Research and Technology in the

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration

As the Federal Government’s chief commercial vehicle safety agency, the Federal Motor

Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA), Office of Research and Technology (R&T)

focuses on saving lives and reducing injuries by helping to prevent crashes involving

large trucks and motorcoaches. The FMCSA will achieve this result by developing its

expertise in regulation and enforcement, education and outreach, data collection and

analysis, and research and technology transfer (i.e., encouraging other government

agencies and the private sector to use innovative R&T products to promote safe 

transportation). 

This Info Brief describes the organization and focus of the R&T Program and how its

efforts support the Agency’s mission and safety goal.

The potentially catastrophic results of commercial motor vehicle crashes underscore the

significance of FMCSA’s task. Between 1980 and 1999 more than 106,000 citizens lost

their lives in motor carrier-related crashes. Based on 1997 data, large truck crashes cost

approximately $24 billion each year. 

The growing demand for commercial trucking services and the changing nature of the

industry pose significant safety challenges for the FMCSA. Commercial vehicle travel is

expected to increase by about 20 percent during the next 10 years but the capacity of

U.S. highways will expand only slightly. 

Over the next decade an upsurge is projected in the number of commercial vehicle 

registrations and carriers—particularly new entrant carriers. The number of 

registrations and volume of travel for private passenger vehicles are expected to

increase, as well as the percentage of non-commercial drivers in the highest at-risk 

age groups (under 25 and over 65 years of age). These demands, along with other 

traffic and industry trends, could have a significant impact on commercial and 

passenger vehicle safety.

Info Brief

FMCSA Mission

The Issues

Office of Research and

Technology

400 Virginia Avenue SW

MC-RT, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20024

(202) 366-2952

www.fmcsa.dot.gov
The FMCSA has established a safety goal of reducing the number of deaths and injuries

resulting from truck- and motorcoach-related crashes by 50 percent by the year 2010.

Using a 1998 baseline, this goal translates into approximately 2,500 lives saved and

65,000 injuries prevented each year. 

The FMCSA’s Research and Technology Program is a key element in achieving the

Agency’s safety goal and meeting the related strategic objectives. Recognizing that 

highway crashes often stem from several interrelated factors and not just a single cause,

the Agency’s R&T Program provides critical data and research to identify and address

those causal factors. The Program supports the Agency’s diverse safety initiatives and

emphasizes delivering safety in new ways, particularly through the development, 

evaluation, and deployment of advanced safety technologies. 

The R&T Program consists of five focus areas. This section describes each focus area and

lists the corresponding FMCSA 2010 strategic objective. 

1. Driver Safety Performance

This area focuses on ensuring that commercial drivers are physically qualified and trained

to operate commercial motor vehicles safely while staying mentally alert. It also seeks to

foster the safe behavior of non-commercial vehicle (e.g., passenger car) drivers in the

vicinity of large trucks and motorcoaches. Examples of commercial driver programs

include driver health and wellness, fatigue management, and improving training and

licensing standards. R&T efforts target non-commercial drivers via education and 

outreach, enforcement activities, and preventive technologies. This focus area is made 

up of four parts: 

• Non-Commercial Driver Performance Enhancement; 

• Commercial Driver Performance Enhancement;

• Commercial Driver Fatigue; and

• Commercial Driver Physical Qualifications.

Related FMCSA 2010 strategic objectives: (1) All commercial motor vehicle drivers are

fully qualified, safe, alert, and healthy. (2) Improve the safety and performance of 

non-commercial drivers with respect to trucks. 

2. Commercial Vehicle Safety Performance

This area focuses on improving truck and motorcoach performance through industry

adoption of vehicle-based safety technologies. Initiatives include developing, testing, and

deploying advanced vehicle safety systems, and supporting the development of policies

and standards to promote the use of new vehicle technologies. 

R&T vehicle projects are intended to prevent crashes by improving industry compliance

with regulations, and helping commercial drivers compensate for hazardous conditions

and errors. These efforts include the Commercial Vehicle platform of the Intelligent

Vehicle Initiative, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Joint

Program Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). 

