Safety

Emergent Collision Avoidance Systems (CAS's) are beginning to assist drivers in performing specific tasks and extending the limits of driver's perception. The systems face significant hurdles in terms of safety and driver acceptance. In fact, CAS's may actually make the driving environment more dangerous. This paper demonstrates that adaptive capability is necessary to mitigate these concerns. Specifically, CAS's must adapt to a driver's style and limitations. Fortunately, a significant portion of this adaptive capability can be realized without additional sensors and with the inclusion of relatively simple hardware. The requirements of components of a CAS are discussed based on advances found in recent relevant literature. An architecture for an adaptive CAS is proposed.

The George Washington University - GW Transportation Research Institute

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

Winter maintenance operations, including snow removal, are subject to increased risk by conditions such as total visual whiteout, low traction on wet or icy pavement, drifting snow and roadways completely covered by snow. Additional hazards are posed by objects buried in or obscured by snow. Furthermore, snowplow operators often lack important visual cues as to their position on the roadway due to accumulations of snow from previous plowing activities. In many of the colder, mountainous states, snowplows that run off the roadway have greater potential for equipment damage and personal injury due to the mountainous terrain in which much of the snow removal operations take place. The opportunity to address these risks with Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety Systems (AVCSS) technologies was the impetus for the Advanced Snowplow Development and Demonstration project. These AVCSS technologies have been incorporated into the United States Department of Transportation.s (USDOT) Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program.

The main purpose of the Advanced Snowplow Development and Demonstration project was to design, integrate and test AVCSS technologies on snowplow maintenance equipment. This phase of the project has attempted to assess potential benefits associated with combining conventional snowplow operations with Intelligent Vehicle (IV) technologies in terms of improved efficiency and safety on rural roadway segments in California and Arizona. A prototype snowplow was equipped with lateral lane indication and forward collision warning systems. The subsequent evaluation attempted to determine the effectiveness of the advanced technology system in terms of safety and operational efficiency, as well as perceived benefits or concerns expressed by the snowplow operators. In addition, the accuracy and reliability of the system was examined.

The results of this initial evaluation will first, provide the results necessary to determine the feasibility of AVCSS in improving safety and efficiency of snowplow removal and second, help establish a methodology for future AVCSS evaluation projects.

Montana State University – Bozeman: Western Transportation Institute

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

The Southeastern Michigan Snow and Ice Management (SEMSIM) Project uses the latest in fleet management technologies and applies them to winter maintenance activities. SEMSIM is a Partnership which includes the City of Detroit, the Wayne County Department of Public Services, the Road Commission of Macomb County, and the Road Commission for Oakland County. These four agencies are responsible for maintaining over 10,000 miles of roadway in metropolitan Detroit. In addition to the four road agencies, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is key transit player. SMART is providing the 900 MHz radio channels which will act as the communications back bone for SEMSIM.. SEMSIM is striving to use technology as an ally in the fight against winter storms. The ability to centrally monitor fleet movements and activities in real-time is a powerful tool that is just beginning to be utilized. The associated result is better resource management which directly correlates to safer roads at lower costs.

Road Commission for Oakland County

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

The Collision Countermeasure System (CCS) is an ITS traffic control device, consisting of activated warning signs and pavement loop detectors. Its application at a rural unsignalized intersection was intended to enhance driver awareness of cross traffic, thus increasing safety. This three-phase vehicle behavioral field evaluation assessed novelty and longer-term CCS impacts.

Developed Measures of Effectiveness (M.O.E.s) were derived from CCS accident-avoidance operational objectives. Applied M.O.E.s were: (1) drivers’ CCS speed responses in the presence of cross traffic; (2) intersection approach speed reductions; and (3) Projected Times-to-Collision (PTCs), i.e., the elapsed time to which an approaching vehicle would collide with a vehicle in its path in the absence of a timely avoidance response. Human factors (e.g., driver perception-reaction time) accident-avoidance requirements determined critical PTC values that were utilized in the analysis.

Transportation Research Corporation

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

This paper explores issues relating to the user acceptability and safety effectiveness of on-board driver performance monitoring for commercial drivers. The discussion centers on alertness monitoring, which has been the subject of extensive U.S. Department of Transportation-sponsored research. However, many of the same issues and guiding principles may apply to other on-board safety monitoring (OBSM) devices such as speed, headway, and lateral acceleration monitoring. Such technologies may be seen as safety performance feedback systems in addition to their role as collision warning systems. Indeed, feedback-induced behavior change may, to some extent, pre-empt the collision warning uses of these devices by bringing driver performance within a safety tolerance range where imminent collision situations are largely avoided.

A system concept is proposed for the application of “alertometers” (i.e., real-time invehicle displays of driver alertness levels) to commercial driver fatigue management. The principal element in this system is the continuous in-vehicle feedback that alertometers can provide to drivers regarding their levels of alertness. This feedback, if employed properly within an overall fleet safety management program, can lead to significant short-term and longterm changes in driver behavior and lifestyle relevant to fatigue management and sleep hygiene. A generalized version of this system concept may be applicable to other forms of OBSM and associated safety performance management.

In its research on OBSM, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is attempting to assess and synthesize behavioral principles to develop optimal ways to employ sensors, driver-vehicle interface designs, and associated management practices to influence commercial driver behavior in ways that will positively affect both short- and long-term driver performance.

U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

ATA Foundation

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA