- Completed Research Projects
Intelligent Vehicles
Traffic Signal Safety
This project will develop new traffic signal control logic to improve the safety of heavy vehicles on high speed approaches to signalized intersections using wireless communication between a heavy vehicle and a roadside traffic signal controller. The project will build on the Trusted TruckTM onboard computer system using the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) concept for deployment of communication technology between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. This technology for heavy vehicles can also be migrated to emergency responders more..
Data Security for Trusted Truck®
Following the successful proof-of-concept demonstration of the Trusted Truck® - a project designed to show that a tractor trailer can communicate critical information both internally (on-board) and externally with roadside sites - an essential subsequent step, addressed by this project, is the development of a robust data security infrastructure to protect these on-board and external communications. For the system to be secure, the applications must be able to trust that the communication has been received unaltered and from a known source. Thus, a fundamental requisite for achieving security is the ability to provide for data confidentiality and authentication. more...
Vehicles Dynamics & Stability
Field Testing & Analysis of Braking Performance of In-Service Trucks
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is on the verge of requiring that the stopping distance of new trucks be reduced up to 30 percent below current regulations, depending on the vehicle type. However, this regulation does not address the braking performance of trucks after they have entered into service. Further, the current in-service vehicle inspection procedure, as well as the required annual inspection of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), may be missing a critical component of braking capability, that of the effectiveness of after-market or replacement brake linings, which have a direct impact on stopping capability. Inspection procedures for CMVs cannot assess the friction available at the pad versus drum (or disc) interface, and there are no data available on the criticality to safety of this aspect of the inspection process. The objective of this project is to obtain a data set of the stopping capability of in-service CMVs. more...
Heavy Truck Tripped Rollover
Motor vehicle rollovers fall in two broad categories-tripped and untripped. A rollover is said to be tripped if some fixed object suddenly strikes the tires and upsets the vehicle. This can happen by striking a curb or guardrail or by tumbling down an embankment. A rollover would also be termed tripped if a lateral force on a tire is suddenly released, as when a tire is scrubbing a vertical pavement edge but quickly climbs the edge. Untripped rollovers, on the other hand, occur on essentially level pavement with the overturning moment being simply the cornering force on the tires, opposed by the centrifugal force at the center of gravity. Untripped rollovers are simpler to describe-they come from taking a curve too fast-but they are not the most common kind of heavy vehicle rollover. A recent report on cargo tank rollovers for the FMCSA [Pape et al., 2007] indicated that only 14% of cargo tank rollovers are untripped. Note that more than half of the rollovers were associated with a run-off-road incident. One-third of rollovers of cargo tank trucks carrying a hazardous material occur on undivided highway, away from an intersection. Again, this information from a different crash database indicates that the conventional "too fast in a curve" is not the sole reason for cargo tank rollovers. more...
Vehicle Infrastructure Interaction
Marine Containers on Chassis: Safety Issues
This project is to investigate safety related problems involving chassis used for transporting marine containers on US highways. In recent years, much concern has arisen regarding the safety implications of allegedly substandard container chassis maintenance and inspection practices. This recognition is reflected in the recent effort to pass federal legislation mandating more effective container chassis inspection more..
- Completed Research Projects
H01 Heavy Truck Rollover
Heavy truck rollover crashes are not frequent occurrences. They represent approximately three percent of all crashes for combination trucks. Although this percentage is low, fatalities associated with heavy truck rollovers are inordinately high. Truck rollover is a factor in about 13 percent of all fatal crashes of combination trucks. more..
H02 Trusted Truck® Proof of Concept
This research project demonstrated the potential to improve safety, efficiency, and security for both government and the transportation industry. This research was performed to demonstrate an advanced real-time system using wireless local transmission of brake diagnostics information from a moving truck traveling through a roadside inspection station. The system will use wireless communication to locally broadcast brake, engine, and other vehicle diagnostic information to an inspection station. more..
H03 Heavy Vehicle Infrastructure Asset Interaction and Collision
This research was performed to update and enhance the kinematic and structural accuracy of the National Crash Analysis Center's Ford F800 single-unit truck Finite Element (SUT FE) model. The research evaluated the model's ability to accurately simulate interaction with roadside safety hardware and to identify areas of possible improvements. The research also aimed to establish a methodology for validation and verification of the finite element models used in roadside hardware analysis so that it could be applied to other vehicle finite element models currently under development. more..
H04 Brake Performance Characterization
Reducing the disparity between the stopping distances of heavy trucks and the lighter vehicles with which they share the road continues to be one of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) high priority areas. Current truck designs typically take between 1.5 and 2 times as far to stop as passenger cars from highway speeds. Truck brake performance has been identified as a major factor contributing to crashes involving large trucks. more..