Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Research &

Technology

Annual Report 2001

Share the Road Safely
A Message from the Administrator

A Message from the Acting Director of the Office of Research and Technology

Overview

Program Area 1: Driver Safety Performance

Program Area 2: Commercial Vehicle Safety Performance

Program Area 3: Carrier Compliance and Safety

Program Area 4: Safety Systems and Technologies

Program Area 5: Crosscutting Safety Initiatives

Staying Current–Collaboration, Communication, and Conference Sponsorship

List of Acronyms

Tech Briefs and Analysis Briefs Published in 2001

Project Contacts

1

2

3

7

17

22

26

31

37

41

41

42

Table of Contents
1

A Message from the Administrator

As the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Office of Research

and Technology Annual Report 2001 was being finalized, the events of

September 11 turned the Nation's attention to transportation safety and

drastically heightened our awareness of security issues.

Ensuring the security of our transportation system for the

movement of goods and people is a key element of the

U.S. Department of Transportation's Strategic Plan. Now,

more than ever, we need to realize this goal. We must be

keenly aware of the need to protect the country's mobility

by preventing and combating acts of terrorism.

Our Annual Report 2001 emphasizes the safety

applications of research and technology in commercial

motor vehicle transportation. In the future, initiatives to

identify and assess technologies and practices that

contribute to counterterrorism will take on new importance.

We will focus resources, as appropriate, on supporting and

accelerating the national effort to ensure homeland security.

FMCSA's extensive knowledge base allows us to respond rapidly to any

challenges. Based on our recent efforts to initiate security sensitivity visits

and enlist the cooperation of our law enforcement partners in conducting

thorough roadside inspections of commercial vehicles carrying hazardous

materials, I know that we are equal to this task.

Defending the safety and security of commercial motor vehicle

transportation is the mission before us. I promise the American people that,

working with other Federal officials and State and local governments,

we will do everything within our purview to accomplish this.

Joseph M. Clapp

Joseph M. Clapp

Administrator, Federal Motor

Carrier Safety Administration
2

A Message from the Acting Director of

the Office of Research and Technology

This annual report for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's

Office of Research and Technology marks our first effort to catalog the

significant activities and accomplishments of our

organization. Covering October 1, 2000 through

September 30, 2001, this report provides a snapshot

of our involvement with the motor carrier safety community,

investment in both new and continuing research and

technology, and advancement of initiatives to share

the road safely.

Created on January 1, 2000, FMCSA is the newest

U.S. Department of Transportation agency. We have

experienced a time of great transition, a time of growth

and development, of reorganizing and rethinking how we

best can serve our Nation. We are a young agency—

one in the process of evolution—poised to achieve our

current target of reducing the number of fatalities resulting

from crashes involving large trucks by 50 percent by 2010.

The direction upon which we have set out today has been chosen to

lead us to tomorrow's improved safety on our Nation's highways. Through

the application of solid research and advanced technology, we will steadily

make our way.

Terry Shelton

Acting Director, Office of

Research and Technology

Terry Shelton
3

Overview

Research is the discovery of new

knowledge; technology is the

development and application of new

tools; increasing motor carrier safety

requires both.

This annual report provides a snapshot of the work performed by the Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) Office of Research and

Technology during Fiscal Year 2001 (FY’01), which spans the period of

October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001. FMCSA was established as a

new agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation on January 1,

2000. Formerly the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers

(FHWA-OMC), FMCSA’s mission is to improve truck and bus safety on U.S.

highways. The Agency’s top priority is to reduce the number of fatalities and

injuries resulting from crashes involving large trucks by 50 percent by 2010.

Meeting this goal will require many concerted and innovative motor carrier

safety activities engaging government, the trucking industry, and—most

importantly—drivers.

FMCSA’s Office of Research and Technology (R&T) is responsible for

planning, administering, coordinating, and managing Agency research and

technology efforts to support FMCSA operational programs. Our work is

aimed at gaining fundamental and applied knowledge and developing new

methods and technologies to enhance truck and bus safety. The Agency has

created a focused, dynamic motor carrier R&T Program to help achieve its

safety goal. The program supports the diverse initiatives of the Agency

relating to safety regulation, enforcement, and outreach—but also has a

major thrust to deliver safety in new ways, in particular through the

development, evaluation, and deployment of advanced safety technologies.
4

The FMCSA

Program

Areas

Five distinct but interrelated program areas—Driver Safety Performance,

Commercial Vehicle Safety Performance, Carrier Compliance and Safety,

Safety Systems and Technologies, and Crosscutting Safety Initiatives—exist

within R&T to support FMCSA’s 2010 strategic objectives as noted below.

Driver Safety Performance—Ensure that commercial drivers are physically qualified and trained to

operate commercial vehicles safely while staying mentally alert. Improve the safety behavior of

noncommercial vehicle drivers in the vicinity of large trucks and motorcoaches. This program area

includes four subareas:

• Commercial Driver Physical Qualifications

• Commercial Driver Training, Licensing, and Performance Enhancement

• Commercial Driver Fatigue

• Noncommercial Driver Behavior

Supports the following FMCSA 2010 strategic objectives: All commercial motor vehicle drivers are fully

qualified, safe, alert, and healthy, and improve the safety and performance of noncommercial drivers

with respect to trucks.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Performance—Improve truck and motorcoach performance through

industry adoption of vehicle-based safety technologies. This program area includes the commercial

vehicle platform of the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s

(DOT) Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

Supports the following FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Commercial motor vehicles have optimum safety

performance.

Carrier Compliance and Safety—Improve motor carrier compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Regulations (FMCSRs) and their safety practices in general. This program area includes R&T projects

designed to improve existing Agency safety interventions, such as compliance reviews of high-risk

carriers. Also included are education and outreach efforts that enhance safety management practices

not necessarily related to regulatory compliance, such as improved supervision of drivers and trip

scheduling to reduce crash risk.

Supports the following FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Facilitate improvement in the overall safety

performance of the motor carrier industry through refined and enhanced safety management systems.

Safety Systems and Technologies—Identify, test, evaluate, and accelerate deployment of safety

technologies and operational concepts that improve commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety, and target

high-risk carriers for enforcement and compliance actions. The ITS program also provides funds to

support these activities.

Supports the following FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Develop a dynamic and focused motor carrier

research and technology program.

Crosscutting Safety Initiatives—Gain a deeper understanding of driver, carrier, vehicle, and roadway

environment factors that place commercial motor vehicles at risk, and the potential applicability of

countermeasures. Develop and foster R&T partnerships with other organizations in the motor carrier

safety community, and enhance the management, effectiveness, and impact of the overall R&T

Program.

Supports the following FMCSA 2010 strategic objective: Develop a dynamic and focused motor carrier

research and technology program.
5

The Safety

Improvement

Challenge

Commercial drivers must be medically fit, knowledgeable, alert, and able to

operate vehicles and related equipment safely, efficiently, and comfortably.

The R&T Program focuses on the performance of the CMV driver and also

addresses safety performance issues relating to noncommercial drivers and

their interactions with commercial motor vehicles. Since approximately

85 percent of fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles occur outside the

truck to other vehicles and their occupants, CMV safety does not only

concern the commercial driver, but also the entire public. The vast majority of

these crashes are due to human error—either an error on the part of a

noncommercial driver involved in the crash or of the commercial driver—

or driver misbehavior.

By 2010, it is envisioned that commercial trucks and

buses will be equipped with an integrated set of

technology applications that monitor the condition of the

vehicle, driver, cargo, and roadway.

While the driver is an integral component of motor carrier safety, the

capabilities of the vehicle are also a critical element in the safety equation.

