Safety

Emergency Evacuation is one most protective measure and viable alternative
during regional emergencies in response to both natural and man-made
disasters. Several evacuation traffic models have been developed and currently
available to support the planning and analysis of emergency evacuation.
However, to be effective, the decision-makers must understand how these
models can be used to facilitate the planning, analysis, and deployment of
emergency evacuation for populations at risk. This paper reviewed and analyzed
various traffic models, suggested how to improve the operational planning of
emergency evacuation, and recommended the necessary technological
enhancements for evacuation traffic models.

RSPA/US.DOT

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29-May 2, 2002, Long Beach, California

A discrete-time model, which characterizes a driver’s braking behavior, is
developed. According to the proposed model, the amount of braking depends on the
current vehicle speed and the required stopping distance. The model is used to simulate
the performance of the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) Alert
Algorithm. The simulation results indicate that, in the situation where an inattentive
driver is approaching a stopped lead vehicle at 60 mph, the probability of collision is less
than 17.6% when the NHTSA Alert Algorithm is in minimum sensitivity mode. In
maximum sensitivity mode, the probability of collision is less than 3.2%.

The Johns Hopkins University

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29-May 2, 2002, Long Beach, California

The evaluation of a truck-based drowsy driver warning system through field operational
test (FOT) data will provide an objective assessment of user- and device-provided
performance data. The evaluation will address five areas: safety benefits, driver
acceptance, fleet management acceptance, performance and capability, and deployment.
This paper reviews the goals and objectives that the evaluation will pursue. Although the
details of the plan will evolve as the FOT approaches, the information provided addresses
the main topics and indicates the thoroughness with which the evaluation will be
performed. Ultimately, the FOT and its subsequent evaluation will provide a useful
contribution to public safety.

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29-May 2, 2002, Long Beach, California

A new safety application, as part of ITS Advanced Rural Transportation System (ARTS),
has been developed and deployed on a two-lane rural road (Route 114) in Southwest
Virginia. The route has a rolling geometry of several vertical curves and is subject to
significant head-on accidents. During the period 1994-2000, the road experienced 11
crashes that resulted in 12 fatalities and 29 injuries. All these accidents were a result of
two main conditions:
1- Illegal passing maneuvers crossing solid yellow centerline, and
2- A short passing sight distance due to the road vertical profile.
Accidents reports indicated alcohol involvement in some of these incidents.
The main objective of the research, supported by Virginia Department of Transportation
VDOT, is to design, install, test and evaluate a video detection-based warning system by
installing an efficient system on one vertical crest curve on Route 114, capable of
performing the following two main functions:
1. Detect vehicles that attempt to violate the no-passing zone.
2. Warn the violating drivers in order to discourage them from continuing their risky
maneuvers.

Virginia Tech

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29-May 2, 2002, Long Beach, California

This paper presents a framework to evaluate an automotive rear-end crash avoidance
system in a field operational test. This framework is described in terms of the evaluation goals,
concomitant objectives, and respective subobjectives. The evaluation will pursue four goals to
achieve a detailed understanding of safety benefits, determine driver acceptance, characterize the
performance and capability, and assess the deployment potential and price of the automotive
rear-end crash avoidance system. Ten instrumented vehicles will be equipped with this system
that integrates rear-end crash warning and adaptive cruise control functions. Representative
groups of subjects will be selected to test the system over a ten-month period, driving in a
naturalistic environment under a variety of typical driving conditions. Each subject will drive an
instrumented vehicle for a few weeks. The system will not be available during the first week in
order to collect baseline driving data. The subjects will be able to utilize the system in the
remaining weeks to gather data on driver-vehicle-system performance.

U.S. Department of Transportation

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29-May 2, 2002, Long Beach, California