FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

FMCSA Contact: Dr. Martin Walker, MC-RRR, 202-385-2364

Onboard Monitoring and Reporting for

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

Introduction

The “Onboard Monitoring and Reporting for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV)

Safety” research project consists of two phases: 

z Phase 1 covered the “Proof of Concept” and development of a prototype

technology suite to be installed in a tractor. FMCSA worked with the

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the University of

California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) to successfully

complete Phase 1 in May 2007. 

z Phase 2 is the Field Operational Test (FOT). 

The goal of this effort is to develop an onboard monitoring system (OBMS) − a

prototype hardware and software suite that allowed for online measurement of a set of

driving characteristics that are indicators of unsafe driving behavior. Using the

prototype suite, feedback can be supplied to drivers in real-time or provided to carrier

management via a roll-up report for delayed discussion with the driver. This would

allow truck drivers to significantly improve their attentiveness and enhance their safety

performance. Five “core behavioral categories,” shown in Table 1 served as the basis

for the onboard monitoring system: 

1. Speed Selection

2. Following Behavior

3. Attention/Inattention

4. Fatigue

5. General Safety (good driving practices)

Prototype Design 

In Phase 1 of the project, research was conducted to figure out what driver

performance metrics should be monitored. This was done by looking at and better

understanding contributing factors in crashes in order to decide if technology can

address the issue. Researchers met with drivers to discuss how the technology should

communicate feedback, e.g. real time, delayed, audio, or haptic. A prototype suite of

the technologies was developed, installed and tested in a tractor cab. 

In the prototype development work, the monitored parameters and type of feedback to

be given were systematically selected by examining data collected on Commercial

Motor Vehicle (CMV) crash causes. One of the most definitive works on this topic was

the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS), which included 963 car/truck

crashes. The joint study between FMCSA and NHTSA was in progress during the time

it was examined for inclusion in this OBMS study. An interim report on the project

status (Blower and Campbell, 2002) laid out the methodology for the study. Another

important study, Council et al. (2003), examined the North Carolina crash database

from 1994 to 1997, which included 16,264 car-truck crashes. 

Tech Brief

Programs of the Federal Motor Carrier

Safety Administration (FMCSA)

encompass a range of issues and

disciplines, all related to motor carrier

and bus safety and security. FMCSA's

Office of Analysis, Research and

Technology (ART) defines a "research

program" as any systematic study

directed toward fuller scientific

discovery, knowledge, or understanding that will improve safety, and reduce

the number and severity of commercial

motor vehicle crashes. Similarly, a

"technology program" is a program that

adopts, develops, tests, and/or deploys

innovative driver and/or vehicle best

safety practices and technologies that

will improve safety and reduce the

number and severity of commercial

motor vehicle crashes. An "analysis

program" is defined as economic and

environmental analyses done for the

agency's rulemakings, as well as

program effectiveness studies, statereported data quality initiatives, and

special crash and other motor carrier

safety performance-related analyses.

A “large truck” is any truck with a

Gross Vehicle Weight rating or Gross

Combination Weight rating of 10,001

pounds or greater. 

Currently, ART is conducting programs

in order to produce safer drivers,

improve safety of commercial motor

vehicles, produce safer carriers,

advance safety through informationbased initiatives, and improve security

through safety initiatives. The study

described in this Tech Brief was

designed and developed to support the

strategic objective to improve the

safety of commercial motor vehicles.

The primary goals of this initiative are

to improve truck and motorcoach

performance through vehicle-based

safety technologies and infrastructure.