Improving and deploying vehicle-based safety technologies—such as crash

avoidance technologies, onboard data recorders, and occupant protection

and safety devices—are required to reduce the most frequent types of

crashes involving commercial vehicles. By 2010, it is envisioned that

commercial trucks and buses will be equipped with an integrated set of

technology applications that monitor the condition of the vehicle, driver, cargo,

and roadway. Communications standards will be in place for protocols,

onboard placement, driver interface, and roadway interface. These standards

will enable widespread deployment of new and innovative systems. Vehicles

will be capable of interfacing with highway facilities and key nodes on the

freight system (ports, terminals, international border crossings, toll plazas,

weigh stations, and other checkpoints) that use technologies and information

to manage the flow of CMV traffic; help prevent and respond to crashes and

other incidents; and focus enforcement resources on high-risk carriers,

vehicles, drivers, and cargo. Current R&T projects are laying the groundwork

needed to make this vision a reality.

Enforcing carrier compliance, researching changes to penalties to determine

their impact on compliance, educating commercial drivers and carriers so that

safety management is a foremost consideration—all of these elements help

keep safe trucks and safe carrier practices on our Nation’s roads.

Comprehensive compliance with current regulations, however, must be

enforced in ways that continue to keep America’s motor carrier industry

moving efficiently over our Nation’s roads. Revenues for the motor carrier

industry are a significant part of the national economy, representing

approximately 5 percent of our gross domestic product. Unnecessary or
6

excessive delays at weigh stations can create a substantial economic impact.

Using technological advances to target high-risk carriers and minimize carrier

delays through the use of smart roadside facilities while performing vital

compliance checks is paramount in today’s economy. Integrating roadside

and office-based systems with CMV onboard safety systems so that Safety

Inspectors can check the safety status of motor carriers, vehicles, and drivers

at highway speeds—or from their offices—is another important and attainable

step toward increased safety and efficiency. Getting field-tested safety

systems and technology deployed quickly, and accepted by commercial

carriers and drivers, is another critical step toward the advancement of safety.

To achieve advances of this magnitude, however, we must perform the

research that provides the basis to develop new technology and to apply that

technology appropriately. Today’s research and technology efforts are the

foundation for tomorrow’s advances and will guide the Nation to share the

road safely.
7

Driver Safety

Performance

Safe driving is a dynamic sensory–

motor task requiring certain core

physical abilities, training, and

alertness.

There are four major components of safe commercial driving. For commercial

drivers to perform safely, they first must be physically and medically qualified

for the job. Next, they must be trained in regard to critical job knowledge and

skills. To exercise this knowledge and skill on the road, drivers must be rested

and alert to properly control their own vehicles and to be able to drive

defensively in traffic. A final component of commercial driving safety is

noncommercial drivers—their driving performance and behavior in the vicinity

of commercial vehicles also affects CMV safety. The Driver Safety

Performance Program Area is divided into four distinct subtopics that directly

respond to the four components of safe commercial driving. They are:

Commercial Driver Physical Qualifications; Commercial Driver Training,

Licensing, and Performance Enhancement; Commercial Driver Fatigue; and

Noncommercial Driver Behavior. The application of research results in

these areas contributes to ensuring

the safety of drivers and the

motoring public.

The following descriptions highlight

projects that are representative

of both new starts and continuing

work performed in FY’01 in this

program area.

1

Goals

• ensure that commercial drivers are physically

qualified, trained to perform safely, and mentally alert

• improve the safety behavior of noncommercial

drivers in the vicinity of trucks and buses
8

Staying

Awake Means

Staying Alive

Sleep apnea is a

major contributor to

daytime drowsiness—

a condition that may

be embarrassing for

workers holding a

desk job but deadly

for commercial

drivers. FMCSA

recently completed

a project on the

prevalence of sleep

apnea among

commercial drivers

and found that sleep

apnea is a safety concern. The study documenting the findings of this project,

which will be published in early 2002, identifies levels of functional impairment

and cost-effective screening tools for individuals at risk for sleep apnea. In

light of these findings, FMCSA has revised the medical examination form to

require examination for sleep apnea during the biannual physical qualification

examination. Planned work will develop a comprehensive education and

outreach program for addressing sleep apnea.

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Products: A Study of Prevalence of Sleep Apnea Among Commercial

Truck Drivers (Report), 2002

Tech Brief, 2002

Obesity is a major risk factor for sleep apnea and CMV

drivers have high rates of obesity.

Driving Under

the Influence

of Diabetes

Is it safe, practical, and cost-effective to have a program that allows

individuals with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus to operate a commercial

motor vehicle in interstate commerce? This project is in response to that

question, which was posed by Congress in Section 4018 of the Transportation

Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The R&T Program began a new

phase of diabetes research in FY’01 to provide regulatory analysis support to

new performance-based physical qualifications relating to diabetes. This

project involved reviewing current scientific literature to compile and

summarize recent findings on the performance effects of diabetes on both

insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent drivers. Data collected in the

diabetes exemption program will describe individual driver characteristics,

driving and employment experience, and required medical information (such

as the driver’s disease history, present treatment, and experience with

hypoglycemia in the past 5 years). After a driver has been accepted into the

No Sleep Apnea

Mild Sleep Apnea

Moderate Sleep Apnea

Severe Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea in Commercial Drivers

Mild sleep apnea occurs in 17.6 percent of those holding

commercial drivers licenses, moderate sleep apnea in 5.8

percent, and severe sleep apnea in 4.7 percent.
9

Reviewing

Existing

Medical

Qualification

Regulations

and Guidelines

In continuing research, medical review panels comprised of experts:

• review the regulations and guidelines under Part 391 of the FMCSRs, which

sets forth minimum qualifications for CMV drivers, and makes recommendations for amending current Federal standards

• review and comment on the conduct and conclusions of FMCSA medical

research, policy, and issues related to these standards

diabetes exemption program, additional data (such as number of crashes

and serious violations) will be collected through the Commercial Driver

Licensing Information System (CDLIS) to monitor safe driving behavior.

Monitoring data will be used to assess the safety performance of these

drivers.

Contact: Sandra Zywokarte

Products: A Report to Congress on the Feasibility of a Program to

Qualify Individuals with Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus to

Operate Commercial Motor Vehicles in Interstate Commerce,

July 2000

Qualifying Individuals with Insulin-Treated Diabetes to Operate

Commercial Motor Vehicles (Tech Brief), November 2001

Tracking

Positive Drug

Tests

FMCSA is conducting a study of the feasibility and merits of requiring medical

review officers and employers to report positive drug test results to the State

that issued that specific driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL). All

prospective employers would be required, before hiring any driver, to query

the State that issued the CDL on whether the State has any record of a

verified positive drug test for that driver. This study is designed to examine

the costs, benefits, and safety impacts of requiring States to maintain records

of verified positive drug test results and to determine whether a process

should be established to allow drivers to correct errors in their records and to

expunge information from their records after a reasonable period of time. This

project also is analyzing the:

• liabilities of implementing such a system

• possible methods to properly manage and monitor such a system

• means to correct, expunge, or modify database records of positive drug

tests

Contact: Kaye Kirby

Product: Drug Test Results Study (Report), in press
10

• prepare reports and reviews of outside publications, articles, research, and

other documents related to these standards

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Product: Review of standards and guidelines for cardiovascular

diseases, early 2002

Defining

Vision

Exemption

Program

Improvements

Part 391 of the FMCSRs establishes minimum qualifications, including

physical qualifications for persons who drive commercial motor vehicles as,

for, or on behalf of motor carriers. FMCSA is responsible for the vision

exemption program, which allows certain individuals who do not otherwise

meet Federal physical requirements to operate commercial motor vehicles in

interstate commerce. This project is conducting a workflow analysis of the

vision exemption application process and an information flow analysis of the

systems that support the exemption process. The goal is to identify potential

efficiency improvements or fundamental process changes.

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Products: Evaluation of exemptions granted, ongoing

Visual Requirements for Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

(Tech Brief), June 2001

Getting in

Shape

Working with its industry partners, FMCSA has developed a multimediabased driver wellness program that is being distributed to trucking fleets. The

program is intended to encourage commercial drivers to make healthconscious behavior and lifestyle choices. In a cooperative agreement with the

American Trucking Association’s Trucking Research Institute, FMCSA will

fund seminars and the dissemination of media and materials. This fatigue

outreach program has been well received by the trucking industry and the

public. The driver wellness program,

also developed under the cooperative agreement, will continue

with the dissemination of completed

“Gettin’ in Gear” program materials.

Wellness sessions will be offered

along with the fatigue outreach

sessions, and the wellness course

materials will be made available to

the trucking industry via mail order.

Contact: Tony Schafer

Products: “Gettin’ in Gear” commercial driver wellness education

package

Related educational seminars
11

CMV DRIVER FACTS & STATS

CMV drivers may drive up to 10 hours continuously before taking a break, often

drive at night, and sometimes have irregular and unpredictable work schedules.

Much of their mileage is compiled during long trips on interstate and other fourlane roadways. Because of their far greater mileage exposure and other factors,

the risk of commercial drivers being involved in a fatigue-related crash is far

greater than that of noncommercial drivers—even though CMV drivers represent

only about 4 percent of the drivers involved in known fatigue-related crashes and

their rate of involvement per mile traveled is no greater than that of

noncommercial drivers. In addition, other crash factors such as alcohol, speeding,

and other unsafe driving acts are less common among commercial drivers and

thus, are less important relative to fatigue. FMCSA’s constituency, including the

public, highway safety advocates, the CMV industry, and researchers, has

identified driver fatigue as a top-priority CMV safety issue. FMCSA supports this

designation and has allocated its resources accordingly.

Exploring

Biometrics to

Detect

License Fraud

Section 4011 of TEA-21 required that all commercial driver’s licenses issued

after January 1, 2001, include unique identifiers. Unique identifiers commonly

used today are identification numbers, gender, height, and weight. In the

future, unique biometric images such as a facial image or fingerprint also may

be used. FMCSA is conducting this study to determine which combination of

fingerprint and facial images can best be used to identify drivers and detect

license fraud. In this pilot project, three States—Georgia, California, and West

Virginia—are collecting sample facial images and fingerprints from volunteers.

These electronically captured images are then stored to create a database of

sample images. Searches of the entire database will be performed to find a

single image (a one-to-many search), as well as searches comparing two

images to find duplicate records (a one-to-one search). To test the ability of

specialized matching software to detect fraudulent records, a set of random

duplicate records will be added to the sample set. Fingerprint recognition is

sophisticated enough to involve the comparison of minutiae. Facial imagery

compares facial geometry such as the ridge angle between nose and face to

find duplicate records. An additional goal of this project is to determine the

optimum communication protocol to electronically exchange fingerprint

images between States and to determine what level of image quality is

sufficient to meet States’ needs. This project will culminate in a final report

that describes study findings.

Contact: Ron Finn

Product: Development of Testing of Unique Identifiers for the CDL

Program (Report), 2002
12

Defining the

Relationship

Between Pay

Practices and

Safety

This empirical study is assessing the relationship between driver pay and

safety to determine if payment by the mile encourages truckers to drive

unreasonable hours or exhibit unsafe driving practices that could increase the

risk of crashes. While anecdotal evidence abounds, this will be the first study

to provide reliable, methodically sophisticated research of this issue. This

study has used data from a variety of sources, including a large roadside

survey of drivers; a comprehensive survey of pay practices of more than 400

large carriers; information gathered from detailed audits of various large

companies; and exhaustive pay, crash, and demographic data from one large

truckload carrier prior to and following a large pay raise. Approximately 1,000

drivers participated in the roadside surveys, which consisted of detailed 45-

minute interviews or briefer, 5-minute fuel line surveys. Participants were

asked general demographic questions, as well as specific questions about

their health, finances, safety, and employment history. Phase 1 of this project,

which consisted of a literature review and work plan, is complete. The data

collection efforts of Phase 2 are complete and data analysis is currently

underway. The project will culminate with a final report providing findings.

Contact: Chuck Rombro

Product: Impact of Pay Practices on Commercial Truck Driver Safety

(Report), in press

Developing a

Truck Driver

Assessment

Tool

The driver assessment tool project is the first of many FMCSA-sponsored

technology studies contracted through the DOT Small Business Innovation

Research (SBIR) program. The SBIR program, mandated by Congress,

serves to stimulate technological innovation, provide opportunities to small

businesses to meet the Federal government’s R&T needs, increase private

sector commercialization of Federal R&T innovations, and provide

opportunities for minority and disadvantaged businesses to participate in

technological innovation. SBIR projects may relate to any FMCSA R&T area,

provided they demonstrate the potential to reduce CMV crashes.

The driver assessment tool project will investigate the feasibility and validity of

an efficient, low-cost, portable assessment tool to measure basic cognitive

skills and behaviors drivers need to safely operate commercial motor

vehicles. One potential approach is the use of a PC-based simulation that

could provide drivers with traffic situations calling for safe vehicle control,

defensive driving, crash threat recognition and reaction, decisionmaking, and

execution of evasive maneuvers. Such a tool would help assess and predict

driver performance and safety.

Contact: Jerry Robin

Product: Prototype of the truck driver assessment tool, 2002
13

Does a high rate of retention reflect better selection of drivers, or is there

demonstrable improvement of safety for individual drivers associated with

familiarity with a particular job, route, and work pattern? Recent studies have

documented a clear relationship between driver retention in a fleet and driver

safety, but the cause of this relationship remains undetermined. Driver

turnover rates of 100 percent are common in for-hire trucking, especially in

the long-haul truckload segment of the industry. Typically, fleets with low

driver turnover rates are characterized by high safety standards and

performance. This study, which provides a preliminary step in addressing

driver retention issues and impact, is aimed at determining if one avenue to

improved driver and fleet safety is improved retention. Also being reviewed is

the literature linking driver retention and safety and summarizing effective

carrier practices to improve driver retention. Information gathered will be

disseminated to the trucking industry and will support FMCSA safety outreach

programs such as “Safety is Good Business.”

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Product: Driver Retention and Safety (Report), 2002

Keeping Good

Drivers

Improving

Driver

Training

Section 1212(k) of TEA-21 states, in

part, “...the Secretary shall make

grants to establish a driver training

and safety center at Connellsville,

Pennsylvania. The purpose of the

facility shall be to train and enhance

the driving skills of motor vehicle and

emergency vehicle operators.” In

accordance with congressional intent,

a 3-year cooperative agreement was

awarded to the Carnegie Mellon

Driver Training and Safety Institute

(CMDTSI). The Highway Trust Fund,

as a provision of TEA-21, funded

CMDTSI, which is providing novice

truck driver training, advanced truck

driver training, and driver training for

emergency vehicle operators. In

addition to driver training, this stateof-the-art facility conducts trainingrelated research employing driving

simulation technology, in-vehicle

driving evaluation recording

technology, and a custom-designed

skid pad. As of November 2001,

approximately 210 students have

completed the CMDTSI program.

CALCULATING

THE BENEFITS OF

INCREASED TRUCK

SAFETY

Commercial drivers are

generally good drivers. Per

mile traveled, combinationunit drivers have a crash

involvement rate that is

less than one-half that of

noncommercial drivers.

However, because of the

high mileage exposure of

trucks and the often severe

consequences of their

crashes, there is a premium

on making trucks and truck

drivers safer.
14

The CMDTSI also sponsored an international conference, which is discussed

under “Staying Current,” later in this report.

Contact: Jerry Robin

Products: Driver Traits and Performance Characteristics (Report), 2002

Technology Intensive vs. Non-Intensive Training (Report), 2002

This pilot test is demonstrating the use of fatigue-related technologies to

enhance CMV driver fatigue management within current hours-of-service

rules. As a cooperative FMCSA–Transport Canada study, with involvement of

both FMCSA R&T and the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) Commercial

Vehicle Platform, the pilot test combines driver

alertness monitoring (using the eyelid droop measure

known as PERCLOS, meaning PERcent of eyelid

CLOSure) with other fatigue management

technologies. These other technologies include sleep

history monitoring accomplished through use of an

actigraph and sleep–wakefulness models, a lanetracking device (SafeTRAC), and the Howard

Powered Center Steering System. The actigraph,

PERCLOS monitor, and lane tracker will all provide

direct feedback to drivers on their amounts of sleep,

readiness, “eyes open” alertness, and lane-keeping

performance. Numerous research studies sponsored

by DOT and others have provided proof of concept for

the validity of the various alertness/performance

measurements employed. These technologies are

now ready to progress from laboratory and

experimental use to use as fatigue management aids

Determining

the Effects of

Sleeper Berth

Use

This real-world study sought to determine the effects of sleeper berth use on

driver alertness and driver performance. Researchers examined the quantity

and quality of sleep for single drivers and teams that used sleeper berths.

Sleep quality and quantity were measured using a portable electroencephalograph (EEG) to measure brain activity (a proven indicator of sleep

quality). The trucks also were equipped with a system of video cameras that

recorded the driver’s face and the environment around the truck, including

other proximal vehicles. Additionally, the trucks were fitted with multiple

sensors that would trigger the video system to record when a critical

incident occurred, such as hard steering, rapid deceleration, or closing too

fast on the lead vehicle.

Contact: Bob Carroll

Product: Impact of Sleeper Berth Usage on Driver Fatigue (Report),

January 2002

Fighting

Fatigue with

Technology

The PERCLOS Monitor

The monitor measures driver alertness by using

electro-optical technologies to monitor eye

movements, even in low-light conditions.
15

Studying

Motorcoach

Driver Fatigue

FMCSA is performing a study on motorcoach driver fatigue, with an emphasis

on scheduling and hours-of-service implications. The need for this study was

recently verified by comments to the docket and during all three rulemaking

hours-of-service roundtable discussions, which repeatedly stated the need to

look at motorcoach drivers and long-haul truck drivers separately. Two major

factors distinguish bus drivers from truck drivers—unlike their truck-driving

counterparts, motorcoach drivers often do not set their own schedules but

can rest only when allowed by the tour operator and, while driving, they have

constant customer contact. Since different environmental factors are likely to

create different fatigue characteristics and require different fatigue mitigation

measures, this study is designed to look at fatigue as specifically experienced

by motorcoach operators.

Contact: Peter Chandler

Product: Report, 2002

New Start

in an operational “alpha test.” Field data collection on the use of these

technologies as aids to driver fatigue management is beginning in early FY’02.

Contact: Bob Carroll

Product: Report, 2003

Educating the

Driving Public

Recognizing the need to use new

tools to achieve its safety objectives,

FMCSA is continuing to review and

expand its “Share the Road Safely”

Program. Through education and

enforcement pilots, FMCSA is

developing innovative approaches to

educate the motoring public about its

role in motor carrier safety, combined

with the enforcement of existing and

new traffic laws. The program’s

objective is to minimize the risk of

crashes involving cars and large

trucks. Pilot projects will be conducted in two or more States and expanded

as appropriate. Strategies that produce results in the pilots will be promoted

throughout the Nation.

Contact: Jim Keenan

Product: Nationwide promotion of education and enforcement strategies

to reduce car–truck crashes
16

FMCSA is using the “Share the Road Safely” Program to address the impact

an aging population has on motor carrier safety improvement initiatives. The

Agency is developing outreach materials with “Share the Road” messages

and health and wellness advice appropriate for mature drivers, because

driving skills deteriorate as drivers age. These outreach strategies will target

specific audiences and their effectiveness will be assessed in a local

community. The project will result in a comprehensive mature-driver outreach

strategy that can be replicated in localities across the Nation.

Contact: Jim Keenan

Product: Comprehensive mature-driver outreach strategy

New Start: Contract awarded

The drivers of cars and other small vehicles may be

unaware of the operational limitations of trucks and

buses, such as maneuverability, blind spots, and

stopping distances.

Validating

Simulator Use

This research will empirically validate a low- to mid-cost truck driving

simulator for commercial driver training. Situation-specific and general

training simulators have been successfully employed for many years by the

aviation and defense industries. A primary objective of this study is to

examine how simulation-based training, as compared to conventional training

methods, can enhance the training environment and improve tractor-trailer

driver performance. The study is being conducted in two phases. Phase 1,

which has been completed, was the development of the research design.

Phase 2 involves conducting a 3-year empirical validation study employing

the Phase 1 research design. The result of Phase 2 will be a report cataloging

the simulator functional criteria necessary to perform the empirical study and

assess the capabilities of several available truck simulators. The procurement

for the actual simulator validation (SimVal) study will commence in FY’02.

Contact: Jerry Robin

Products: Truck Simulator Reassessment Final Report, 2002

Validation of Simulator Technology in the Training, Testing, and

Licensing of Tractor-Trailer Drivers (Tech Brief), February 2000

Educating

Mature

Drivers
17

Pursuing these initiatives will

result in a significant percentage of

commercial vehicles equipped with

advanced safety technologies

by 2010.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Performance Program Area concentrates on

improving vehicle safety and providing systems on vehicles to facilitate safe

driving performance. The program consists of initiatives aimed at deploying

new intelligent vehicle safety technologies, improving occupant protection and

safety, and developing new policies and standards to promote the

deployment of vehicle technologies that enhance safety.

Work in the area of intelligent vehicle safety technologies aims to reduce

harmful events, such as:

• collisions between a truck and

another vehicle, which account

for 80 percent of fatalities and 79

percent of injuries among all

large truck crashes

Commercial

Vehicle Safety

2

Goal

• improve truck and bus performance through vehiclebased safety technologies

Performance
18

• collisions with a fixed object, which account for 4 percent of fatalities and

3 percent of injuries among all large truck crashes

• rollovers, which account for 7 percent of fatalities and 11 percent of

injuries among all large truck crashes

Vehicle crash protection and safety efforts are focused on reducing:

• the more than 4,000 annual light vehicle passenger fatalities that result

from collisions between light vehicles (passenger cars and light trucks)

and large trucks, through friendlier commercial vehicle design

• the approximately 275 annual truck driver fatalities that result from collisions between light vehicles and large trucks, through better commercial

vehicle occupant protection

Policies, regulations, and standards are required to guide necessary,

widespread development, deployment, and use of advanced vehicle

technologies by motor carriers. This requires understanding the commercial

vehicle of the future and developing timely and appropriate policies,

regulations, and standards.

Through these initiatives and working with the industry, a smart commercial

vehicle will be produced by 2010 that will include proven, cost-effective

forward and rear collision avoidance technologies, rollover prevention

technologies, improved vehicle stability and safety through electronic braking

systems, advanced sensor systems for diagnostic monitoring of safety-critical

components such as brakes and tires, and improved vehicle design features

to increase occupant safety and reduce vehicle-to-vehicle crash severity.

Pursuing initiatives in the three subtopic areas of the Commercial Vehicle

Safety Performance Program Area will result in a significant percentage of

commercial vehicles equipped with advanced safety technologies by 2010.

The following descriptions highlight projects that are representative of both

new starts and continuing work performed in FY’01 in this program area.

Accelerating

the Deployment

of New

Technology

While IVI field operational tests are underway on several different safety

technologies for use on board commercial motor vehicles, FMCSA is looking

ahead to accelerating the deployment of these technologies. The successful

and widespread deployment of these safety technologies on commercial

motor vehicles is critically important to improving highway safety and meeting

the FMCSA goal of reducing fatalities and injuries by 50 percent by 2010.

