. For this reason, it is recommended that a multi-point ADRS be plotted with the 3-point ADRS to check if long-period accelerations are under predicted. The objective of the multi-point ADRS is not to replace the design code philosophy, but to present an option for the designer to check that longer period accelerations are not under-predicted by the 3- point ADRS. It is also found that 3-point ADRS curves predicted by the site coefficients for the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont exhibit some differences when applied to sites near the boundary of these two physiographic areas, called the Fall Line. It is recommended that ADRS curves based on the Piedmont site coefficients be used at sites near the Fall Line where HHR < 330 ft; and the Coastal Plain site coefficients be used at sites in the Coastal Plain where HHR ≥ 330 ft. Finally, a discussion of the repercussions of the new seismic site coefficients on structural analysis of highway bridges in South Carolina is presented. The discussion is based on the analysis results of two sample bridges using the 1994 NEHRP site coefficients, the site coefficients of this study, and the computer program SAP2000 or CSiBridge. KW - Coefficients KW - Earthquake resistant design KW - Highway bridges KW - National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program KW - Regression analysis KW - S waves KW - Seismicity KW - Simulation KW - South Carolina KW - Structural analysis UR - http://www.clemson.edu/t3s/scdot/pdf/projects/SPR686-report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1421146 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548626 AU - Department of Transportation TI - FISMA 2014: DOT Has Made Progress But Significant Weaknesses in Its Information Security Remain PY - 2014/11/14 SP - 48p AB - The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) operations rely on 458 information technology (IT) systems, nearly two-thirds of which belong to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). To protect Federal IT systems, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires agencies to develop, document, and implement department wide information security programs. FISMA also requires program officials, chief information officers (CIO), and inspectors general to conduct annual reviews of their agencies’ information security programs, and report the results of these reviews to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Consistent with FISMA and OMB requirements, the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) audit objective was to determine the effectiveness of DOT’s information security program and practices for the 12-month period between August 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014. Specifically, OIG assessed DOT’s (1) information security policy and procedures; (2) enterprise-level information security controls; (3) system-level security controls; and (4) management of information security weaknesses. KW - Computer security KW - Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 KW - Information systems KW - Information technology KW - Security KW - U.S. Department of Transportation KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration UR - https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/DOT%20Information%20Security%20Program%20Final%20Report%5E11-14-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333213 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557313 AU - Osborn, David A AU - Stickles, James H AU - Warren, Robert J AU - Miller, Karl V AU - University of Georgia, Athens AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development and Evaluation of Strategies to Reduce the Incidence of Deer-Vehicle Collisions: Phase III – Operational Field Trial, Part A PY - 2014/11/11/Final Report SP - 56p AB - To better understand deer movements that might contribute to deer-vehicle collisions (DVC), the authors conducted preparatory field work necessary for an operational field trial of the efficacy of a 1.2-m woven-wire fence with a top-mounted outrigger. The authors worked with officials from Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration-Georgia Division to select a 5-mile segment of I-20 near Madison, Georgia. During February-June 2012 and January-April 2013, the authors captured 32 deer within the 5-mile test roadway and fitted them each with a Global Positioning System collar, programmed to collect 24 locations per day, and monitored surviving deer until April 2014. Each deer was classified as: (1) frequent user, (2) occasional user, or (3) rare user based on highway right-of-way (ROW) utilization. Frequent users (359.5 + 41.7 m) were closer (P < 0.01; F2, 27=8.46) to the median of I-20 than occasional (715.3 + 236.4 m) and rare (766.6 + 72.3 m) users, but occasional and rare users were the same distance (P > 0.05) from the median. Within the frequent user group, the percentage of ROW locations for individuals ranged from 1.7% to 25.8%. Deer ROW use occurred primarily during nighttime hours with about 37% of locations within the ROW occurring between 2200-0300 hours. Increased ROW use by female deer that were frequent users during May and June was likely due to females selecting the ROW for parturition. The authors also evaluated the annual distribution of DVCs in Georgia based on records of DVCs from 2005-2012 (n = 45,811) to identify peaks in DVCs for each of Georgia’s 159 counties, compared to deer breeding data from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The authors observed high concurrence among timing of peak DVCs, peak conception, and peak rut movement. To potentially reduce DVC risk, the authors recommend: (1) lethal removal of frequent ROW users, (2) warning motorists of the increased risk of encountering deer in the ROW during deer breeding seasons and while driving late at night, and/or (3) modifying ROW habitat to help maintain ROW fences and reduce food and cover resources that can attract deer to roadways. KW - Deer KW - Evaluation KW - Fences KW - Field tests KW - Global Positioning System KW - Right of way (Traffic) KW - Seasons KW - Traffic crashes KW - Wildlife crossings UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1346744 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01558330 AU - Bischak, Greg AU - Mann, Chris AU - Vadali, Sharada AU - Gkritza, Konstantina AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Proceedings of ITED 2014 International Transportation Economic Development Conference: Economic Development Implications of Global Trade, Transport Investments, Climate Change, Environmental, and Urban and Rural Policies Summary and Research Agenda PY - 2014/11/10 SP - 93p AB - There were two broad objectives of the 2014 International Transportation Economic Development Conference which produced two related outcomes. First, the conference successfully brought together private sector stakeholders in transportation sectors, international representatives, state and local transportation officials, regional development agencies and transportation researchers to highlight and discuss key policy issues emerging within different transportation modes, promote cross fertilization of thinking and identify major challenges and discuss potential solutions. The conference plenary and panel sessions summarized in this report is testimony to the diverse array of stakeholders who contributed to the content and policy discussions at the conference. From these interactions the participants and rapporteurs identified many new directions of policy analysis and future research. Second, many of the panels developed well formulated new research topics that emerged from the give and take of the panel discussions and debates. The conference covered the following thematic areas: Economic development implications of alternative transportation funding and financing strategies; Economic development potential of passenger transport and freight rail infrastructure; Assessing the economic development effects and community change of transit-oriented development; International, national, and regional economic development impacts of the Panama Canal expansion; Linkages of international trade, economic development, and transportation corridors and facilities; Economic development implications of transportation disinvestment; Climate change mitigation effects on transportation investments and sustainable economic development; New perspectives on economic impact evaluation; Economic development within the context of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21); and Transportation improvements and market competitiveness. U1 - International Transportation Economic Development Conference (ITED 2014)Dallas,Texas,United States StartDate:20140409 EndDate:20140411 KW - Climate change KW - Economic development KW - Financing KW - Freight transportation KW - International trade KW - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) KW - Panama Canal KW - Passenger transportation KW - Policy analysis KW - Stakeholders KW - Sustainable development KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/economic_development/i-ted_2014/ited2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347317 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544613 AU - Edwards, J Riley AU - Lange, David A AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Investigation of Material Improvements to Mitigate the Abrasive Wear Mechanism of Concrete Crosstie Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) PY - 2014/11/10/Final Report SP - 32p AB - To meet the increasingly stringent design and performance requirements due to increasing cumulative gross tonnages from heavy-haul freight operations, along with increased high-speed inter-city passenger rail development, improvements in concrete crosstie designs are needed. Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) continues to be identified as one of the primary factors limiting concrete crosstie service life in North America. RSD refers to the degradation of material at the contact interface between the concrete crosstie rail seat and the rail pad that protects the bearing area of the crosstie. Industry experts consider abrasion to be a viable mechanism leading to RSD. A lack of understanding of the complex interactions affecting the severity of abrasion has resulted in an iterative design process for concrete crossties and fastening systems. The objective of this study is to quantify the abrasion performance of rail seats by using a variety of concrete admixtures and materials. To simulate the abrasive wear mechanism of RSD, a Small-Scale Abrasion Resistance Test (SSART) was designed by researchers at UIUC. Additionally, a theoretical framework to model and predict abrasive wear was developed using statistical techniques. Data obtained from the SSART and the statistical model will help the rail industry mechanistically design concrete crossties by improving the current understanding of the performance of concrete crosstie mix designs. Preliminary results show that the addition of metallic fine aggregates (MFA), steel fibers, and the application of coatings improve the abrasion resistance of concrete specimens. KW - Abrasion KW - Abrasion resistance KW - Admixtures KW - Concrete ties KW - Deterioration KW - Fine aggregates KW - Mix design KW - North America KW - Railroad ties KW - Service life UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/093IY04.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1330772 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01576059 TI - Applications of Massive Data and Data Mining Techniques Concerning Safety Data AB - Two Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) projects have been approved to develop algorithms suitable for aggregating and synthesizing disparate data to optimize the use of the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) data. KW - Algorithms KW - Data analysis KW - Data mining KW - Exploratory Advanced Research Program KW - Optimization KW - Safety KW - Strategic Highway Research Program 2 UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/projects/projectsdb/projectdetails.cfm?projectid=FHWA-PROJ-14-0055 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370014 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575516 TI - Nitrous Oxide Composite Tank Testing AB - No summary provided. KW - Oxides KW - Tanks (Containers) KW - Test procedures UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367922 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01625800 AU - Krile, Robert AU - Feng, Jingyu AU - Schroeder, Jeremy AU - Battelle AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessing Roadway Traffic Count Duration and Frequency Impacts on Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimation: Assessing Accuracy Issues with Current Known Methods in AADT Estimation from Continuous Traffic Monitoring Data PY - 2014/11 SP - 23p AB - Numerous factoring and baseline values are required to ensure annual average daily traffic (AADT) data are collected and reported correctly. The variability of numerous methods currently used are explored so that those in the traffic community will clearly know the limitations and the extent of each method used and how to properly utilize methods for their agency to obtain the necessary results. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Travel Monitoring Analysis System (TMAS) data from 14 years consisting of 24 hours of the day and 7 days of the week volume data from over 6000 continuous permanent volume traffic data sites in the United States comprised the reference dataset for this research. Randomly selected (with some constraints) sites each include one year of 100% complete daily reporting and the set of sites represent 12 functional classes, years 2000 through 2013, 43 states and DC, and various volume ranges. Four AADT estimation methods were examined for accuracy when data from various time periods were removed. This report is a final task report that summarizes identified inaccuracies with current methods that are used for AADT estimation, and includes the analysis methodology and summary statistics findings. KW - Accuracy KW - Annual average daily traffic KW - Continuous monitoring KW - Traffic counts KW - Traffic data KW - Traffic estimation UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/pubs/aadt/aadt_task_2_final_report_jan_2015.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1442738 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01611965 AU - Wang, Lirong AU - Park, Jinwoo AU - Zhou, Wanlu AU - Ban, Jeff AU - Zuo, Lei AU - Stony Brook University AU - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - On-Road Energy Harvesting for Traffic Monitoring PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 26p AB - A new type of large-scale on-road energy harvester to harness the energy on the road when traffic passes by is developed. When vehicles pass over the energy harvesting device, the electrical energy can be produced by the mechanical motion even after the vehicle passed by, which solves the difficulty in regeneration energy from impulse vibration. Design approach and dynamics modeling are presented to reveal the working mechanism of the energy conversion. In-field test with a sedan car is carried out and the regenerated power up about 24 Watts can be produced, which is much larger than the existing highway energy harvester in the published literature. This large-scale energy harvesting mechanism using the proposed mechanical motion rectifier (MMR) mechanism can help to develop harvesting device to build up self-power energy source for highway transportation monitoring system. KW - Dynamic models KW - Electric power generation KW - Energy conversion KW - Field tests KW - Highways KW - Vibration UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/Final-Report-On-Road-Energy-Harvesting.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1423194 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01610801 AU - Amirkhanian, Serji AU - Xiao, Feipeng AU - Herndon, David AU - Tri-County Technical College AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - The Evaluation and Specification Development of Alternate Modified Asphalt Binders in South Carolina PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 216p AB - In this research project, asphalt binders containing various polymer modifiers were investigated through examining both binder and mixture properties.  Two additional topics were also investigated, including: a) the effects of liquid anti‐strip additives on asphalt mixtures; and b) the effects of natural sands in asphalt mixtures. The asphalt binder modifiers in this project included: two plastomers; an elastomer; polyphosphoric acid (PPA)+styrene butadiene styrene (SBS); terminally blended ground tire rubber (GTR) binder; and a lab‐prepared GTR binder.  The binder properties of 16 binder combinations were obtained (e.g., viscosity, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), etc.) and compared.  In addition, these modified binders were used in mixtures with two aggregate sources, three anti‐strip additives, and varying reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) contents.  There were 32 different Superpave mix designs conducted for this project.  Many engineering properties of the mixtures were obtained, including: indirect tensile strength, tensile strength retained, rutting, and asphalt mixture performance tester (AMPT) values.  The AMPT testing was conducted at different temperatures and frequencies.  The results indicated that, in general, many of the alternate modified binders could be utilized in South Carolina hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures.  The results also indicated that RAP and natural sand could be utilized, in limited quantities, in many mixtures used on South Carolina secondary roads.  In addition, the mixtures made with liquid anti‐strip additives in this project in many cases produced moisture susceptibility values (e.g., indirect tensile strength (ITS), tensile strength ratio (TSR)) that were compatible with those obtained with mixtures containing hydrated lime.    KW - Antistrip additives KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Bituminous binders KW - Evaluation KW - Mix design KW - Reclaimed asphalt pavements KW - Sand KW - South Carolina KW - Specifications KW - Strength of materials UR - http://www.clemson.edu/t3s/scdot/pdf/projects/SPR703-report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1420972 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01603612 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Model National Administrative Standards for State Motorcycle Rider Training Programs PY - 2014/11 SP - 15p AB - In August 2011 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published Model National Standards for Entry-Level Rider Training. The model curriculum standards establish baseline content all novice motorcycle riders should be taught in training programs conducted in the United States. The publication of the Model National Standards for Entry-Level Motorcycle Rider Training alone is not sufficient to achieve the goal of implementing strong rider training programs. Administrative standards provide guidance, benchmarks, and specify activities to help programs achieve and maintain quality programs. Critical factors such as establishing administrative control, instructor qualifications, instructional settings and equipment specifications need equal attention. Therefore, in 2011 NHTSA executed the second phase of this effort to develop model administrative standards for state motorcycle rider training programs to promote quality and consistency among and between State rider training programs. KW - Education and training methods KW - Education and training personnel KW - Motorcycle driving KW - Motorcyclists KW - Standards KW - Training UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812071-ModelNatlAdminMotorcycle.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1411008 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01598880 AU - Banks, David AU - Persaud, Bhagwant AU - Lyon, Craig AU - Eccles, Kimberly AU - Himes, Scott AU - VHB AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Enhancing Statistical Methodologies for Highway Safety Research – Impetus from FHWA PY - 2014/11//White Paper SP - 46p AB - The Federal Highway Administration Development of Crash Modification Factors (DCMF) Program was established in 2012 to address highway safety research needs for evaluating new and innovative safety strategies (improvements) by developing reliable quantitative estimates of their effectiveness in reducing crashes. A goal of the DCMF is to advance highway safety and related research by establishing a sound foundation for the development of highway transportation specific statistical methodologies in cooperation with the American Statistical Association and other statistician communities. In pursuit of that goal, a two-day Technical Experts meeting brought together researchers from the road safety, statistics, and other statistics-related fields such as epidemiology, biostatistics, and agent based modeling that have methodologies relevant to highway safety research applications. The meeting resulted in guidance and materials that supported the development of this white paper, which identifies and discusses opportunities for advancing methodologies to estimate crash modification factors and safety performance functions. The paper outlines considerations and future steps to encourage researchers to explore these techniques in their research. KW - Crash modification factors KW - Highway safety KW - Research KW - Safety performance functions KW - Statistical analysis UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/14081/14081.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1405287 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01597257 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Tabletop Exercise Guidelines for Planned Events and Unplanned Incidents/Emergencies PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 29p AB - When planned special events are held, they generally increase traffic demands in or near the location of the event. In order to address this influx of traffic, transportation management plans are developed with the intent of minimizing the effect the event has on the transportation system. For a transportation management plan to be successful, however, it is strongly recommended that the plan be tested and reviewed prior to the event. One of the most effective ways to test a transportation management plan is through a tabletop exercise. A tabletop exercise uses the transportation management plan as the basis for action. It enables participants to role play in a scenario-based exercise conducted in an informal stress-free environment. During this low cost/low stress activity, key stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of transportation management plans test the plan through a facilitated scenario based discussion. Tabletop exercises allow traffic management team officials to review the effect of certain event-specific action plans on other concurrent events. Through this interaction, contingencies are vetted and resolved. In addition, a tabletop exercise can be used to train and familiarize personnel with their roles and responsibilities within the planned special event’s transportation management plan. No matter how thorough a transportation management plan may be, it cannot account for all contingencies. The purposes of a tabletop exercise are to (1) test the written assumptions in the transportation management plan and (2) see what must be changed and how the plan can be improved from regional good practices and tabletop after actions. The tabletop exercise allows the participants to see how they react to unexpected events such as equipment failure or personnel shortages. Though originally designed for planned special events, the information in the guide can be used for the management of unplanned incidents including traffic incidents and responses to emergencies. KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - Emergencies KW - Emergency management KW - Guidelines KW - Highway traffic control KW - Incident management KW - Role-playing KW - Special events KW - Tabletop exercise KW - Test scenarios KW - Traffic incidents KW - Training UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop15004/fhwahop15004.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1401539 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01596686 AU - Almodovar-Rosario, Natalia AU - Dorney, Chris AU - Flood, Mike AU - Lennon, Justin AU - Lockman, J T AU - Parsons Brinkerhoff AU - Catalysis Adaptation Partners AU - Minnesota Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - MnDOT Flash Flood Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Pilot Project PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 84p AB - Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) planners and engineers have long considered minimizing the risk of flash flooding in the siting and design of the state’s roadway network. However, as has been the standard practice worldwide, they have traditionally assumed that future climate conditions will be similar to those recorded in the past. Climate change challenges this assumption and calls for new approaches to understanding vulnerabilities across the highway system and at specific transportation facilities so that appropriate actions, adaptations, can be taken to minimize expanding risks. This project, one of 19 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) climate vulnerability pilot studies nationwide looking at the effects of climate hazards on the transportation system, represents a starting point for developing these new approaches. The focus of this pilot study is on flash flooding risks to the highway system. While flooding is not the only threat to the state’s highway system posed by climate change, it is likely to be one of the most significant and has already caused extensive disruptions to the transportation system in many areas. KW - Climate change KW - Floods KW - Highways KW - Minnesota Department of Transportation KW - Risk assessment KW - Weather and climate UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/climate_change/adaptation/resilience_pilots/2013-2015_pilots/minnesota/final_report/mndotreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1403121 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01596086 AU - Necci, Ray AU - Bazzi, Ali AU - Park, Sung Yeul AU - Pasaogullari, Ugur AU - Singh, Prabhakar AU - Butterfield, Nathan AU - Weiss, Jonathan AU - Xenophontos, Antony AU - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Energy Efficiency and Reliability Solutions For Rail Operations and Facilities PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 79p AB - The objectives of the study included examining energy consumption of the facilities comprising the three major rail yards on the New Haven Rail Line as well as platform stations and identifying energy efficiency and cost savings opportunities for rail operations/facilities. This study will focus on identifying opportunities and options to improve energy efficiency and reliability. Solutions for reducing energy costs and reliance on fossil fuels that take into account the needs of Connecticut’s rail operations/facilities will be recommended. The primary conclusions include the following: Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) should assign a staff person to serve as an energy manager tasked with leading energy efficiency and conservation efforts for all rail facilities/stations and incorporating the importance of these efforts into the culture of the department. Under the energy manager’s leadership, CTDOT should implement a comprehensive process to exploit energy efficiency and reliability opportunities for rail facilities/stations. This process should include conducting periodic energy audits of facilities, developing an energy management plan, and incorporating the findings into an asset management plan. Project planning, engineering and design, and construction, as well as rail operations that are conducted at the facilities/stations should be integrated into this process. Importantly, initiatives and projects should be evaluated with results integrated into future planning. KW - Asset management KW - Connecticut KW - Connecticut Department of Transportation KW - Energy consumption KW - Energy efficiency KW - New Haven Railroad KW - Operations KW - Railroad facilities KW - Railroad stations KW - Railroad yards KW - Railroads UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54800/54863/CT2283-F-14-5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1401061 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01587718 AU - Schick, Amy AU - Ascone, Debbie AU - Kang, Julie AU - Vegega, Maria AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Distraction by Cell Phones and Texting PY - 2014/11 SP - 17p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is committed to reducing fatalities and injuries due to crashes on the Nation’s roadways. NHTSA works daily to help prevent all types of crashes and reduce their attendant costs, both human and financial. NHTSA approaches distracted driving as a critical national safety problem and addresses it by applying “the four E’s”—education, engineering, enforcement and emergency medical services. This report: defines distracted driving; provides facts about distraction crashes; reports what the public thinks about distracted driving; and explains the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) response to this safety problem. KW - Cellular telephones KW - Countermeasures KW - Crash data KW - Distraction KW - Public opinion KW - Text messaging KW - Traffic safety KW - U.S. Department of Transportation UR - http://www.distraction.gov/downloads/pdfs/Distraction-Cell-Phones-Texting.