FMCSA 2010

Safety Goal &

Strategic

Objectives

Research and

Technology

Priorities
Related FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Commercial motor vehicles have optimum safety

performance. 

3. Carrier Compliance and Safety

This area focuses on improving the safety of all motor carriers—particularly high-risk 

carriers—by ensuring compliance with safety performance regulations set forth by

FMCSA. Enforcement efforts are directed toward the industry’s worst offenders and are

fundamental elements of the Agency’s safety strategy. This program seeks to improve

carrier compliance by collecting and communicating best management practices to motor

carrier managers, improving enforcement of Federal regulations, and by applying safety

management principles to improve overall motor carrier safety.

Related FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Facilitate improvement in the overall safety 

performance of the motor carrier industry through refined and enhanced safety 

management systems. 

4. Safety Systems and Technologies

This area focuses on identifying, testing, evaluating, and deploying new technologies

and operational concepts to improve commercial vehicle safety and target high-risk 

carriers for enforcement and compliance action. The DOT’s Joint Program Office for ITS

provides funds to support these activities. 

Two key areas support this effort:

• Safety Technologies for 2010—supports accelerated research and testing of new safety

technologies and operational concepts at a real-world smart laboratory site.

• Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Deployment—

promotes electronic information exchange among States, the motor carrier industry,

and the FMCSA along with electronic screening to improve the targeting of high-risk

carriers and the overall effectiveness of Federal and State enforcement programs.

Related FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Develop a dynamic and focused motor carrier

research and technology program. 

5. Crosscutting Safety Initiatives

Crosscutting safety activities improve the effectiveness of the overall R&T Program by

increasing the program’s knowledge base, enhancing the tools necessary for improving

customer outreach, and by establishing partnerships with key organizations. These 

crosscutting activities address significant aspects of vehicle safety, driver safety, and 

carrier safety, including the environment in which they operate. The program seeks to

gain a deeper and broader understanding of driver, carrier, vehicle, and roadway factors

that place motor vehicle drivers at risk. By identifying the gaps in the understanding of

crashes and the countermeasures used to prevent them, the program can achieve a 

better understanding of the factors involved with motor carrier safety. These crosscutting

activities not only will support FMCSA’s goals and objectives, but will foster R&T 

partnerships with other organizations in the motor carrier safety community as well.

Related FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Develop a dynamic and focused motor carrier

research and technology program. 
January 2002

Publication No. 

FMCSA-MCRT-02-002 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration

To accomplish its objectives, the R&T Program will employ the following methods:

• Continually align program to directly contribute to the FMCSA safety goal;

• Conduct research to meet the needs of all FMCSA programs;

• Facilitate the use of technologies that reduce crashes;

• Improve partnerships within and outside of the DOT; and

• Accelerate the use of results through technology transfer.

FMCSA R&T efforts will result in:

• Qualified Drivers who are mentally alert, medically fit, technologically trained, 

knowledgeable of safety regulations, and highly capable of operating the latest 

technology-equipped commercial motor vehicles and safety equipment; 

• Smart Commercial Vehicles equipped with integrated technologies that monitor the

actions and conditions of the vehicle, driver, cargo, and roadway; and 

• Smart Roadside Facilities that use information systems and technologies to improve

safety and compliance and to manage and monitor commercial motor vehicle traffic

while providing timely information.

These three elements will lead to safe motor carriers, which will further the 

accomplishment of all three safety results. 

The five focus areas of the R&T Program address driver, vehicle, carrier, technology, and

crosscutting issues directly related to commercial motor vehicle crashes. Working to

meet FMCSA’s 2010 strategic objectives, the R&T Program provides critical support to

the Agency as it strives to achieve its safety goal. 

Research and

Technology

Methods

Safety Results

Conclusion

Technical Writer

John H. Rice, Avalon

Integrated Services

(202) 358-5678