Commercial Operations

Camera/Video Imaging Systems (C/VISs) display live video images collected from cameras mounted on a truck’s exterior to drivers using monitors mounted inside the truck cabin. C/VISs are designed to provide a low-cost countermeasure to crashes resulting from improper lane changes and backing maneuvers by increasing drivers’ visibility of the area around their truck.  Under the United States Department of Transportation’s indirect visibility research program, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) was contracted to investigate the utility of C/VISs and drivers’ acceptance of them. At the onset of this program in 2003, C/VISs were -2- already commercially available, yet little was known about their effectiveness. VTTI identified drivers’ C/VIS needs and developed numerous C/VIS concepts. A series of usability tests and controlled experiments were then performed over three major research phases. The findings from each phase were used to iterate the C/VIS design and produce system requirements for a C/VIS that simplified the driving task and improved drivers’ spatial awareness. This paper documents the human factors and systems engineering approach followed throughout the C/VIS research program, where C/VIS requirements were incrementally developed using an iterative and controlled process that involved collaboration between multiple disciplines and focused on the drivers’ needs.

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

In 2008, heavy trucks were found to be 3.2 times more likely than other vehicles to be struck from behind in two-vehicle fatal crashes (1). The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) contracted the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to perform Phase III of the Enhanced Rear Signaling (ERS) for Heavy Trucks project which was directed at investigating methods to reduce or mitigate those crashes where a heavy truck has been struck from behind by another vehicle. The focus of this paper is to discuss the dynamic evaluation of the final ERS countermeasure system on the public roadways of Virginia. Results indicated the system was robust in real-world driving situations. The system performed well at detecting rear-end crash threats, activating a trailer-positioned warning-light system, drawing the gazes of distracted following-vehicle drivers back to the forward roadway, and resulted in minor following-vehicle unintended consequences. An increase in false alarm rate was found for the warning light activation system during low-speed, high-traffic-density scenarios and the propensity of these false alarms should be addressed prior to a Field Operational Test (FOT).

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The Illinois Tollway has operated ITS devices for several decades. In 2002 the Tollway opened their state of the art Traffic and Incident Management System (TIMS), which now manages all ITS devices including CCTV, DMS, and real time traffic information from two sources. By 2003, TIMS was integrated with the existing Tollway computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. This allowed incident information from the Illinois State Police and Tollway Maintenance Forces to be directly input into the TIMS system.

Wilbur Smith Associates

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

Public-Private Partnerships (3P) around the world are one of the most efficient mechanisms to

design, build, operate and maintain infrastructure. The US has started to embrace roadway

concessions as a way to not only maintain, but also to expand the roadway infrastructure in the

country. The Florida Department of Transportation signed a public-private partnership (P3)

agreement with I-595 Express, LLC, to serve as the concessionaire to design, build, finance,

operate and maintain the roadway infrastructure including reversible lanes along the I-595

corridor for a long-term commitment of 35 years. Part of this Concession Agreement includes

the design, installation, maintenance and operation of a very complex Intelligent Transportation

System for the Interstate I-595. This includes the design, installation and operation of a

temporary traffic management system to be utilized during the 5 year construction period, a

Reversible Express Lanes Access Control System and the permanent traffic management system,

altogether referred to as the ITS.

I 595 Express, LLC

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the agency in the United States that carries out programs to ensure safety in operating trucks and motorcoaches on public roads. One of the most critical factors in safety is the driver. Driver fatigue is a known cause of fatal large-truck crashes, and contributing to fatigue is the lack of safe, available truck parking. Thus, FMCSA established the SmartPark program in 2004 with the objective of demonstrating Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology, to providing real-time information on parking availability to truckers on the road. FMCSA has conducted field operations tests on two different, inexpensive technologies: video imaging and magnetometry. FMCSA will be conducting field operations testing on a third type of technology: light curtain combined with Doppler radar and laser scan combined with Doppler radar.

U.S. DOT

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida