University Transportation Center - Current Projects

U09:  License Plate Recognition (Phase B)

In April 2006, Knoxville, Tennessee joined an increasing number of cities in reducing speed limits for large-trucks (with gross weights over 10,000 pounds) on the interstate highways in its metropolitan area. In recent years, reducing large-truck speed limits in urban areas has become one of the preferred countermeasures for combating urban air-quality problems. The rationale for this is supported by a 2003 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study, which found that reducing large-truck speed by 10 mph - from 65 to 55 mph can reduce emissions of NOx. Not only does reducing the speed help enhance urban air-quality but it also increases the safety of the transportation system. more... 

• The FMCSA statistics for the year 2001 state that speed was a factor in 21 percent of all large truck injury crashes and 30 percent of all fatal crashes.
• Near 30% of all large truck drivers involved in fatal truck accidents throughout the US had at least one prior speeding conviction compared to the rate of less than 20% for passenger vehicle drivers.
• FMCSA's Untethered Trailer Tracking and Control System report of December 2005 considers cargo and trailer tracking of high priority for the improvement of safety, efficiency and security.

U11:  Wireless Roadside Inspection (Joint Project with co-funding from FMCSA)

The number of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and the miles they travel grow each year while roadside safety inspection resources remain constant.  In addition, the likelihood of a roadside safety inspection being conducted on a CMV is far less than being weighed. In 2003, there were 3 million truck inspections with a violation rate of 73 percent, and 177 million roadside trucks weigh with a violation rate of 0.29 percent.  New technologies and enforcement strategies could dramatically increase the number of times a commercial vehicle and driver are examined, leading to better-targeted enforcement, creating a greater deterrence to operate unsafely, and reducing the number of truck and bus crashes.  The main objective of this project is to improve highway safety through the dramatic increase of roadside safety inspections of heavy trucks and buses and their drivers enabled by wireless communications between vehicles and inspectors at highway speeds. more...

Heavy Vehicle Rollover Characterization

Understanding the interactions of vehicle load, tires, suspensions, vehicle types, vehicle stiffness (tractor and trailer), and roadway surface/tire interfaces on truck rollover events can contribute significantly to improving heavy truck safety. Such understanding can be applied to support the design and evaluation of new technologies such as wider axles, new-generation single tires, adaptive suspension systems, rollover warning systems, etc. It can also contribute to improving roadway design to minimize the potential for truck rollover stemming from vehicle-highway interactions, and can contribute to more effective regulation aimed at reducing truck rollovers.  more...