States are required to have access to annual average daily traffic (AADT) for all public paved roads, including non-Federal aid system (NFAS) roadways. The expectation is to use AADT estimates in data-driven safety analysis. Because collecting data on NFAS roads is financially difficult, agencies are interested in exploring affordable ways to estimate AADT. The goal of this project was to determine the accuracy of AADT estimates developed from alternative data sources and quantify the impact of AADT on safety analysis. The researchers compared 2017 AADT data provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Virginia DOT against probe-based … Webinar: Use of Disruptive Technologies to Support Safety Analysis and Meet New Federal Requirements
Adam Novotny of VTTI has been honored as a UTC student of the year. Each year, the U.S. DOT honors outstanding students from participating UTCs for their achievements and promise of future contributions to the transportation field. Students of the Year are selected based on their accomplishments in such areas as technical merit and research, academic performance, professionalism, and leadership. Adam was first author on a soon-to-be published-paper titled “Concept Development of the Novel Pre Rear-End Positioning and Risk Extenuation System (PREPARES).” In 2019, his team won the international title with this project in the Collegiate Student Safety Technology Design … Adam Novotny wins UTC Student of the Year
An interdisciplinary research group at Virginia Tech is using an award of $550,000 to create a virtual environment to test safety measures for the interaction between electric vehicles (EVs) and pedestrians. The award is an 18-month project funded by the Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) University Transportation Center.
Safe-D Students, the Lemelson-MIT student prize is awarding graduate and undergraduate students from around the country with funding and development opportunities for their inventions!
Safe-D student Alexandria Noble (VT/VTTI) interviewed Ms. Higgins about her experience with her Safe-D Projects as part of the Safe-D Student and Faculty Interview Chain. Read on to learn more about Ms. Higgins and her research!
Fueled by the inevitable changes in our transportation system, the Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) University Transportation Center (UTC) endeavors to maximize the potential safety benefits of disruptive technologies through targeted research that addresses the most pressing transportation safety questions. With the outstanding leadership of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute in a mentoring collaboration with the new transportation research group at San Diego State University, a Hispanic-serving institute known for educating the transportation workforce, our geographically balanced consortium encompasses the largest collection of transportation safety researchers in the nation and provides unparalleled expertise, facilities, and resources to conduct impactful research towards our long-term vision. The Safe-D Center will focus its efforts in three key areas: (1) cutting-edge research by leading transportation safety experts and their students; (2) education and workforce development with programs for all levels from grade school through college to continuing education for professionals; and (3) fully supported technology transfer including practitioner training partnerships, social networking, commercialization, and intellectual property management.
The mission of Safe-D is to proactively promote safety through a data-driven collaboration among the nation’s brightest researchers.
The vision of Safe-D is a nation with a systemically safe transportation system.
The Safe-D consortium was assembled by the Director, Dr. Zachary Doerzaph, with the expressed intent to make significant progress toward a nation with systemically safe travel through research, education and workforce development, and technology transfer efforts.