Office of Analysis, Research and

Technology

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE 

Washington, DC 20590
Core

Behavioral

Categories

1. Speed

Selection

Potential Behaviors/

Parameters Monitored

Required 

Sensors or 

Subsystems

Potential Driver

Feedback

Real-Time

Potential Driver

Feedback

Offline

Speed versus: 

− Speed Limit

− Traffic Flow

− Vehicle J-bus 

Access

− GPS

Visual feedback of

recommended and

maximum speed

Summary metrics

such as the time

spent over the

− Curve Speed − Database of limits recommended and

− Road Surface Speed Limits maximum speed

− Grade − Road Surface/ 

Weather

− Radar or Lidar

− Accelerometer

limits

2. Following

Behavior

− Following Distance 

− Forward-Collision 

Warnings 

− Forward-Collision 

Warning System 

(FCWS) Radar

− Visual feedback

of following timegap shown

− Summary of time

spent following

too closely

− Driver Response to − Lidar Video − Auditory alerts for − Number of

Cut-ins Recording following too

closely and

approaching

too fast

warning incidents

− Video review of

warning incidents

3. Attention/

Inattention

− Road/Lane Departures

− Hard Braking Events

− Hard Steering Events

− Road Departure 

Warning System

(RDWS or

Visual and auditory

alerts of lane

departures or eyesSummary metrics

such as:

− Frequency of

− Eye-Off-the-Road LDWS)

− Accelerometer

− Steering Angle

− Steering Gyro

− Video Recording

− Eye/Face Tracking

off-the-road for too

long

lane departures

− Hard braking

events

− Hard steering

incidents

4. Fatigue − Road/Lane Departures

− Lane Position 

− RDWS/LDWS

− Eye Tracking

Visual and auditory

alerts of:

Summary metrics

such as:

− Hard Braking Events − Accelerometer − Lane departures − Frequency of

− Hard Steering Events − Steering Angle − Lane weaving lane departures

− Eye Closure (PERCLOS) − Steering Gyro − Eye closure − Hard braking

− Hours of Service (HOS) − Video Recording − HOS compliance events

Compliance − EOBR (Electronic

Onboard Recorder

for HOS)

− Hard steering

incidents

− HOS compliance

5. General

Safety

− Safety Belt Use

− Lane Change Turn

Signal Use

− Safety Belt Monitor

− Video Recording

− RDWS/LDWS

− Visual and

auditory alerts if

safety belt is not

Summary metrics

such as time spent

using the safety

− Lane Change Blind -Spot − Eye/Face Tracking in use belt and the other

Check − Accelerometer − Visual feedback listed parameters

− Proper Mirror Adjustment − Vehicle J-bus on other 

− Fuel Economy Access parameters

− Engine Overspeed − MiscWire Taps

(RPMs)

− Acceleration

− Deceleration

(Downshifting)

− Gear selection on grades

Table 1. Summary of OBMS Suite: Functions, Monitored Elements, and Feedbacks
The concept of onboard driver monitoring comes from the behavior-based safety approach. Using this

method, safe behavior is rewarded and unsafe behavior is discouraged and improved upon, thereby

proactively improving overall safety. Implementing an onboard driver-monitoring, behavior-based safety

approach generally requires four steps (Sherry, 2001):

1. Identify behaviors which may be precursors to increased crash rates.

2. Determine cost-effective ways to monitor safe and unsafe behaviors.

3. Determine the best way to provide the driver with feedback which rewards safe behavior and

discourages unsafe behavior.

4. Establish management and driver acceptance to the program.

These four steps constitute the fundamental basis or philosophy of OBMS. The pragmatic or implementation

dimension was built upon this and consumed approximately 80 percent of the time and resources of the

project. The project was tailored to and performed with the principles of systems engineering due to the

ambitious project scope − to first research the aforementioned elements of an OBMS system, then, on a fast

track, develop a prototype and set the stage for an FOT.

In the language of systems engineering, integration is a term used to describe the combining of components

or subsystems to form a complete functional end-product system. Hardware and software components must

be identified or constructed, and connected to one another. Planning is essential, both before and during the

development of the component subsystems. Unforeseen difficulties connecting component pieces of a

project can yield old plans obsolete, and a dynamic approach is needed for integration.

