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COMPLETED RESEARCH ACTIVITY

The following completed and on-going research projects are listed in approximate chronological order.

Consultation Support: Geometric Design Requirements in Highway Work Zones (Federal Highway Administration, Contract DTFH61-80-C-00146, 1980). Conducted by the Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Missouri. Activity completed in 1982.

This project identified safety and operational problems in work zones. Specific safety aspects of concern were truck operations; two-lane, two-way operations on divided highways; reduced lane width effects; and acceptable geometric standards for median cross-overs and pavement/shoulder drop-offs. TRC consulting comprised study design inputs, designating study sites, and contributing to the final report preparation.
Consultation Support: Large Truck Accident Causation (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Technical Report HS-806300, July, 1982), Contract No. 6TNH 22-81-P-07668.

This activity involved report writing and limited data analyses relative to environmental and other factors which contribute to large truck accidents.
Prime Contractor: Deployment and Application of The Traffic Evaluator System (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-82-Q-00010, 1982) Completed in 1982.

The development of this training course involved preparation of training materials, conducting a series of classroom sessions, and field training of FHWA personnel to deploy a sophisticated highway data collection device: the Traffic Evaluator System.
Subcontractor: Selection Process for Safety and Operational Improvements on Rural Highways Administered by Local Jurisdictions (Federal Highway Administration Purchase Order 81-P-00065), Conducted by Wagner-McGee Associates, Alexandria, VA. Completed in 1983.

TRC undertook a subcontract to Wagner-McGee to develop a literature review and analysis of questionnaire data to assess safety and operational improvement procedures employed by rural county highway agencies.
Prime Contractor: Improved Techniques for Collection Speed Data (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-82-C-00064, Completed in 1984.

A series of field studies were undertaken to establish reliabilities associated with a variety of speed collection techniques. Specific activities included: (1) evaluation of vehicle selection strategies, (2) develop manual speed timing techniques, (3) establish suitability of various measurement techniques for various highway types, (4) establish reliabilities associated with various sample sizes, (5) examine speed variation within homogeneous highway sections, and (6) determine a free-flow speed headway criterion.
Prime Contractor: The Feasibility of a Nationwide Network for Longer Combination Vehicles, Report of the Secretary of Transportation to the United States Congress (Federal Highway Administration, June 27, 1985). Contract 85-P-80162; completed in 1983.

TRC staff conducted an extensive literature review addressing specific aspects of large truck operations. The findings of this literature review were incorporated into the large truck network feasibility study.
Prime Contractor: Field Test of the Grade Severity Rating System (Federal Highway Administration, Contract DTFH61-82-C-00093, 1982). Completed in 1985.

This field study tested the effectiveness of weight-specific signing (WSS) to elicit speed reductions of heavy trucks on long downgrades. A secondary M.O.E. was incidence of smoking brakes. A five-state study, conducted at control and test sites, demonstrated WSS effectiveness at steep downgrades (e.g., 6 percent for 5 miles). Recommendations for state application of weight-specific signing also considered favorable liability implications associated with its use. Consultation Support: Inexpensive Countermeasures at Narrow Bridges (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-83-C-00148). Conducted by Goodell-Grivas, Inc., Southfield, MI. Completed in 1985.

TRC staff consulted in this to evaluate a variety of post-mounted delineator and pavement marking applications to increase operation safety at narrow bridges.
Subcontractor: Survey of Heavy Truck Conspicuity Enhancements (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Contract DTNH22-84-R-07080). Conducted by The Allen Corporation of America, Alexandria, VA Completed in 1986.

TRC provided consultation to develop field survey procedures and to supervise a pre-test of the protocol. This field study examined conspicuity-related attributes of truck trailers as an accident-prevention countermeasure. In preparation for NHSTA's recommendation for federal legislation requiring reflective rear trailer enhancements (e.g., reflectorized material strips), a survey was conducted of trucks under day and night operating conditions in various east coast locations.
Consultation Support: The Operation of Larger Trucks on Roads and Streets with Restrictive Geometry (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-84-C-00043). Conducted by Goodell-Grivas, Inc., Southfield, MI.

TRC provided consultation to assist in the selection of study sites, designation of data collection techniques, analysis of results, and preparation of the final report. This field study examined the operation of specific truck characteristics allowed by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 under specific urban and rural roadway conditions.
Prime Contractor: Service Vehicle Lighting and Traffic Control Systems for Short-term and Moving Work Zones (National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 17-6A). Completed in 1988.

This study consisted of laboratory, closed field, and highway field studies to develop traffic control systems which are most effective for certain types of highway maintenance activities. Project activity involved analysis of driver information requirements, laboratory determination of traffic control device characteristics to best meet those requirements, and device testing in controlled test-track and actual highway settings to determine best performing devices. The product of this project was a set of traffic control guidelines designating recommended device practices under appropriate operational conditions.
Prime Contractor: Effectiveness of Truck or Roadway Lane Restriction (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-85-C-00082). Completed in 1989.

Both operational and accident safety effects of restricting trucks from designated roadway lanes were examined in this five-state study. Before-after operational effects of lane restrictions were determined for three sites; traffic flow-related M.O.E.s were truck compliance to the restriction, the proportion of trucks impeding other traffic, and speed/density characteristics of other vehicles impeded by trucks. New lane restrictions were implemented in the Chicago, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin, sites in cooperation with this study. Findings indicated benefits of the implemented truck lane restrictions included compliance with the restriction signing and less traffic congestion associated with truck presence.
Subcontractor: Fundamental Studies of Speed Zoning and Control (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-85-C-00136). Study completed 1991; conducted by Martin Parker and Associates, Wayne, Michigan.

TRC participated via subcontract to develop the questionnaire and to supervise a portion of the speed data collection effort. This nationwide study examined motorist response to posted speed limit changes in 23 states. In addition, a driver questionnaire was developed and pre-tested to determine driver attitudes regarding speed limit compliance.
Prime Contractor: Effect of the 65-mph Speed Limit (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Project 7049), Completed in 1987.

This study consisted of a multi-state speed data collection to examine effect of increased speed limit. This activity involved establishing data collection equipment reliability.
Subcontractor: Truck Accidents at Freeway-to-freeway Connectors (Sponsored by the California State Department of Transportation). Study completed in 1990; conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Irvine.

TRC completed a subcontract effort to examine truck accident causation on major connector ramps. Recommendations were developed for (1) revising geometrics, (2) appropriate warning signs, (3) and revised design standards. TRC staff provided input to the accident typology study, supervised collection of truck speed/trajectory data at selected connectors in the Los Angeles area, and provided input to the final report.
Consultation Support: Safety of Wider Trucks on Narrow Roadways (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-87-Z-00077). Study completed 1990; conducted by Analysis Group Inc., Washington, D.C.

TRC provided consulting support to Highway Safety Research Center staff at the University of North Carolina in developing study procedures. This field study addressed operational differences of a variety of truck length/width combinations and associated behaviors of other traffic under specific highway geometric conditions.
Prime Contractor: Assessment of Applied Speed Monitoring Procedures (California Department of Transportation Contract 51H416). Completed in 1989.

This study addressed the representativeness of data obtained using state speed monitoring procedures. Specific measurement issues which were addressed included: speed variation within homogeneous roadway monitoring sections, monitoring equipment reliability, and site selection procedures.
Subcontractor: Analysis of Speed and Other Unsafe Driving Acts (National Traffic Safety Administration, Contract Number NRD-010-9-07306, 1989). Study completed in 1990.

This study examined the association between speed and other specific vehicle behaviors leading to fatal and serious crashes. The objective was to identify speed enforcement strategies to eliminate other behaviors contributing to crashes. TRC’s role was to provide input to the overall safety study design and to design a multi-state field observational study.
Subcontractor: Maintenance Work Zone Safety Devices Development and Evaluation (National Research Council, Strategic Highway Research Program, Contract H-109) Study completed in 1993; conducted by Ensco, Inc., Springfield, Virginia.

This study evaluates and tests a variety of innovative traffic control devices designed to protect workers in highway maintenance/construction zones. Tested device concepts include: barrier design, vehicle encroachment alerting devices, rumble strips, delineation, vehicle rear-end lighting devices, signs, and flagging techniques. TRC’s role was to provide input to the study design and to conduct test tract and open field evaluative studies of selected devices.
Subcontractor: Retroreflective Highway Sign Inspection System (Howard County, Maryland. Contract CA-90-47) Study completed 1991; conducted by Kidde Consultants, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.

This study examined the state-of-the-art in retroreflective sign luminance measurement and automated sign inventory techniques. Current techniques are then applied to develop and test a highway sign inventory system for implementation by Howard County, Maryland.
Consultation Support: Maintenance Worker Training and Implementation Products (National Research Council, Strategic Highway Research Program, Contract H-110) Activity completed in 1991; conducted by Roy Jorgensen Associates, Inc., Buckeystown, Maryland

This project produced communications and training products to facilitate implementation of innovative work zone warning devices developed in previous Strategic Highway Research Program developmental efforts. TRC provided consultation in the preparation of training videotapes advising state highway agencies on the proper application of newly developed work zone devices.
Subcontractor: Human Factors Project Administrative and Technical Support to the Federal Highway Administration (Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-91-C-00099) Study completed September, 1992; under contract to Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, Virginia

This project provides personnel required to conduct various technical activity at the Federal Highway Administration, including operation of their human factors laboratories and preparation of Requests For Proposals. TRC provided expertise in highway engineering for a variety of technical activity, including the evaluation of contractor research proposals.
Consultation Support: Traffic Control Videotape Development for the International Road Federation, conducted by Roy Jorgensen Associates, Inc., Buckeystown, Maryland. Completed in 1994

This project involved the preparation of ten educational videotapes in the areas of traffic control signs, markings, islands, and highway work zone safety. The purpose of the videotape is to educate engineers around the world regarding the state-of-the-art in selected traffic control and safety techniques. TRC’s consulting role was to prepare the technical basis for script preparation and to provide on-site technical support during shooting.
Prime Contractor: Full-scale Vehicle Crash Testing of Robotic STOP/SLOW Paddle Support for Use in Highway Work Zones. Activity completed in August, 1993 for Quintech Electronics and Communications, Inc., Indiana, Pennsylvania.

This project involved full-scale vehicle crash testing of a remotely controlled robotic support stand for highway work zone STOP/SLOW paddle. The intent of this device is to reduce accident exposure for flag personnel. Testing was conducted in accordance with NCHRP Project 22-2, Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. The objective of the crash test was to determine: (1) whether the tested device would damage an errant vehicle intruding into the work zone and striking the device, and (2) whether the device or fragments therefrom would injure a highway construction zone worker in a crash situation.
Prime Contractor: Developing Measures of Effectiveness for Truck Weight Enforcement Activities (National Research Council, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-34). Project initiated January 1, 1994 and is ongoing.

The objective of this project was to develop and validate measures of effectiveness (M.O.E.s) for truck weight enforcement programs. This five-state, nation-wide study involves assessing data collection capabilities of state highway agencies for their suitability for M.O.E. application. The product of this research is a software package comprising guidelines for states to apply in determining the effectiveness of their truck weight enforcement activities.
Subcontractor: Guide Sign Design at Vail, Colorado Roundabout Interchange. Under contract to Leif Ourston and Associates, Santa Barbara, California. Project completed July, 1995.

TRC’s role in the development of roundabout interchanges at Vail, Colorado was to design the guide signs in accordance with accepted practice, with special consideration to the unique driver task imposed by a predominantly U.S. tourist driver sample encountering a European interchange design.
Subcontractor: Determine Causes of Driver Maneuver Errors, Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-96-C-00015. Conducted by COMSIS Incorporated, Silver Spring, Maryland. Study in progress.

The objectives of this study are: (1) to identify and classify environmental and vehicular cues which drivers use to initiate maneuvers and assess how individual differences in driver perception of their own driving abilities effect their response to those cues, (2) determine driver ratings of their driving abilities and driving performance, and (3) develop driver decision-making parameters that can be incorporated into current FHWA modeling efforts. TRC’s role is to assist in the literature review and data collection activities.
Subcontractor: Human Factors Study of Traffic Control in Highway Construction and Maintenance Zones. FHWA Contract Number DTFH61-95-C-00064, conducted by Performance, Safety, and Health Associates, State College, Pa. Consulting activity completed in 1996.

The purpose of this project was to identify human factors deficiencies with existing work zone traffic controls and to develop traffic control device remedies. The product of this research will be guidelines to be incorporated into the national Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Subcontractor: Delineation of Hazards for Older Drivers, Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-92-C-00043 Conducted by COMSIS Incorporated, Silver Spring, Maryland. Activity completed May, 1996.

This project developed and tested a number of traffic control devices designed to improve driving safety for older drivers. TRC’s consulting role was to conduct a benefit-cost analysis of object markers.
Subcontractor: Field Evaluation of the Collision Countermeasure System (CCS) for an Unsignalized Intersection Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-94-C-00131, Under contract to E-Systems, A Raytheon Company. Completed in 1998.

TRC is conducting a field evaluation of an automated vehicle-detection and changeable-message sign system designed to warn major-road drivers of approaching minor-road vehicles. TRC designed the study based on measures of accident potential, i.e., time-to-collision and vehicle conflict occurrences. TRC staff will collect data, perform the analysis, and prepare a report.
Consultant: Human Factors in Highway Work Zones, Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, Canada. Project under contract to Human Factors North, Toronto, Ontario. Activity completed in 1999.

The objective of this project was to identify traffic control areas for potential improvement and to develop appropriate accident countermeasure concepts.
Principal Investigator: Further Field Evaluation of the Collision Countermeasure System (CCS) in Prince William County, Virginia. Continuation of work initiated under Federal Highway Administration Contract DTFH61-94-C-00131. Under contract to Transportation Research Corporation; Virginia Department of Transportation. Activity completed in December 2000.

Mr. Hanscom conducted a field evaluation of an automated vehicle-detection and changeable-message sign system designed to warn major-road drivers of approaching minor-road vehicles. TRC designed the study based on measures of accident potential, i.e., time-to-collision and vehicle conflict occurrences. TRC staff is continuing data collection and analysis. The effort included a benefit-cost study, which indicated that the tested device was cost-effective.
Principal Investigator: Editorial Assistance for the 2001 Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices Federal Highway Administration Contract. Activity completed June 2001.

Mr. Hanscom assisted the Federal Highway Administration in editing and writing Part VI, “Temporary Traffic Control Devices”, in the 2001 edition of Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Mr. Hanscom’s activity involved reviewing comments to the Federal Register docket and basing re-writes to be incorporated to the Manual in response to docket comments.
Consultant: ITS Analysis of Infrastructure-Based System Concepts: Road Departure Avoidance Problem Area, Federal Highway Administration Work Order: DTFH61-98-C-00073. Task Order #12 to SAIC, Inc. Activity initiated March 2001; in progress.

The primary objective of this task order is to define and evaluate alternative curve warning systems to reduce roadway departure crashes. The scope will include a review of research literature and experimental systems, an analysis of related crashes and the potential for deploying countermeasures, and an evaluation of alternative curve warning systems. Mr. Hanscom’s role in the project is as follows. He assists with assessments of currently deployed systems, i.e., (1) evaluate their capabilities for generating data suitable for Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) development, determine highway geometric capability with the systems, and provide into to cost/benefit assessment.
Consultant: Develop of Comprehensive Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems, NCHRP Project 17-18(8) under contract to Westat Systems, Rockville, Maryland. Project initiated in 2001; in progress.

This effort is the first in a series of projects over a long-term (e.g., four-year) period to development of comprehensive Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems to (1) identify the principal guidelines users and their needs, (2) define the technical content of the guidelines, (3) recommend mechanisms for distribution of the guidelines, (4) recommend how technical materials can be initially prepared and integrated into the guidelines and how expanded and updated materials can be added at later dates, (5) recommend a regular process to check the usability of the guidelines, and (6) recommend a plan for the development and adoption of the guidelines. Objectives of the current project are to (1) develop a detailed plan for the work required to produce the first edition of the Human Factors Guidelines (HFG) for Road Systems and (2) develop the introduction and one other HFG chapter. Mr. Hanscom will assist in all phases of this effort.
Principal Investigator: National Safety Agenda Support: Assessment of Coordinated Safety Approach, NCHRP Project 17-18(9) under contract to the Transportation Research Corporation, Markham, Virginia. Project initiated in 2001; in progress.

A National Safety Research Agenda, developed by AASHTO and the National Research Council, is designed to produce a significant reduction in highway deaths, injuries and crashes. A plan has been developed to identify the most promising short, mid and long-term research, development and implementation activities that result in the targeted increase in safety. Mr. Hanscom’s role is to develop a research-needs white paper and assist in the development of national workshop. The goal of the workshop is to develop a process to monitor and coordinate future highway safety research.

To learn more about TRC's free downloadable truck-weight data analysis tool, TWEET, please visit the TWEET page.