More than 50 percent of the fatalities of tractor-trailer

drivers occur in rollovers.
19

This project is developing deployment plans to promote the use of the

following crash avoidance technologies:

• Forward Collision Warning System with Adaptive Cruise Control

• Rollover Stability Advisor and Rollover Stability Controller

• Lane Departure Warning Device

Each of these plans will identify: potential users (especially high-risk

companies and drivers); factors that are important in making decisions to

manufacture, purchase, and use onboard safety technology; costs and

benefits; effective ways to reach users; efforts to accelerate deployment;

barriers to deployment and recommended solutions; incentives for

deployment; potential private–public partnerships; and multiyear strategies to

increase awareness and accelerate deployment of onboard safety technology

to reduce fatalities and injuries related to commercial motor vehicles.

Contact: Amy Houser

Products: Deployment plans for rollover stability advisor and rollover

stability controller, 2002

Forward collision warning system with adaptive cruise control,

2002

Lane departure warning device, 2003

New Start

Developing

Guidelines to

Replace

Expensive

Analysis

Methods

Preventing the release of hazardous materials carried in cargo tanks on our

Nation’s roads is an important FMCSA concern. Currently, FMCSA guidelines

and analysis procedures employ mathematical formulas to determine the

amount of stress and allowable loads that can be exerted on a cargo tank or

its protection devices without causing permanent deformation and damage

resulting in the release of hazardous material. Determining how much the

tank can be distorted before its integrity is compromised—known as plastic

finite element analysis—poses a difficult, time consuming, and costly task. By

developing damage tolerance guidelines, FMCSA hopes to significantly

decrease the need to perform plastic analysis. The guidelines will identify the

point at which accident protection devices fail, compromising the integrity of

the tank and resulting in a safety emergency. This information will be

marketed to the Truck Trailer Manufacturer’s Association and the Cargo Tank

Manufacturer’s Association in FY’03, so their members will be better

equipped to design and build safer cargo tanks.

Contact: Dan Shelton

Product: Cargo tank damage tolerance guidelines, FY’03

New Start
20

This project provides empirical verification of a previously completed analysis

that used a modified version of the TRUCKSIM computer simulation modeling

program to depict the forces acting on cargo tank overturn protection devices.

To accomplish this goal, researchers will equip a cargo tank or cargo tank

model with gauges to measure the forces and/or energy involved in a rollover.

Physical testing will be used to verify the results from TRUCKSIM. Verifying

the accuracy of the previous study’s conclusions is important because DOT is

considering using this information as the basis for revising the hazardous

materials regulatory requirements for cargo tank rollover protection devices.

The current study is also in response to National Transportation Safety Board

(NTSB) recommendations that FMCSA model and analyze rollover forces.

When completed, the study will be documented in a final report describing

procedures and test results, which will be correlated with the results of the

computer simulation model to verify its accuracy in predicting the forces and

energy involved in cargo tank rollover crashes.

Contact: Dan Shelton

Product: Report, 2002

New Start

Verifying

Simulation

Accuracy

Enhancing

Driver

Visibility

The No-Zone, which is comprised of those blind spots around trucks that are

large enough to hide automobiles and other vehicles, places dangerous

limitations upon the CMV driver’s ability to see other vehicles. Providing

better side or rear visibility reduces blind spots—providing proper mirror

alignment can eliminate blind spots in trucks and buses. During FY’01,

FMCSA collaborated with the National Highway Transportation Safety

Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a study of CMV driver mirror use and

Stops, turns, and other maneuvers make the liquid in

cargo tanks shift rapidly, often causing a dramatic shift in

weight and force distribution. A cargo tank’s high center

of gravity also contributes to instability.
21

effectiveness. This study reviews and

documents currently available truck

mirror designs, noting the most common

mirror types in use, and examining CMV

mirror adjustments at truck stops. The

study addresses whether drivers have

mirrors properly adjusted and installed

on the appropriate tractor trailer configuration. This effort will result in

recommended practices for equipping trucks and buses with mirrors, proper

mirror adjustment, and proper mirror use.

Contact: Zeborah English

Product: Video and training module, 2003

ADDRESSING CMV

LANE CHANGE AND

BACKING CRASHES

By far, the areas of greatest

CMV involvement in crashes

are backing, lane changes,

and merge crashes (e.g.,

lane changes into blind

zones). While large trucks

account for approximately 4

percent of all vehicle crash

involvements, they account

for 10 percent of the “atfault” vehicles in lane

change and backing

crashes. Proper mirror

adjustment is critical to the

reduction of blind spots.

Although numerous

innovative and effective

CMV mirror designs are

available, they are not

marketed throughout the

entire carrier community

(i.e., medium- and smallsized carriers).

Exploring

Onboard Data

Systems

There are an increasing number of

sensors and systems on board

commercial motor vehicles. These

systems can improve both safety and

productivity by providing data to:

• drivers, to provide feedback and

warnings on their performance

• carriers, to monitor and manage

driver safety performance

• crash reconstructionists, to

evaluate crash factors

• roadside inspectors, to expedite

safety inspections

• carriers, to improve vehicle

maintenance

This project is identifying onboard

vehicle safety applications and

documenting major efforts and

studies related to these applications.

The project will be completed in

FY’02, followed by a possible pilot

test in FY’03 and the potential

development of a voluntary standard

for an in-vehicle data system.

Contact: Amy Houser

Product: Crosscutting study of

onboard data systems,

2002

New Start
22

The Carrier Compliance and Safety Program Area supports FMCSA’s

important objective of improving safety through regulatory compliance. By

improving the regulatory compliance of motor carriers—especially high-risk

carriers—vital safety checks are kept in place. These enforcement efforts are

directed primarily toward the industry’s worst offenders and are fundamental

elements of the Agency’s safety strategy. The Draft Agency Strategic Plan

also emphasizes nonenforcementrelated initiatives—efforts to facilitate

improvement in the overall safety

performance of the motor carrier

industry through refined and enhanced

safety management systems.

The Carrier Compliance and Safety

Program Area seeks to upgrade all

aspects of motor carrier fleet safety

management. Of course, the Federal

role is first to enforce FMCSRs

relevant to carriers.

Carrier

Agency enforcement activities

revolve primarily around the

compliance review process.

Goals

• improve enforcement of carrier-related Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

• apply safety management science principles to

improve carrier safety

• compile and communicate cross-industry best

management practices to motor carrier managers

• reduce human and environmental exposure to

hazardous materials caused by commercial trucks

3

Compliance

and Safety
23

Agency enforcement activities revolve primarily around the compliance review

(CR) process in which Agency investigators perform audits of identified highrisk or problem carriers for the purpose of assessing their compliance with the

FMCSRs. Outreach efforts such as “Safety is Good Business” also serve as

important educational tools and safety reminders for commercial drivers.

The Carrier Compliance and Safety Program Area performs studies to:

• assess the trucking industry operational characteristics and related carrier

safety performance

• develop approaches to improving carrier compliance with FMCSRs

• facilitate improvement in the overall safety performance of motor carriers

through the application of safety management systems

The following descriptions highlight projects that are representative of both

new starts and continuing work performed in FY’01 in this program area.

To improve the tracking and monitoring of hazardous material shippers and

carriers, this FMCSA project is designing and developing a software program

to allow field investigators to record the results of hazardous material package

inspections. As an experimental redesign of the Hazardous Materials

Package Inspection Program (HMPIP), the new HMPIP-2 is designed as a

Web-based data

collection system.

HMPIP-2 is

unique in that it

can run in two

modes—it can be

called up on the

Web (using virtual private network encryption) as a normal browser-based

client-server application or it can operate without a Web connection by using

the local computer as both browser and Web server. This second approach,

called “persistent browser technology,” allows the user to enter data

regardless of the status of the Web communication link. Upon later Web

connection, the application transfers data and can update itself to ensure full

synchronization between the two modes. HMPIP-2 is the first piece of

software to be developed by FMCSA as a Web-based tool. This product will

be monitored to determine if Web-centric technology is ready for deployment

in FMCSA field applications.