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1395627 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01570327 AU - Fan, Chunlei AU - Clark, Kelton L AU - Morgan State University AU - Maryland State Highway Administration AU - Morgan State University AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Evaluation Of Waste Concrete Road Materials For Use In Oyster Aquaculture – Field Test PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 44p AB - The overall objective of this study was to determine the suitability of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) from road projects as bottom conditioning material for on-bottom oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay. During this Phase of the study, the research team placed RCA on test plots in the Chesapeake Bay to evaluate the impact on the benthic community. Miniature oyster reefs were also built to determine potential impacts or disruptions of RCA on the use of traditional harvesting gear. The results of this project showed that 1.) There was no significant difference between substrate type (RCA, oyster shell) on benthic community structure, oyster recruitment, and the abundance and size distribution of key faunal species, demonstrating that RCA, as an alternative material, was generally similar to natural oyster shell with regard to ecosystem services provided, and 2.) RCA makes a suitable substrate for supporting oysters for aquaculture operations but would require a veneer of old shell to be placed on top so as not to introduce additional weight to the catch when using shaft tongs. KW - Aquatic life KW - Chesapeake Bay KW - Concrete aggregates KW - Environmental impacts KW - Evaluation KW - Field tests KW - Recycled materials KW - Substrates (Waterways) UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/MSU-2013-03.pdf UR - http://www.roads.maryland.gov/OPR_Research/MD-15-SHA-MSU-3-12_Waste-Concrete-for-Oyster-Aquaculture-Phase-II_Report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54700/54757/MD-15-SHA-MSU-3-12Final.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55200/55254/MSU_2013-03.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1360045 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567489 AU - Fratta, Dante AU - Newgard, Jeff AU - University of Wisconsin, Madison AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluating the Methodology and Performance of Jetting and Flooding Granular Backfill Materials PY - 2014/11 SP - 163p AB - Compaction of backfill in confined spaces on highway projects is often performed with small vibratory plates, based solely on the experience of the contractor, leading to inadequate compaction. As a result, the backfill is prone to erosion and often exhibits excessive settlements, causing loss of support beneath pavements. The scope of this project includes developing standard specifications for two alternative hydraulic compaction methods, flooding and jetting, which additionally are suitable in confined spaces. During flooding, or compaction by drainage, the backfill layer is saturated with water from the surface and allowed to drain. During jetting, a probe emitting a high pressure jet of water is inserted into the layer, and the backfill is allowed to drain. In slurry flooding, a slurry mix is flood into place and it is allowed to drain so the lift gains strength. In these cases the energy of the flowing water and residual suction upon drainage increase the effective stress and move the grains into a denser arrangement. The results in the lab indicate that for compaction by drainage applications, uniform, rounded soils achieve the highest relative density due to their minimal particle interlocking upon deposition and subsequent high drainage capacity. Meanwhile during jetting applications, soils liquefy locally around the jet of water, and their compactness upon drainage is highly dependent on the hydraulic gradient, or the energy with which water drains from the pore space. Greater hydraulic gradient during the drainage phase of jetting has been observed to produce more compact soil structure. KW - Backfill soils KW - Drainage KW - Evaluation KW - Hydraulic jetting KW - Laboratory tests KW - Slurry KW - Soil compaction UR - http://wisdotresearch.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/WisDOT-WHRP-project-0092-11-03-final-report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1356958 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01565354 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations: A How-To Guide PY - 2014/11 SP - 62p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has created this guidance document for law enforcement professionals, policy makers, and other interested groups and organizations. This guide provides strategies and techniques for planning, implementing, and evaluating pedestrian safety enforcement activities. Findings and recommendations are based on a brief review of the professional and scientific literature and interviews with 37 programs working on pedestrian safety enforcement. Key input into the guide was also provided by a Delphi panel, which assisted in the review and synthesis of findings using consensus decision-making. The primary objective of this guide is to provide tips and guidance on how States and communities can effectively deploy pedestrian safety enforcement operations to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities. The guide includes a summary of promising practices, guidance on planning and implementing an operation, a discussion of several considerations and variations, recommendations regarding the evaluation of pedestrian safety programs, and a series of case studies. The guide also contains an Appendix with sample forms and other useful information. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Crosswalks KW - Evaluation KW - Implementation KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Recommendations KW - Safety programs KW - Traffic citations KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812059-PedestrianSafetyEnforceOperaHowToGuide.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1355621 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01564444 AU - Swin, Chris AU - Tan, Tein-Min AU - Awerbuch, Jonathan AU - Drexel University AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Penetration Study of Aluminum, Glass Fiber-Reinforced Aluminum Laminate, and Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 142p AB - The current high-reach extendable turret (HRET) used to fight aircraft fires is equipped with an aircraft skin-penetrating nozzle (ASPN). The ASPN is a long, hollow, aluminum penetrator with a steel conical tip equipped with machined perforations. In an internal aircraft fire, the HRET forces the ASPN through the fuselage aluminum skin to spray water and/or chemical agents to extinguish the fire. This study investigated the effectiveness of the current ASPN design in perforating aluminum, glass fiber-reinforced aluminum laminate (GLARE), and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate panels, which are used in the newer aircraft fuselage structures. A special test fixture was constructed for testing specimens in 90-degree (normal) and 45-degree angle penetration conditions. Strain and deformation data, as well as fracture patterns, were collected to assess the responses and failure modes of the different material systems. The data were used to validate finite element (FE) models developed during the course of this program for simulating the penetration processes of the three material systems tested. Results showed that under normal penetration conditions, the force required to penetrate the GLARE laminates were 4, 4.5, and 6.4 times the force required to penetrate the nominal 0.04-in.-thick aluminum alloy used in transport aircraft fuselage. For the three CFRP laminate thicknesses, the required penetration force was 3.3, 4.6, and 4.8 times higher. Comparing the penetration/perforation-resisting forces required for same thickness panels showed that aluminum panels require approximately twice the force than the GLARE and CFRP laminates. It should be noted that while the largest penetration force in aluminum alloy occurs at breakthrough, in the GLARE and CFRP laminates, the largest resisting force occurs at the end of the perforation due to the conical shape of the ASPN. Under the 45-degree angle penetration condition, GLARE laminates require 2.9, 3.8, and 5.4, and CFRP panels require 2.2, 2.2, and 3.5 times higher force to penetrate than the 0.04-in.