Darrell Bowman

Distracted driver performance to multiple alerts in a multiple-conflict scenario

Objective: We investigated whether collision avoidance systems (CASs) should present individual crash alerts in a multiple-conflict scenario or present only one alert in response to the first conflict. Background: Secondary alerts may startle, confuse, or interfere with drivers’ execution of an emergency maneuver. Method: Fifty-one participants followed a pickup truck around a test track. Once the participant was visually distracted, a trailing sedan repositioned itself into the participant’s blind spot while a box was dropped from the truck. Participants received a forward collision warning (FCW) alert as the box landed. Twenty-six drivers swerved left in response to the box, encountering a lateral conflict with the adjacent sedan. Half of these 26 drivers received a lane-change merge (LCM) alert. Results: Drivers who received both the FCW and LCM alerts were significantly faster at steering away from the lateral crash threat than the drivers who received only the FCW alert (1.70 s vs. 2.76 s, respectively). Drivers liked receiving the LCM alert, rated it to be useful, found it easy to understand (despite being presented after the FCW alert), and did not find it to be startling. Conclusion: Drivers who are familiar with CASs benefit from, and feel it is appropriate to generate, multiple alerts in a multiple-conflict scenario. Application: The results may inform the design of CASs for connected and automated vehicles.

Feasibility of GPS-based warning system for roadside workers

Roadside workers and emergency responders, such as police and emergency medical technicians, are at significant risk of being struck by vehicular traffic while performing their duties. While recent work has examined active and passive systems to reduce pedestrian collisions, current approaches require line of sight using either laser, infrared, or vision based systems. We address this problem by developing a GPS-based solution that equips roadside workers and vehicles with GPS units to estimate the trajectory of oncoming traffic, and estimate whether worker strike is imminent. The results of our study show that our approach is 91% accurate in alerting the worker and vehicle of collisions and near misses. Furthermore, accurate warnings can be provided 5-6 seconds before any potential collision, allowing time for mitigating solutions.

Bus Operator Workstation Design for Improving Occupational Health and Safety

This report was developed to support improved bus procurement by public transit agencies, focusing on the bus operator workstation component of a bus. The project was designed to assist transit agencies and bus manufacturers in integrating improved and emerging technologies into current procurement practices and improving bus operator workstation design across the transit industry. The final deliverables for the project include this report, supplemented by six tools. The report provides an overview of the structure and content of the research, defines the role of each key stakeholder in the procurement process, and presents two types of training needed to support a well-prepared procurement team that includes bus operators trained in their ergonomic needs. The report also presents important computer-aided design (CAD) and human modeling simulation models, now integral to modern bus procurement. Six appendices present detailed research results that complement the research report. The report is supplemented by three organizational tools and three design guidance tools that can be used by transit agencies during bus procurement. The organizational tools support the improvement of the bus procurement process and training for participants. The design guidance tools support current bus design technology. In updating the bus operator workstation guidelines, the research team sought to align the new tools, such as the Bus Operator Workstation Feature Guideline and the three-dimensional (3-D) Bus Operator Workstation Engineering CAD Model, with processes and practices now common in the commercial bus and truck industry. To assist in the communication of bus operator workstation requirements with individuals who are not trained in expensive and difficult CAD software, a Bus Operator Workstation 3-D PDF Model also was created. The six organizational and design guidance tools can be accessed from the report webpage at www.trb.org by searching “TCRP Report 185”.

Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles

The purpose of this synthesis was to report the state of research and practice with the intent of examining both distractions, as well as any protective (safety enhancing) effects of particular devices. Distracted driving for commercial drivers was defined as attending to tasks not directly related to operating the vehicle. A literature review was conducted to assess recent research and current issues. The primary focus was to further understand driver distraction. It consisted of reports and analyses available from academic, government, and industry sources. Because available truck and bus technology capabilities have been changing dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years, literature cited here was published within that time frame. The information is included in the following sections: the nature of distracted driving, driver tasks unique to professional drivers, countermeasure technologies and their effectiveness, and operational strategies and recommended practice. As driver distraction was found to be an extremely complex issue with much of the historical research presenting conflicting results, considerably more research is suggested to fully understand the physical, cognitive, and emotional attributes of driver distraction. Based on the results of the literature review, a screening survey was developed to identify fleet managers willing to participate in structured interviews to understand their view of distracted driving and countermeasures they have put in place to reduce the risk of crashes related to distraction. The response size was small; there were 34 survey responses from motor carriers with 21 follow-up structured interviews conducted, with large and small fleets represented. There were 13 survey responses from large and small fleet motor coach representatives. Survey responses were primarily subjective responses to subjective questions and although not a representative sample of the larger population, still revealing because of the comparative information they provide. It was concluded that understanding how distraction types affect driving performance is important to improving the efficacy of countermeasures in triggering monitoring devices. Keywords: Driver distraction; Language: en

Feasibility of a Consolidated Security Credential for Persons Who Transport Hazardous Materials

This report discusses the feasibility of consolidating several existing security credentials, which are necessary under current regulations and policies, into one credential for all transportation modes. The report (1) evaluates the credentialing system to identify duplicative elements and redundant costs and (2) describes the acquisition process, the application elements, and the physical characteristics for each identified credential. In addition, the report identifies the elements of the vetting processes for each credential. An examination of four options for consolidation provides insight into the basic elements of a universally recognized security credential for HazMat transportation workers. The report also identifies key challenges (e.g., impetus and authority, organizational climate, financing, risk, and technological trending) for consolidation of security credentials. Finally, an alternative method of consolidating background checks is identified as a possible intermediate solution for removing duplicative processes and redundant costs. The report will be of interest to policymakers, trade and professional organizations, and other stakeholders involved in transportation credentials for persons who transport hazardous materials. An evaluation of the data through several key frameworks provides an understanding of the system at its fundamental level.

FMCSA's Advanced System Testing Utilizing a Data Acquisition System on the Highway

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established the FAST DASH program to perform efficient independent evaluations of promising safety technologies aimed at commercial vehicle operations. In this third FAST DASH safety technology evaluation project, researchers evaluated a set of novel prototype mirrors to determine whether the mirrors perform as well as traditional production mirrors across the basic functions of field of view (FOV), image distortion, and distance estimation. Photographs of both types of mirrors and a summary of key findings are presented in Figure 1.

Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry

Every weekday during the school year, school transportation systems in the United States operate approximately 440,000 yellow school buses to provide safe and reliable transportation for more than 24 million school-aged children. This sizeable transportation system is considered the largest mass transit program in the nation, with more than 55 million student trips per day, which equates to approximately 10,000,000,000 student trips per year. The objective of this synthesis is to document current information on the various safety issues faced by school bus operators, including how the issues are currently addressed, barriers to improvements, and making improvements in the future. This synthesis includes a literature review and a peer-reviewed survey on school bus safety issues that was disseminated to a variety of professionals associated with school bus operations. The literature review involved investigating resources dating back 34 years. School bus safety issues identified in the literature review are presented in terms of each aspect of school bus operations, including the driver, environment, equipment/technology, and organizational design. The survey was distributed widely across the nation using e-mail, telephone, flyer, print, and electronic advertisements. A total of 198 individuals responded to the survey. Although there are a variety of safety issues in pupil transportation, those regarded as the most critical by survey respondents included illegal passing of buses by other motorists, the behavior of passengers both on the bus and while loading and unloading, and driver skill level. In addition, there appears to be growing concern regarding security and violence issues on the school bus and at bus stops. These results, including a description of barriers to safety and potential solutions, are discussed in this report. (51 pages)