The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has established the Safety Training and Analysis Center (STAC) at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) to assist the research community and State departments of transportation (DOTs) when using data from the second Strategic Highway Research Program’s (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) and Roadway Information Database (RID).

The STAC will advance the design, development, and execution of training to support research and analysis focused on addressing the safety of the roadway environment, specifically the impact of roadway features on driving behavior. It will also provide technical assistance to highway safety data stakeholders (primarily State DOTs), including access to subject matter experts from the academic and scientific communities working at TFHRC to expand the roadway safety body of knowledge.

FHWA will use the STAC to analyze the data, conduct research, and develop tools to address high priority issues of national significance. The STAC will support the mission of FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and Development to use a data-driven, systematic approach to reducing highway fatalities and making the Nation’s roads safer.

The STAC will provide qualified researchers with secure access to the data without jeopardizing the privacy of those who participated in the study in accordance with consent agreements signed by the study participants.

Mission of STAC

The STAC will serve as an incubator of new ideas throughout the research community, by providing sponsored opportunities for graduate and postdoctoral students, fellows, and other researchers to gain experience working with the data. The STAC will also continue to support the needs of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) by using SHRP2 safety data to conduct research on USDOT priority topics, and by developing tools that enhance data extraction and analytical capabilities.

Through a separate effort, STAC will offer more opportunities for lead researchers who are partnered with State DOTs to conduct additional research using SHRP2 safety data.