-thick aluminum laminate. Results indicated that loading rate has marginal effect on the load-penetration behavior of all three materials under both angles of perforation. KW - Aircraft KW - Aluminum alloys KW - Deformation curve KW - Fiber reinforced plastics KW - Finite element method KW - Fire fighting equipment KW - Fuselages KW - Laminates KW - Penetration resistance KW - Vehicle fires UR - http://www.airporttech.tc.faa.gov/DesktopModules/FlexNews/DownloadHandler.ashx?id=c9c5f23a-15da-454e-abc4-c976d57ff8cd&f=DOT_FAA_TC-14_33.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1354945 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563670 AU - Knapp, Keith AU - Chandler, Brian AU - Atkinson, Jennifer AU - Welch, Thomas AU - Rigdon, Heather AU - Retting, Richard AU - Meekins, Stacey AU - Widstrand, Eric AU - Porter, R J AU - Leidos AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Road Diet Informational Guide PY - 2014/11 SP - 72p AB - A classic Road Diet converts an existing four-lane undivided roadway segment to a three-lane segment consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left turn lane (TWLTL). A Road Diet improves safety by including a protected left-turn lane for mid-block left-turning motorists, reducing crossing distance for pedestrians, and reducing travel speeds that decrease crash severity. Additionally, the Road Diet provides an opportunity to allocate excess roadway width to other purposes, including bicycle lanes, on-street parking, or transit stops. This Informational Guide includes safety, operational, and quality of life considerations from research and practice, and guides readers through the decision-making process to determine if Road Diets are a good fit for a certain corridor. It also provides design guidance and encourages post-implementation evaluation. KW - Bicycle lanes KW - Bus stops KW - Decision making KW - Guidelines KW - Highway design KW - Highway safety KW - On street parking KW - Road diet KW - State of the practice KW - Three lane highways KW - Two way left turn lanes UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/road_diets/info_guide/rdig.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54700/54742/rdig.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352969 ER - TY - SER AN - 01560604 JO - TechBrief PB - Federal Highway Administration TI - Bond Behavior of Reinforcing Steel in Ultra-High Performance Concrete PY - 2014/11 SP - 12p AB - This document is a technical summary of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) report "Bond Behavior of Reinforcing Steel in Ultra-High Performance Concrete" (FHWA-HRT-14-090). Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has garnered interest from the highway infrastructure community for its greatly enhanced mechanical and durability properties. The objective of this research is to extensively evaluate the factors that affect bond strength between deformed reinforcing bar and UHPC, and to facilitate the development of design guidelines for using field-cast UHPC in innovative connection details. The results of the research effort and the design recommendations for reinforcing bar embedded in UHPC are provided in this TechBrief. KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Design KW - Guidelines KW - Reinforcing bars KW - Ultra high performance concrete UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/hpc/14089/14089.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1350345 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558319 AU - Williams, R Christopher AU - Cascione, Andrew AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of Asphalt Interlayer Designed on Jointed Concrete PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 37p AB - Reflective cracking in hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlays has been a common cause of poor pavement performance in Iowa for many years. Reflective cracks commonly occur in HMA overlays when deteriorated portland cement concrete is paved over with HMA. This results in HMA pavement surfaces with poor ride quality and increased transportation maintenance costs. To delay the formation of cracks in HMA overlays, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) has begun to implement a crack-relief interlayer mix design specification. The crack-relief interlayer is an asphalt-rich, highly flexible HMA that can resist cracking in high strain loading conditions. In this project, the field performance of an HMA overlay using a one inch interlayer was compared to a conventional HMA overlay without an interlayer. Both test sections were constructed on US 169 in Adel, Iowa as part of an Iowa DOT overlay project. The laboratory performance of the interlayer mix design was assessed for resistance to cracking from repeated strains by using the four-point bending beam apparatus. An HMA using a highly polymer modified binder was designed and shown to meet the laboratory performance test criteria. The field performance of the overlay with the interlayer exceeded the performance of the conventional overlay that did not have the interlayer. After one winter season, 29 percent less reflective cracking was measured in the pavement section with the interlayer than the pavement section without the interlayer. The level of cracking severity was also reduced by using the interlayer in the overlay. KW - Assessments KW - Bituminous overlays KW - Field tests KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Iowa KW - Mix design KW - Pavement interlayers KW - Pavement performance KW - Performance tests KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Reflection cracking KW - Test sections UR - http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/intrans_reports/108 UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/19041/1/IADOT_InTrans_Williams_Asphalt_Interlayer_Designed_Jointed_Concrete_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347301 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556720 AU - Anderson, Keith AU - Russell, Mark AU - Uhlmeyer, Jeff AU - Weston, Jim AU - Roseburg, Jerry AU - Moomaw, Tim AU - De Vol, Joe AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Warm Mix Asphalt Final Report PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 86p AB - The performance of pavements constructed using warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology were compared to the performance of conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements placed on the same project. Measurements of friction resistance, rutting/wear, ride and pavement condition (alligator, longitudinal and transverse cracking) did not show that the WMA either improved or worsened performance. WMA is an allowable substitute for conventional HMA on all projects using less than 20 percent recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). WMA is not allowed when the RAP content exceeds 20 percent or when any percentage of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) is incorporated. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Cracking KW - Friction KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Pavement performance KW - Recycled materials KW - Rutting KW - Warm mix paving mixtures UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/723.2.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54600/54620/723.2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345503 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556504 AU - Morcous, George AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Optimizing Concrete Deck Removal in Concrete I-Girder Bridges PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 117p AB - Wide flange precast/prestressed concrete I-girders have been widely used by several State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the last two decades. These girders have many advantages over standard American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) I-girders. Their wide and thick bottom flange accommodates a large number of prestressing strands and their wide and thin top flange provides a shorter deck span, reduced girder weight, greater stability in construction, and adequate platform for workers. Despite these advantages, the wide and thin top flange might be disadvantageous when it comes to deck removal, as it is more susceptible to damage. Therefore there is a need to investigate the impact of deck removal methods on the performance of the supporting wide flange I-girder. In this study, two deck removal methods are presented: saw cutting and jackhammering. These two methods were implemented on the Camp Creek Bridge over I-80 in Lancaster County, Nebraska before demolition due to its functional obsolesces. Different saw cutting and jackhammering techniques were performed for deck removal between girders and on top of girders. Data obtained from using similar techniques on three other projects were collected and analyzed. Two girders from the Camp Creek Bridge were taken to the lab for testing in flexure after applying different levels of deck removals around shear connectors and re-decking. Test results indicated adequate performance of the new composite section even when partial deck removal around shear connectors is applied. Another investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of top flange width on the performance of bridge I-girders. The top flange was longitudinally saw cut and its width was reduced by fifty percent. The effects on geometrical properties, flexural capacity, horizontal shear capacity, and deflection were investigated analytically and experimentally under construction loads and service loads. Investigation results indicate that in some cases top flange width does not have significant impact on the structural performance of I-girders. KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge decks KW - Flanges KW - Flexure KW - Girders KW - Nebraska KW - Prestressed concrete bridges KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Morcous_OptimizingConcreteDeckRemovalinConcreteI-GirderBridges.