Integration was especially important for this project, as the project consisted of combining data from the

truck serial buses, various Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) systems, and custom-built devices that

mounted on the truck, which were processing the data both on the truck itself and offline. 

Prototype

For the OBMS prototype, if feedback was supplied by a COTS system, that feedback was kept. Additional

feedback was provided via audio channel and via surrogate instrument cluster displayed in a 7-inch LCD

screen. As shown in the screen displayed here,

the suggested speed for the given road surface

and curvature is the portion of the circular

speedometer gauge not outlined in red. The

suggested safe following-distance feedback,

again providing for the prevailing road surface

condition (and for this function, by the sensed

“field” of other forward vehicles), is the color

and size of the vehicle shown at the bottom of

the surrogate cluster. In this instance, the

vehicle is colored green; when following too

closely for prevailing conditions, the vehicle

changes to yellow, then red, and grows or

remains constant. Also, beneath the green vehicle icon is the car following gap, given in seconds. Finally,

the “driver ID”, “HOS [hours of service] remaining” and “Alertness Index” are also provided as direct

feedback of a prototypical digital tachometer. A drowsiness/alertness warning which supplements that

subsystem’s COTS-based feedback is also provided.
Researcher: This study, “Onboard

Monitoring and Reporting for

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety”

was conducted by the University of

California Partners for Advanced

Transit and Highway (PATH).

Authored by: James A Misener,

Christopher Nowakowski, Xiao-Yun

Lu, Thomas Koo JD Margulici, John

Spring, Scott Johnston, ZuWhan

Kim, Sue Dickey, Kenny Kuhn, Paul

Kretz, Jerry Robin, Martin Walker

Key Words: Commercial Motor

Vehicle, Driver Safety, Onboard

Monitoring System, OBMS

Notice: This Tech Brief is

disseminated under the

sponsorship of the Department of

Transportation in the interest of

information exchange. The Tech

Brief does not establish policies or

regulations, nor does it imply

USDOT endorsement of the

conclusions or recommendations.

The U.S. Government assumes no

liability for its contents or their use.

Web Site: All FMCSA Tech and

Analysis Briefs may be accessed at

www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Technical Writer: 

Peter Vaka

C2 Technologies, Inc.

Technical Editor: 

Kirse Kelly

C2 Technologies, Inc.

December 2007

Publication No. FMCSA-RRR-07-011

Conclusion

This prototype suite is unique in that it is aimed squarely at safety and not necessarily

toward other fleet operational goals; however, the overall philosophy is that it is an

operational imperative to reduce crashes and, therefore, fatalities, injuries, and

property damage due to CMV drivers. The main means to lower the amount of CMV

driver errors is to improve driver performance through onboard monitoring systems,

coupled with appropriate feedback to the driver. 

This project served as a foundation to illustrate how to design and build an OBMS that

may provide the best, most lasting mechanism to encourage good driving behavior by

recognizing and correcting self-induced hazardous driving situations.

Phase 2: Field Operational Test

The field operational test of the OBMS for Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety is

expected to commence by the end of 2008. It will involve tractors instrumented with

the OBMS suite of technologies. The study will assess the changes in driving methods

of about 50 CMV drivers with varying levels of experience and safety. The project is

expected to take about 4 years to complete. 

The OBMS system, subsystem, hardware, software, protocols and algorithms to be

used will all be developed, built and tested. Included in this task are hardware

fabrication and software development, as well as configuration of the data acquisition

system and interfaces. Enhancements and finalization of the performance of the

algorithms will address at a minimum, excessive speed, following distance, and driver

fatigue. This task will include the design and development of a comprehensive

systems acceptance test (SAT) for the “master” first suite(s). All subsequent suites

must also pass this SAT to assure the vehicles and OMBS are ready for the study. It is

envisioned that the vehicles to be used in the study will be placed into service as they

become available following instrumentation, resulting in a staggered or rolling start.