Most Recent News

SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Pooled Fund: Advancing Implementable Solutions TPF 5(361)

Seven State DOTs (AL, CT, IA, IL, NV, UT, WA) and three FHWA Offices (Office Safety R&D, Office of Operations, Office of Planning, Environment, & Real Estate) have partnered to sponsor six research projects spanning safety, operations and planning, and totaling over $2million. These projects were introduced Spring 2020 in a webinar series.  Each of the projects recently completed year-long feasibility studies and results were presented to the pooled fund study (PFS) Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). All six projects have been approved by the TAC to move to the final phase, with deliverables due between February 2023 and July 2023.  Results – which will be focused on providing practitioners with guidance and tools – will be shared with the transportation community. Please contact Charles Fay charles.fay@dot.gov for further information. Projects listed below. 

Link to TPF 5(361) Transportation Pooled Fund - Study Details https://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/613

 

The six PFS projects are:

"Investigating How Multimodal Environments Affect Multitasking Driving Behaviors."

This study will use the SHRP 2 NDS data to examine multi-tasking behaviors when drivers are in environments that include large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists. Multi-tasking behavior refers to any secondary activity not related to the primary driving task, such as engagement with mobile devices, eating, drinking and talking to passengers. More specifically, this study will focus and provide guidance on: 1) the likelihood of drivers engaging in (or disengaging from) secondary task activities given the presence of pedestrians and cyclists; and 2) the effect of different types of crosswalks and bike lanes (including pavement markings and signage) on secondary task activities. 
 

"Incorporating the Impacts of Driver Distraction into Highway Design and Traffic Engineering."
 

The objective of this research is to leverage the SHRP 2 NDS data to examine and quantify the impacts of driver distraction on perception-reaction time and deceleration rate, two key performance measures for highway design and traffic engineering. This study will examine perception-reaction time and deceleration rate under several contexts, such as freeways, two-lane highways, and signalized intersections. Parameters of interest include stopping sight distance, yellow and all-red clearance intervals, and start-up lost time. The results of these evaluations will serve as the basis for recommendations as to how several design parameters that are influenced by these driver performance measures can be calibrated for application across a range of settings.
 

"Freeway Guide Sign Performance at Complex Interchanges: Reducing Information Overload"
 

This study seeks to identify performance-based recommendations for guide-sign design at complex freeway interchanges. Using the SHRP 2 data this study will examine freeway interchange guide-sign information overload thresholds by roadway, traffic, background, and visibility conditions, and the impacts of sign information complexity levels on driver behavior relevant to safety. Deliverables include recommendations for guide sign/roadway design/traffic control guidelines. 
 

"Validation of Performance-Based Design" 

Validation of Performance-Based Design (PBD) has mainly focused on crash data, expected crashes, or microsimulation. SHRP 2 NDS data provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity to broaden the validation of PBD. The objective of the proposed exploratory research is to use safety surrogates (speed, deceleration, steering, lane position) obtained from SHRP 2 NDS data to validate performance-based design practices for curves on rural two-lane roadway. Deliverables include a spreadsheet tool for safety and economic assessment.

"Verification and Calibration of Microscopic Traffic Simulation Using Driver Behavior and Car-Following Metrics for Freeway Segments "

The main objective of this project is to leverage microscopic driving behavior and car-following metrics directly derived from the SHRP 2 NDS data to develop guidelines that will assist and enhance calibration and verification of microscopic traffic simulation, in particular for freeway segments. This project is intended to provide practitioners and researchers with new criteria to evaluate simulation from a microscopic point of view, complementing typical calibration efforts for macroscopic performance measures. Deliverables include a user-ready and model-independent guideline for calibration and verification of microscopic simulation.

"Developing Speed Crash Modification Factors (CMF) Using SHRP 2 RID Data" 

The objective of this project is the development of speed-related CMFs for the Highway Safety Manual Part C crash prediction models. The SHRP 2 Roadway Information Database (RID) contains quality checked roadway data for six states in the U.S. (ex-horizontal curvature). The National Performance Management Research Dataset (NPMRDS) database Version 2 contains travel time data for 5-minute epochs for National Highway System for recent years. These are the ‘speed’ data. The Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) crash data includes data for the same years of NPMRDS Version 2 database. Linking these three databases provide a rich source of data with roadway, crash, and operating speed characteristics – allowing research on the effect of operating speed and/or operating and posted speed differentials on crash frequency and/or crash severity. Deliverables include speed related CMFs for different facilities.
 

NDS/RID Webinars

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Safety Training and Analysis Center (STAC) developed a training webinar series, for the State Departments of Transportation (DOT) research managers and safety, operations, and planning staff. This webinar series is an introduction to the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data and Roadway Information Database (RID). Safety, operations, and planning researchers working with DOTs, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), FHWA, and other funding agencies will also benefit from viewing these webinars. Please contact STAC personnel with any questions.

The following are the recordings for the webinars:

February 8, 2017: This webinar focused on NDS/RID research and outreach opportunities. The topics covered:

1. STAC pooled fund program
2. DOT research ideas
3. Potential research questions
4. General discussion and questions on the NDS and RID

February 8, 2017 – NDS/RID Research and Opportunities Webinar

January 18, 2017: This webinar focused on the integration of the driver, vehicle, and roadway data to support addressing research questions. The topics covered:

1. Map matching NDS data
2. RID links layer
3. Example use cases

January 18, 2017 – NDS/RID Data Integration – Part Two Webinar

December 14, 2016: This webinar focused on SHRP2’s RID. The topics covered:

1. Introduction to the RID
2. Data included in the RID
3. GIS functionality
4. Using the RID to support research
5. Example uses of the RID

December 14, 2016 – Naturalistic Driving Study and Roadway Information Data Integration Webinar

On December 20, 2016, FHWA Administrator Greg Nadeau and Deputy Administrator David Kim attended the ribbon cutting at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) to formally open the new STAC. FHWA established STAC to help the research community and State DOTs make use of data from the second SHRP2’s NDS and RID.

Figure 1. Nadeau opens STAC at the TFHRC.

SHRP2 NDS Pooled Fund Study 4th webinar recordings now available:

The fourth webinar in this series was presented on September 20, 2016.The following presentations were offered during the webinar:

• Investigation of techniques for detecting distracted drivers using data from the SHRP2 NDS by Adam Van Horn, Research Analyst at SwRI.
   
• Using SHRP2 NDS data to mine new solutions using the Transportation Research Informatics Platform (TRIP) by James Pol, Technical Director, FHWA Office of Safety R&D.

You can access the transcripts of these presentations.

Because of technical problems, the audio portion of the webinar was not recorded. A separate audio recording for a second presentation given by James Pol can be heard here.

November 30, 2016:  This webinar focused on the SHRP2 NDS data covering the driver and vehicle information. The topics covered:

1. Introduction to the NDS
2. Access to NDS data
3. The InSight website
4. NDS data analysis examples

November 30, 2016 – Introduction to SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data and Management Webinar

SHRP2 NDS Pooled Fund Study webinar recordings now available

The first few webinar recordings related to the SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study Pooled Fund: Advancing Implementable Solutions are now available:

• June 28, 2016 Webinar
• May 17, 2016 Webinar
• April 5, 2016 Webinar

Please see the solicitation for the NDS Pooled Fund Study.

Data Anonymization Workshop in Sweden:

Around 50 people attended the recent Field Operational Tests (FOT)-Net Data workshop on Data Anonymization in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 2-day workshop, held from August 31 to September 1, 2016, was an opportunity to gain insights into different ways of anonymization of FOT/ NDS video data. These data, which provide essential information on driver behavior during different driving scenarios, require a high level of data protection. The workshop covered multiple presentations by different stakeholders and discussions on various relevant topics including the role of data anonymization in vehicle automation. Ms. Hannah Rakoff from Volpe National Transportation Systems Center presented the U.S. perspective on Data Anonymization. For more information about the Data Anonymization Workshop, click here.

To download all the presentations given at the workshop, click here.

To download Ms. Rakoff’s presentation, click here.

Phase 2 Safety Implementation Assistance Program (IAP) Selections Announced

In August 2014, 11 different phase 1 proof-of-concept research efforts were awarded through the SHRP2 (IAP). The research teams used a small set of data from the SHRP2 Safety databases to conduct preliminary analyses on topics in eight different safety focus areas. We are now pleased to announce that 9 of the 11 phase 1 studies have been selected to receive additional funding for more indepth phase 2 analyses—using larger sets of the Safety data—that will lay the groundwork for development of future safety countermeasures. A list of the selected states and projects is attached to this announcement. Please click here to learn more about the SHRP2 Safety projects.

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Generates Strong Response, Eight Proposals Funded to Leverage SHRP2 Safety Data

Following a BAA, FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and Development received numerous proposals to leverage safety data from SHRP2 to support traffic safety improvements. Ultimately, eight proposals were funded for Phase I; six were funded as contracts with FHWA at $100,000 per project, and two were funded as cooperative agreements. Twelve different State DOTs were proposed as partners across the projects.