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344948 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01556500 AU - Klabunde, Kenneth J AU - Shrestha, Khadga AU - Kansas State University, Manhattan AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Sustainable Asphalt Pavements Using Bio-Binders from Bio-Fuel Waste PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 22p AB - Asphaltic binders that are used for asphalt pavements have been traditionally obtained either from fossil fuels or from natural sources. However, due to growing interest in sustainability, a search has been initiated for a non-petroleum binder that could be used for asphalt pavements. The objective of this study is to develop a modified asphalt binder from bio-refinery byproducts and wastes that can be used as a replacement for bituminous adhesives/binders derived from fossil fuels for asphalt pavements. The chemical structures of the residue from fossil fuel processing and bio-fuel processing proved to be somewhat different. The Bio-Oil contains more oxygen (therefore, oxygen bearing organic functional groups, such as alcohols and ketones [-OH and C=O]). The Bio-Oil is more functionalized and polar in nature. Chemical structure studies were carried out by spectroscopic methods (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)), infra-red, and thermal gravimetric analyses, as well as solubility in a series of solvents. Future work would involve (1) studying a wider variety of Bio-Oil derived samples, (2) employing further analytical techniques, and (3) determining how the Bio-Oils can be converted to chemical structures more similar to the petroleum derived oils. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Binders KW - Biomass fuels KW - Chemical analysis KW - Oils KW - Recycled materials KW - Spectroscopic analysis KW - Sustainable development KW - Waste products UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Klabunde_SustainableAsphaltPavementsUsingBio-BindersfromBio-FuelWaste.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344946 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554456 AU - Ranney, Thomas A AU - Baldwin, G H Scott AU - Smith, Larry A AU - Mazzae, Elizabeth N AU - Pierce, Russell S AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Detection Response Task (DRT) Evaluation for Driver Distraction Measurement Application PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 128p AB - Research was conducted to support development of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) Phase 3 Driver Distraction Guidelines for auditory-vocal driver-vehicle interfaces. A single experiment was conducted in driving and non-driving test venues to evaluate the sensitivity of Detection Response Task (DRT) metrics to differences in attentional load. Three DRT variants were used: Head-mounted DRT (HDRT), Remote DRT (RDRT), and Tactile DRT (TDRT). A repeated-measures design required participants to complete all six combinations of DRT (3) and test venue (2). Secondary tasks included: 0-back, 1-back, and visual-manual radio tuning. Forty-eight participants provided two independent samples following the Phase 1 NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines selection criteria. Each 24-person sample had 6 participants (3 male, 3 female) in the following age ranges: 18-24, 25-39, 40-54, and 55+. Two identical stationary vehicles were used. One was connected to a fixed-base driving simulator where drivers maintained a constant following distance behind a lead vehicle. The other vehicle housed a non-driving venue in which participants performed DRT and secondary tasks without a concurrent driving task. Tasks were performed continuously for 3 minutes on each trial. Differences between test venues were more pronounced than differences between DRT variants. Response times were faster in the non-driving venue but differences between secondary task conditions were consistent across venues; radio tuning was associated with highest DRT performance degradation, followed by the 1-back and 0-back conditions, respectively. Non-driving hit rates were consistently higher than driving hit rates. A set of four planned comparisons and comparisons of effect sizes (ES) were used to evaluate metric sensitivity at different test durations. In the driving simulator, TDRT was slightly more sensitive than other DRT variants. In the non-driving venue, all three DRT variants provided comparable sensitivity for response time. Ceiling effects rendered hit rate data not sensitive to differences between conditions in the non-driving venue. A 2-minute data collection interval provided optimal sensitivity for testing. Based on (2-minute) small-sample (N = 24) testing in the driving simulator, both TDRT and HDRT detected all differences while RDRT performance was weaker. The TDRT had the highest level of test-retest reliability. For small sample non-driving venue testing, the 2-minute interval was also slightly better; however, there were no differences among DRT variants in sensitivity or test-retest reliability. Overall, the TDRT was consistently more sensitive than other DRT variants, albeit marginally, in the driving simulator. Using a non-driving venue requires reliance entirely on the response time metric. Differences between DRT variants were too small to identify a better performing DRT in the non-driving venue. Potential visual conflicts associated with RDRT and to a lesser extent with HDRT may create problems when used with visual-manual tasks in either venue. KW - Distraction KW - Driver performance KW - Driver vehicle interfaces KW - Drivers KW - Driving simulators KW - Guidelines KW - U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash Avoidance/Technical Publications/2014/812077-DetectionResponseTaskDRT2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341932 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554328 AU - Hallenbeck, M E AU - Selezneva, O I AU - Quinley, R AU - Applied Research Associates, Inc. AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Verification, Refinement, and Applicability of Long-Term Pavement Performance Vehicle Classification Rules PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 162p AB - The Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) project has developed and deployed a set of rules for converting axle spacing and weight data into estimates of a vehicle’s classification. These rules are being used at Transportation Pooled Fund Study (TPF) weigh-in-motion (WIM) sites across the country. This report examines the performance of those rules and the implications of their use for the development and application of default values for use within the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. The report is divided into three parts. In part I, the report examines 1) how the LTPP rules differ from classification rules used by many States, 2) the performance of the LTPP rules in terms of their accuracy across truck types and at different LTPP WIM sites across the country, and 3) the size of the error that can be introduced into the estimation of traffic loading inputs for pavement design when load spectra developed from the LTPP TPF sites using these rules are combined with truck volume data collected using State-specific classification rule sets. Part II of this report examines the sensitivity of the pavement design models to the errors introduced by the use of these traffic loading inputs. Based on the results of these sensitivity tests, recommendations are made about the use of load spectra computed using Specific Pavement Studies TPF WIM data. Part III of this report describes minor changes to the LTPP classification rules recommended to improve their performance. Finally, the results of field tests of the recommended revised classification rules are presented KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Field tests KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Pavement performance KW - Recommendations KW - Sensitivity analysis KW - Traffic loads KW - Traffic volume KW - Trucks KW - Vehicle classification KW - Weigh in motion UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/13091/13091.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341969 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554287 AU - Dixon, Michael P AU - Dyre, Brian AU - Wulfhorst, J D AU - Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed AU - Grover, Alex AU - Meyer, Mark AU - Reyna, Monica A AU - Foltz, Barbara E AU - University of Idaho, Moscow AU - University of Idaho, Moscow AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of IdaShield Sign Safety Benefits at Highway-Rail Crossing in Idaho PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 135p AB - This report describes findings from a study aimed at assessing the safety impact of IdaShield signs installed at 1,341 highway railroad crossings in Idaho. Specifically, the research assessed the marker’s effectiveness using three measures: (1) Before-and-after analysis of historical crash data preceding and following installation of the IdaShield marker. (2) User assessment survey measuring user understanding of the IdaShield and changes in user response due to the IdaShield. (3) Simulated driving test environment that exposed participants to various controlled circumstances related to highway railroad crossings. The before-and-after analysis of test data showed crashes were significantly decreased by 38.6 percent after the IdaShield installation and these effects were largely attributed to the IdaShield. The user assessment survey found users understood the purpose of the IdaShield, believed it enhanced intersection visibility, and would improve safety. Finally, the driver simulation showed how the IdaShield changed driver responses at highway railroad crossings, but only for conditions in which it was paired with a YIELD sign and a train was approaching. No significant safety benefit was noted when the IdaShield sign was paired with a STOP sign. Because the IdaShield produces positive overall outcomes on driver safety and does not have any apparent negative effects, the authors recommend the signage should continue to be required to increase visibility and safety at passive at-grade railway crossings in Idaho where a STOP sign is not present. KW - Before and after studies KW - Crash data KW - Driving simulators KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Highway safety KW - Idaho KW - Railroad grade crossings KW - Railroad safety KW - Surveys KW - Traffic signs UR - http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niatt/research/Final_Reports/KLK567_RP223Final10302014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342487 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554284 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Strategic Plan for the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center PY - 2014/11 SP - 40p AB - Located in McLean, Virginia, the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) is the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA’s) core facility for research, development, and technology within the broader transportation research community. This document describes TFHRC’s plans for providing national leadership in highway research, both by advancing its own endeavors and by coordinating those endeavors with activities managed by other offices within FHWA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and by other public, private, academic, and international entities. Indeed, partnerships constitute a key element of the Strategic Plan. Other major themes of the Plan include identification and implementation of the right research; systematic planning of TFHRC’s research capabilities, both human resources and infrastructure; and accelerated transition of technology from the laboratory to the operating environment. KW - Coordination KW - Highways KW - Research KW - Research and educational facilities KW - Strategic planning KW - Technological innovations KW - Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/general/14022/14022.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343370 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554226 AU - Hoover, Richard L (Dick) AU - Rao, Sughosh J AU - Howe, Gavin AU - Barickman, Frank S AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Heavy-Vehicle Lane Departure Warning Test Development PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 97p AB - This report summarizes findings of a market study on existing lane departure warning systems (LDWS), compares domestic and international standard test procedures, and evaluates a developed test procedure for heavy-vehicle lane departure warning systems. The performance of two heavy-vehicle LDWS was evaluated for various lane departure scenarios. The performance tests included for left and right side warning activation on two different lane marking types (solid and dashed lines), and on straight and curved lanes. The developed test procedure is based on the existing light vehicle New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) lane departure warning test procedure with modifications for heavy-vehicle applications. The performance of the LDWS was analyzed and results are reported. KW - Driver support systems KW - Heavy vehicles KW - Lane changing KW - Lane lines KW - Market assessment KW - New Car Assessment Program KW - Performance tests KW - Test procedures KW - Warning devices UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash Avoidance/Technical Publications/2014/812078_Heavy-VehicleLaneDepartWarnTestDevelmt.pdf.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341934 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554215 AU - Konur, Dincer AU - Farhangi, Hadi AU - Long, Suzanna AU - Qin, Ruwen AU - Elmore, Curt AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Track Inspection Planning and Risk Measurement Analysis PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 165p AB - This project models track inspection operations on a railroad network and discusses how the inspection results can be used to measure the risk of failure on the tracks. In particular, the inspection times of the tracks, inspection frequency of the tracks, and times between consecutive inspections on the same tracks should be considered for scheduling inspections on the railroad tracks. Furthermore, an inspection plan should schedule inspections considering the characteristics of different tracks. Therefore, it is important to schedule track inspections such that the potential defects are captured as much as possible within minimum times to increase safety. The project formulates a mathematical optimization problem for the track inspection planning considering the practical settings of track inspection operations such as inspection times, inspection frequencies required, time between consecutive inspections, and importance of distinct tracks. The two objectives simultaneously captured in this model are minimization of total inspection times and maximization of the weighted inspections. An efficient solution method is proposed for solving this model. The solution method is compared to a scheduling procedure, which can be used in absence of the findings in this project, on a set of railroad track networks of different sizes. Based on the comparison, the solution method proposed proves to find improved inspection schedules regardless of the railroad network size. A review of the techniques on how to use the inspection results to measure risk of failure is provided. KW - Inspection KW - Maintenance of way KW - Optimization KW - Railroad safety KW - Railroad tracks KW - Risk analysis KW - Scheduling UR - http://www.modot.org/services/or/documents/cmr15-005.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341983 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554205 AU - Luna, Ronaldo AU - Mohammedi, Mojtaba Ale AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Road Construction Intensity and Operations on Rural Freeway Work Zone Capacity PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 74p AB - Capacity is affected by construction type and its intensity on adjacent open traffic lanes. The effect on capacity is a function of vehicles moving in and out of the closed lanes of the work zone, and the presence of heavy construction vehicles. Construction activity and its intensity, however, are not commonly considered in estimating capacity of a highway lane. The main purpose of this project was to attempt to quantify the effects of construction type and intensity (e.g. maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and milling) on work zone capacity. The objective of this project is to quantify the effects of construction type and its intensity on work zone capacity and to develop guidelines for Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to estimate the specific operation type and intensity that will improve the traffic flow by reducing the traffic flow and queue length commonly associated with work zones. Despite the effort put into field data collection, the data collected did not show a full speed-flow chart therefore extracting a reliable capacity value was difficult. A statistical comparison between the capacity values found in this study using either methodologies indicates that there is an effect of construction activity on the values work zone capacity. It was found that the heavy construction activity reduces the capacity. It is very beneficial to conduct similar studies on the capacity of work zone with different lane closure barriers, which is also directly related to the type of work zone being short-term or long-term work zones. Also, the effect of different geometric and environmental characteristics of the roadway should be considered in future studies. KW - Guidelines KW - Highway capacity KW - Missouri Department of Transportation KW - Road construction KW - Rural highways KW - Traffic flow KW - Traffic queuing KW - Work zone traffic control KW - Work zones UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/18655/1/IADOT_MUST_Luna_Effects_Construction_Intensity_Operations_on_Rural_Work_Zone_Capacity_2014_final_report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341979 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01552144 AU - Abu-Farsakh, Murad Y AU - Yoon, Sungming AU - Yu, Xinbao AU - Tang, Xiaochao AU - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Structural Health Monitoring of I-10 Twin Span Bridge – Part I: Analysis of Lateral Load Test PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 185p AB - The old I-10 Twin Span Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain was heavily damaged by the storm surges during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A new 5.4-mile long replacement bridge was constructed with higher resistance to extreme events, such as storm surges and ship impacts. During the construction, a structural health monitoring system, including both superstructure and substructure, was implemented to study the lateral response of battered pile groups short-term and to monitor the “health” condition of the new bridge long-term. M19 pier on the main span of east bound, the second highest pier of the bridge, was selected to perform an in-situ large scale static lateral load test. The pier foundation consists of 24 square 3-ft. precast prestressed concrete (PPC) driven piles battered at 1:6 with an average embedment length of 87 ft. Among them, 8 piles were instrumented with micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) In-Place Inclinometers (IPI) to monitor pile deflections. 12 piles were instrumented with sister bar type of strain gauges at two selected locations along the pile length to monitor moment and axial force. Other instruments also include triaxial accelerometers, tiltmeters, water pressure cells, and corrosion meters. A lateral load test was conducted by pulling two high strength steel strand tendons through the west bound and east bound M19 piers with hydraulic jacks; the lateral load was applied in 19 increments with a maximum load of 1870 kips. A high-order-polynomial curve fitting method was selected to best-fit the measured rotation profiles by IPI. From the fitted rotation profiles, bending moments, shear forces, and soil reactions were derived using the classic beam theory. P-y curves were obtained from the derived soil reaction profiles and deflection profiles. The back-calculation results were verified with the measurement data from IPI and strain gauges. FB-MultiPier was used for the analysis of pier behaviors in the design of the I-10 Bridge. Therefore, it was selected to simulate the pier response during the lateral load test and verify its performance with measured data and results from the back-calculation. A sensitivity analysis of the input parameters for FB-MultiPier was first conducted to help make decisions on selecting design parameters. Based on the analysis on the simulation results, a select set of inputs were presented as a reference for the design of similar battered pile group in the future. KW - Bending moments KW - Bridge piers KW - Deflection KW - Highway bridges KW - Inclinometers KW - Instrumentation KW - Load tests KW - Louisiana KW - Precast concrete KW - Prestressed concrete KW - Shear properties KW - Strain gages KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/FR_529.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341398 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551419 AU - Lynch, Frank AU - Kolenikov, Stanislaus AU - Bergoffen, Gene AU - Burks, Stephen V AU - Kearns, Kristin AU - Luetmer, Michael AU - Austin, Ann AU - Bishop, Richard AU - MaineWay Services, Incorporated AU - Abt SRBI, Incorporated AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Attitudes of Truck Drivers and Carriers on the Use of Electronic Logging Devices and Driver Harassment PY - 2014/11//Final Report SP - 232p AB - The research contained herein is an examination of managerial harassment experienced by drivers, and whether harassment is associated with the method used to log hours of service (HOS). Similar information was gathered from a sample of carriers. Truck drivers were interviewed in person at truck stops in the United States; carriers were interviewed online via a Web survey. The evidence in this survey research does not support concluding that harassment occurs due to being in a situation where HOS are logged using electronic logging devices (ELDs). KW - Attitudes KW - Carriers KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Hours of labor KW - Surveys KW - Truck drivers KW - United States KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54100/54178/RRR-14-009-Attitudes_of_Truck_Drivers_and_Carriers_on_the_Use_of_ELDs_and_Harassment-V11-FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339960 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551376 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Work Zone Fatal Crashes Involving Large Trucks, 2012 PY - 2014/11//Analysis Brief SP - 4p AB - In 2012, 30,800 fatal crashes took place on our Nation’s roadways, with 11.2 percent (3,464) involving at least 1 large truck. While the majority of all fatal crashes (98.2 percent) took place outside of a work zone in 2012, 547 fatal crashes (1.8 percent) occurred in a construction, maintenance, utility or other work zone. In contrast, 3.7 percent of fatal crashes involving large trucks took place in a work zone in 2012— double the percentage for all fatal crashes. This analysis brief examines factors that contribute to work zone fatal crashes involving large trucks. KW - Crash causes KW - Crash characteristics KW - Fatalities KW - Truck crashes KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zones UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54100/54128/14-006_-_Work_Zone_Fatal_Crashes_-_Final_-_508C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340054 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551317 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Attitudes of Truck Drivers and Carriers on the Use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and Harassment PY - 2014/11//Research Brief SP - 2p AB - Truck drivers and carrier personnel were interviewed on the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) for keeping track of driving hours and whether these devices were used to harass drivers. This research examined the following issues: (1) Whether drivers considered their ELD-related experiences and interactions with their carriers as harassment; (2) How frequently drivers reported the occurrence of ELD-related harassment; (3) Whether these interactions were enabled by the carrier using hours-of-service (HOS) data collected via an ELD and whether it was a standalone ELD or a comprehensive system which included ELD capability; and (4) Whether drivers who use ELDs for tracking HOS differ from those who use paper logs. KW - Attitudes KW - Carriers KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Hours of labor KW - Truck drivers KW - Trucking safety KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54100/54177/14-009_-_Research_Brief_-_Attitudes_of_Truck_Drivers_and_Carriers_on_Use_of_ELDs_and_Harassment_-_Final_-_508C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340052 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551301 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - FMCSA Safety Program Effectiveness Measurement: Roadside Intervention Effectiveness Model FY 2010 PY - 2014/11//Analysis Brief SP - 2p AB - Two of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) key safety programs are the Roadside Inspection and Traffic Enforcement programs. The Roadside Inspection program consists of roadside inspections performed by qualified safety inspectors. These inspections follow the guidelines of the North American Standard, which were developed by FMCSA and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. Most roadside inspections are conducted by the States under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. There are six levels of inspections that include a vehicle component, a driver component, or both. Separately, the Traffic Enforcement program is composed of two distinct activities: a traffic stop as a result of a moving violation and a subsequent roadside inspection. FMCSA developed an analytic model to measure the effectiveness of roadside inspections and traffic enforcements in terms of crashes avoided, injuries prevented, and lives saved. This model, previously known as the Intervention Model, is currently known as the Roadside Intervention Effectiveness Model (RIEM). In this model, traffic enforcements and roadside inspections are considered interventions. KW - Crash rates KW - Inspection KW - Motor carriers KW - Performance measurement KW - Safety programs KW - Traffic law enforcement KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucking safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54100/54127/13-062_b__-_Analysis_Brief_-_RIEM_FY_2010_-_FINAL_-_508C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1340053 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551278 AU - Valentine, David AU - Zimmer, Robert AU - Mortensen, Steven AU - Sheehan, Robert AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - Battelle Memorial Institute TI - Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP): Leveraging DSRC for Transit Safety – Fielding Results and Lessons Learned PY - 2014/11 SP - 10p AB - A team led by Battelle, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration, deployed five collision avoidance applications on University of Michigan transit buses, including two new applications—one for pedestrian crosswalks and one for vehicles turning in front of transit buses at bus stops—identified as high-priority concerns by transit agencies. This system, called the Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP), was part of the USDOT’s Safety Pilot Model Deployment—a large-scale field demonstration of the potential benefits of 5.9GHz Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) wireless technology that is supporting related decisions by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This article provides a summary of results, “fresh from the field”, pertaining to the transit safety applications, as well as the underlying project, system, and technologies. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crosswalks KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Field tests KW - Michigan KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Pedestrians KW - Transit buses KW - Transit safety KW - Turning traffic UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/safety/pdf/trp_august2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339975 ER -