Contact: William Quade

Product: HMPIP-2 Web-centric software

New Start

Tracking and

Monitoring

Hazardous

Packages
24

Improving the

Compliance

Review

Process

The CR process is the primary method used by FMCSA to determine carrier

compliance with the FMCSRs. This FY’01 start is aimed at performing a

comprehensive process review analysis and evaluation of the CR, including

regulations, procedures, information sources, and policies, as well as

potential new operational methods. This review also will develop new

procedures and enhanced practices to streamline the CR process and

improve the safety impact of CRs. The project will consider innovative

approaches for an alternative operation system. The result will be

documentation on the existing process, revised programs and policies, and

revised Safety Investigator training.

Contact: Dale Sienicki and Bob Proferes

Products: New procedures manual and Safety Investigator training to

improve the safety impact of CRs

Interim report on the current process, 2002

New Start

The compliance review process is the primary method used

by FMCSA to determine carrier compliance with the Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

Section 222(d) of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA)

requires FMCSA to produce a report to Congress on the effectiveness of its

newly revised and increased civil penalties. In response, FMCSA is

comparing the overall state of compliance before and after implementation of

the higher penalties authorized by TEA-21 and MCSIA, and studying the

post-enforcement compliance behavior of carriers subjected to enforcement

and civil penalties. This effort is planned to take place in three stages:

1) tracking the legislative history of penalties revised by TEA-21 and MCSIA

and determining the study scope; 2) developing an analysis plan to measure

effectiveness; and 3) implementing the analysis plan and preparing the

report. Work in 2002 through 2004 will evaluate the effectiveness of FMCSA’s

implementation of the MCSIA Section 206 sanctions against motor carriers,

brokers, and freight forwarders who fail to pay civil penalties.

Contact: Dale Sienicki

Product: Report to Congress, due by September 30, 2002

New Start

Evaluating the

Effectiveness

of Stricter

Penalties
25

The objective of FMCSA’s “Safety Is Good Business” Program is to provide

small motor carriers, drivers, and shippers with the information resources they

need to promote safe operations and reduce commercial vehicle and

passenger car crashes. The focus of this program is to create a

companywide culture of crash avoidance by changing both driver and

operational behaviors within an organization.

The core of the program will be a comprehensive tool kit of best practices for

companies to use in designing, implementing, and evaluating safety

programs within their organizations as well as their extended communities.

This resource will be distributed through a variety of means, including a Web

site that will create an on-line community of organizations and individuals

committed to growing and improving the program. This initiative also will

include a support coalition of trucking, motorcoach, association, insurance,

manufacturing, and other representatives.

Contact: Tony Schafer

Product: Establishment of a tool kit for companies; support coalition of

trucking-related groups; and other elements to help motor

carriers, drivers, and shippers promote safety and reduce

crashes

New Start: Contract awarded

Reaching

Out to

Promote Safe

Practices

REDUCING CRASHES BY IMPROVING

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Improving safety means improving compliance with, and

enforcement of, existing FMCSRs. To further this effort,

studies of roadside inspection criteria and procedures,

compliance reviews, application of sanctions and penalties,

and development of systems to facilitate compliance and

enforcement are essential. Assessment, design, and

development of new motor carrier safety data systems

supports prioritization of drivers/vehicles for roadside

inspection and carriers for compliance reviews and other

enforcement actions. These activities improve FMCSR

compliance; in particular, they improve compliance with

regulations related to vehicle mechanical condition and

driver hours of service.
26

Safety

By 2010, onboard and roadside

safety technologies and concepts

that target high-risk motor carriers

will help reduce the frequency and

severity of truck and bus crashes.

By advancing the development and deployment of rapidly changing

technology and implementing new operational concepts, the Safety Systems

and Technologies Program Area is helping FMCSA meet the safety goal of

reducing the number of CMV fatalities and injuries by 50 percent by 2010.

“Business as usual” will not work to achieve this goal. The 1999 crash data

show that 78 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks are collisions

between large trucks and other vehicles. New onboard and roadside safety

technologies and concepts, combined

with targeting high-risk motor carriers

will help reduce the frequency and

severity of these types of crashes.

FMCSA has identified two key

projects in the Safety Systems and

Technologies Program Area that

explore these new technologies

and concepts.

Systems and

4

Goals

• identify, test, evaluate, and deploy new technologies

and operational concepts that improve CMV safety

• target high-risk carriers for enforcement and compliance actions

Technologies
27

• The Safety Technologies for 2010 Project supports accelerated research,

testing, and technology transfer of new safety technologies and operational concepts.

• The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN)

Deployment Project supports electronic exchange of safety and other

information among States, the motor carrier industry, and the FMCSA to

improve the targeting of high-risk and uninspected truck and motorcoach

operators.

Through the CVISN Deployment Project, Federal and State government

agencies work together with the motor carrier industry to develop and deploy

cost-effective information systems and communication networks that provide

electronic access to timely and accurate motor carrier safety and other

information. CVISN is not an information system, but is the collection of

information systems and communication networks that together provide a

framework for States, the Federal government, and private stakeholders to

electronically collect, process, and exchange motor carrier safety information

and CMV and driver data. CVISN helps Federal and State enforcement

officials target high-risk motor carriers for enforcement and compliance

actions and identify high-risk or previously uninspected commercial motor

vehicles and drivers for further inspection. State government agencies are

providing more efficient and responsive administrative processes for their

motor carrier industry customers. Safe and legal carriers are moving freight

more efficiently, as safety enforcement efforts are focused on high-risk

carriers, commercial motor vehicles, and drivers.

Working in concert with the DOT’s Intelligent Transportation Systems/

Commercial Vehicle Operations (ITS/CVO) Program, FMCSA R&T projects

will accelerate the testing of technologies, technology transfer, rapid

deployment of new technologies, continued deployment of CVISN

capabilities, and expansion of CVISN concept development.

The following descriptions highlight projects that are representative of both

new starts and continuing work performed in FY’01 in this program area.

FMCSA is assessing several decision-support computer models to evaluate

the expected safety benefits and economic impact of proposed regulatory

initiatives, new enforcement strategies, technological advances and incentive

programs on CMV and driver safety. In a two-part effort, FMCSA will complete

a feasibility study of existing models in FY’02. If a model meets the needs of

FMCSA and State safety agencies, the second part of the project—

implementation—will begin later in FY’02. The selected model will be

designed to incorporate new truck crash causation knowledge and crash data

Improving

Safety

Investments
28

obtained through improved Federal and State safety information systems.

Once implemented, the decision-support computer model will be used by

FMCSA and State safety agencies to help make more informed investment

choices that maximize public sector resources to reduce fatalities and injuries

from truck and bus crashes.

Contact: Jeff Loftus

Product: Decision model feasibility study results, 2002

New Start

HOW MUCH IMPROVEMENT AND HOW MUCH SAVINGS?

If CVISN deployment results in enhanced safety for drivers, trucks, and buses, and greater

operating efficiencies for electronically linked government agencies and motor carriers, what

type of savings in time, resources, and the cost of doing business will both the public and

private sectors realize? What type of safety improvements are anticipated? Initial estimates

reveal:

Savings

• A study by the Texas Transportation Institute estimated that it costs between $50 and $70

per hour to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Every minute a commercial vehicle

is stopped at a weigh/inspection station takes at least $1 from the average fleet’s

bottom line.

• An eight-State case study sponsored by the National Governors’ Association consistently

showed positive benefit-to-cost ratios of up to 6:1 for administering motor carrier credentials electronically. In addition, an American Trucking Associations’ Foundation study of

700 medium- and large-sized motor carriers showed an expected benefit-to-cost ratio of

4:1 and 19:1, respectively.

• The State of Washington estimates that by 2008, the combined total of benefits of CVISN

Level 1 deployment to the taxpayers and truckers of the State is projected to be between

$26.7 and $53.1 million.

• ITS/CVO technologies are predicted to deter tax evasion, which could save an estimated

$500,000 to $1.8 million per State.

Safety Improvements

• In a study of 40,000 inspections, Safety Inspectors increased the number of unsafe

commercial drivers and vehicles removed from the highway from 8,000 to 12,000 by

using advanced safety information systems instead of traditional methods.

• Improvement in safety data quality and transfer time through electronic data interchange

(EDI) vastly improves safety monitoring. Roadside inspectors receive more current, timely

information.

• The ability to identify hazardous cargo on vehicles involved in crashes can reduce the risk

of loss of life to those involved in the crash, the emergency response team, and the

people living and working near the crash scene by reducing the time needed to properly

handle the material.
29

Investigating

Promising

Technologies

Maintaining position in a highway lane during nighttime driving conditions can

be a challenge for CMV drivers. Rollovers and other types of crashes may

result when a driver quickly applies steering control to bring a vehicle back

into its lane. The primary objective of this project is to determine if a laserguided device can improve heavy vehicle stability and control by improving

the driver’s ability to stay in lane. On-road tests will be performed in FY’02

using a vehicle equipped with a laser guidance system on a section of

Interstate 81 with relatively low traffic volume. Commercial drivers who have

not previously used a laser guidance system will participate in the study.

Consisting of two fixed, low-power lasers mounted on each side of a heavy

vehicle and directed to strike the pavement 15 feet (4.6 m) in front of the

vehicle at points aligned with the vehicle’s sides, the laser guidance system

provides a pointing device to aid nighttime driving. Tests conducted will

determine if this system shows promise in reducing commercial driver

workload and improving nighttime directional control.

Contact: Tim Johnson

Product: Final report and presentation of study results, FY’02

New Start

Quantifying

the Safety

Benefits of

CVISN

Deployment

CVISN provides State roadside

enforcement officials with

nearly instant access to a

variety of safety information on

individual carriers and vehicles.

This project will result in a plan

for FMCSA to use to quantify

the benefits of CVISN as

currently deployed in several

locations, identify the gaps

exhibited in current data

gathering, and suggest ways of

filling these gaps. The final plan

produced by this project, which

will include either a data collection plan or statistical models to estimate the

direct and indirect safety impact of individual CVISN components (such as

safety information exchange, electronic screening, and electronic

credentialing), as well as the combined impact of multiple components, will aid

States in making decisions regarding CVISN deployment.

Contact: Jeff Secrist

Products: Tech Brief, 2002

FMCSA plan for evaluating the overall safety impact of CVISN

deployment, 2003

New Start
30

Pursuing a

Good Idea

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Innovations Deserving Exploratory

Analysis (IDEA) Program provides start-up funding for promising but

unproven concepts that are primarily vehicle-related and exhibit the potential

for innovation in surface transportation systems. IDEA differs from most

government research funding programs in that proposals may be submitted

for a variety of innovative projects within the general category of R&T. The

purpose of this program is to provide ongoing funding for innovative projects

relating to motor carrier safety and safety-enhancing technology. In FY’01,

FMCSA and the Federal Railroad Administration established and jointly

funded a new IDEA project called the Transportation Safety Technology IDEA

Program. Both FMCSA R&T and ITS funding contribute to this program. IDEA

projects will be competed and administered by TRB with the principal

participation of FMCSA R&T. For additional information on the IDEA Program,

visit the TRB Web site at http://nationalacademies.org/trb.

Contact: Jerry Robin

Product: Preliminary recommendations for FMCSA by the IDEA

Committee, FY’02
31

Many safety issues are crosscutting in

that they involve significant aspects of

vehicle safety, driver safety, and carrier

safety, as well as the environment in

which they operate.

Many FMCSA R&T activities are crosscutting in that they support the overall

R&T Program—either its knowledge base or the tools available to enhance its

effectiveness. In another sense, many safety issues are crosscutting

because they involve significant aspects of vehicle safety, driver safety, and

carrier safety, as well as the environment in which they operate. Crosscutting

R&T activities are planned over the next decade to:

• achieve a better understanding

of CMV crash characteristics,

causes, precursors, risk factors,

and potential applicability of

countermeasures

• address specific crash problems

and assess potential countermeasures relevant to CMV

safety (encompassing

Crosscutting

Safety

5

Goals

• gain a deeper and broader understanding of driver,

carrier, vehicle, and roadway factors that place

commercial motor vehicles at risk

• determine the potential applicability of countermeasures

• provide program support to all R&T Program areas

Initiatives
32

regulation/enforcement, education/outreach, safety management

practices, and technology)

• identify gaps in our understanding of CMV crashes and in Agency

programs to address them

• form and foster R&T partnerships within the motor carrier safety

community

• continuously improve administrative, management, and media support

to FMCSA R&T, customer outreach, and program evaluation

The Crosscutting Safety Initiatives Program Area also includes projects to

support FMCSA R&T and to respond to issues not otherwise addressed in

the R&T Program. The common theme in these studies is that they support

the overall R&T Program by increasing its knowledge base. These studies

also engage the Agency’s research partners to improve the effectiveness of

the organization in reaching its customers and attaining its goal of reducing

the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from crashes involving large

trucks by 50 percent by 2010.

The following descriptions highlight projects that are representative of both

new starts and continuing work performed in FY’01 in this program area.

Assessing

Risk Factors

This study complements the FMCSA crash causation study by determining

the relative crash risk associated with driver characteristics (age, years of

experience, training, violations, crash history), physical/medical qualifications

(vision, hearing, diabetes, epilepsy, sleep apnea), driving performance

characteristics (measurements of driving performance taken by in-vehicle

black boxes, in simulators, or using both), and schedule factors (work

schedule, time of day, time on task, sleep, and rest). The study will compare

the characteristics and performance correlates of drivers who have been

involved in crashes to a control group of drivers who have not been involved

in crashes. Most likely, both groups studied will work within a single large fleet.

Diagnostic testing batteries will be used to determine potential selection

factors for overall driving

safety performance and,

specifically, for driver

susceptibility to fatigue.

Such psychometric/

behavioral data could be

used to enable commercial

trucking fleets to make

better hiring choices. The

same study will also gather

data on vehicle factors

(vehicle age, design

features) and highway/

environmental factors (type

of roadway, weather) that
33

correlate with crash involvement. In addition to planning this case control

study, FMCSA is engaged in discussions with the industry about its initiatives

to collect and analyze incident information that describes crash precursors.

Contact: Ron Knipling

Product: Identification of priority factors for study

New Start

Summarizing

Current

Knowledge

This new program is administered by TRB and conducted by its National

Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Initial funding will support

the establishment and operation of a panel to select three to four synthesis

topics annually, as well as smaller panels to select researchers to perform the

syntheses and to monitor progress. The synthesis reports will summarize

current knowledge and the state of the practice relating to various truck and

bus safety issues and interventions. The new TRB Task Force on Truck &

Bus Safety Research (A3B57) will be one source of panel members to select

and oversee the synthesis projects.

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Product: Synthesis reports on specific truck and bus safety research

and technology topics

New Start

Promoting

R&T Products

Our multimedia program has continued to provide visibility for FMCSA R&T

products through electronic, print, and audiovisual support. These efforts

have included the development and dissemination of Tech and Analysis

Briefs and magazine articles, and the creation and further enhancement of

FMCSA’s Web site highlighting current and completed research projects.

FMCSA also has initiated a comprehensive program of electronic publication

of R&T reports. Aiming to expand its partnerships within and outside DOT,

FMCSA has increased efforts to disseminate our research findings. Toward

this goal, FMCSA invested in electronic publication, emulating the successful

approaches of the ITS Program and other DOT offices. A similar support

effort has continued to provide R&T information management services, such

as the maintenance of standardized project information, analysis of FMCSA

R&T investments, and budget tracking.

Contact: Zeborah English

Product: Tech Briefs and Analysis Briefs on FMCSA R&T projects are

available in both hard copy and on the FMCSA Web site—

www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
34

A core Agency agreement with TRB was established in FY’01 to provide basic

membership, ex-officio representation, participation in annual meetings,

support for Agency-related committees, and other standard TRB activities in

support of the FMCSA mission.

FMCSA initiated an agreement with TRB to conduct and coordinate an annual

workshop on motor carrier research and technology. The first workshop was

held during the annual TRB meeting in January 2001. At this workshop,

FMCSA described the Agency’s program areas and the overall FMCSA

program to an audience comprised of members of the TRB community. TRB

coordinates these annual workshops and prepares a summary of feedback

received from attendees, which is forwarded to FMCSA R&T to use in its

future research efforts.

Contact: Albert Alvarez

Product: FMCSA Research and Technology Workshop, January 2001

(Workshop Brief), November 2001

Studying

Light

Vehicle–

Heavy

Vehicle

Interaction

Fifty-nine percent of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes in 1997 collided

with a passenger vehicle (car, light truck) in those crashes. This real-world

study complements NHTSA’s crash causation study by characterizing the

nature of car–truck interactions (e.g., how much headway do cars allow when

passing a truck?) and providing data on the number and type of actual

observed “near misses” that occur between light vehicles and trucks.

In this project, researchers instrumented several short-haul and long-haul

trucks with inconspicuous video cameras and critical incident (e.g., hard

steering, hard braking) sensors to record and document the actions of

vehicles traveling around trucks. In particular, researchers examined passing

and lane-change behavior. Intended as a proof-of-concept initiative, the study

demonstrated the value and efficacy of this real-world approach to collecting

near-miss driving behavior data. FMCSA is considering future larger scale

studies to investigate the basis for traffic enforcement initiatives relating to

car–truck proximity and interaction. These studies would likely produce

examples of unsafe driver behaviors that could be used in outreach programs

to improve highway space management by car and truck drivers.

Contact: Bob Carroll

Product: Light Vehicle–Heavy Vehicle Interaction (Report), 2002

Supporting

the R&T

Mission
35

Identifying

the Most

Dangerous

Travel Hours

Is truck travel more dangerous during the overnight hours of midnight to

6:00 a.m. when vision is hampered by darkness, driver fatigue is expected,

and alcohol-impaired passenger vehicle drivers are more prevalent on our

Nation’s roads? FMCSA investigated this hypothesis by determining the time

of day during which the rate of fatal tractor-trailer crashes per mile was

highest. To accomplish this task, researchers obtained fatal crash data for

tractor trailers by hour-of-day, established measures of tractor-trailer activity

(in miles traveled) by hour-of-day, derived the fatal crash rate for tractor

trailers by hour-of-day, examined the crash rates for trends over each 24-hour

period to establish whether the rate is different for overnight travel than for the

rest of the day, and performed consistency checks to assess the reliability of

the data.

Surprisingly, the analysis indicated that the fatal crash rate for tractor trailers

is roughly constant over the whole day with no discernible trends or

CROSSCUTTING STUDIES ADVANCE THE FMCSA

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Crosscutting studies identify and quantify crash risk factors

and precursors (critical events preceding crashes)

analytically or through direct observation to complement

data available from crash investigation and reconstruction.

Risk factors and precursors identified through these studies

are especially relevant to commercial driver safety R&T and

countermeasures. For example, this program area will

provide rich and useful data on driver traits (physical and

psychological) in relation to crash involvement. These

studies also will provide crash genesis data relating to

selected vehicle, carrier, and roadway factors. As factors are

identified and quantified, each R&T and operational program

area will be re-examined to ensure that the program

addresses these crash factors. For example, these studies

will generate research hypotheses on specific driver traits or

driving behaviors relevant to crashes. They also will generate

new and extensive safety knowledge that can be

incorporated into projects to educate the motor carrier

industry on effective safety practices.
36

differences among various time periods. In contrast, a comparable analysis of

the fatal crash rate for passenger cars and light trucks revealed sharp

increases after midnight and a peak at 3:00 a.m.

Contact: Ron Knipling

Product: Fatal Crash Rates for Tractor-Trailers by Time-of-Day

(Analysis Brief), 2002

Determining

the Causes of

Hazardous

Materials

Incidents

In FY’01, FMCSA initiated a 6-month pilot project, similar to the Trucks in

Fatal Accidents Program, to determine the feasibility of gathering more indepth information about hazardous materials incidents and crashes. This

information will be used to analyze the causes and effects of serious

hazardous materials incidents and crashes, with an emphasis on cargo tank

motor vehicle failures and crashworthiness. The objective of the project is to

lower the risk of hazardous materials transportation by identifying and

focusing resources on areas that cause safety problems. If this effort is

deemed feasible, FMCSA would then conduct a 1-year study of these events

every other year.

Contact: Bill Byrd

Product: Hazardous Materials Incidents and Crashes (Report), 2003
37

Staying Current—

We believe that much can be learned

from our colleagues and constituents,

including those from international

motor carrier safety communities.

R&T provides FMCSA with the solid research and advances in technology that

the Agency requires to be the leader in truck and bus safety. As such, FMCSA

sets the standard of excellence among government agencies while promoting

safety, innovation, and performance. R&T staff share this vision of being a

world-class leader in truck and bus safety. To implement this vision, we seek to

cooperate and form mutually beneficial partnerships with other organizations,

facilitate the innovative work of others that will advance national interests, place

increasing emphasis on education and learning that leads to results in our work,

and encourage and support our partners to assume similar leadership roles.

FMCSA R&T canvasses the motor carrier safety community to gather

information on current perceptions, potential problems, and trends.

Frequent contact and discussions are held with Congress and congressional

staff, NTSB, and safety advocacy groups; the national enforcement community;

motor carrier industry representatives; commercial driver groups; the driver

Collaboration,

Communication, and

Conference Sponsorship
38

COMMERCIAL DRIVER TRAINING

Association of Publicly-Funded Truck Driving Schools

Driver Training and Development Alliance

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

American Museum of Science and Technology

American National Standards Institute

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Institute of Transportation Engineers

Intelligent Transportation Society of America

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Society of Automotive Engineers

This listing provides a cross-section of the many organizations the Office of Research and

Technology works with on a continuing basis. It is not intended as a comprehensive listing of all

the organizations that this Office includes in its network, rather as a representative sampling.

R&T NETWORK OF PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc.

INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

Bates Technical College

California State University

Chippewa Valley Technical College

Florida A&M University

Florida State University

Pennsylvania State University

South Carolina State University

West Virginia University

INSURANCE

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

INTERNATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

Alberta Fleet Maintenance Supervisors Association

Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association

Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators

Petroleum Services Association of Canada

MOTOR CARRIER INDUSTRY

American Trucking Associations

Independent Truckers and Drivers Association

National Association of Truck Stop Operators

National Private Truck Council

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association

Transport International Pool, Inc.

MOTORCOACH INDUSTRY

American Bus Association

United Motorcoach Association

SHARING SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES: DOT

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Transit Administration

Maritime Administration

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Office of the Secretary of Transportation

Research and Special Programs Administration

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

United States Coast Guard

SLEEP RESEARCH

National Center on Sleep Disorders Research

National Sleep Foundation

STATE GOVERNMENT

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials

International Fuel Tax Association, Inc.

International Registration Plan, Inc.

Interstate 95 Corridor Coalition

National Governors Association

VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS

Truck Trailers Manufacturers Association

Design Build Manufacturers Association

NATIONAL ENFORCEMENT

Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Pennsylvania Traffic Institute for Police Services

SAFETY ADVOCACY

Advocates for Highway and Automobile Safety

Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways

Parents Against Tired Truckers

STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS

American Law Firm Association

Food Distributors International

North American Travel Monitoring Association

North American Warehousing & Distributors Association

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association
39

training community; sleep researchers and activists; insurance

representatives; truck manufacturers; and the motorcoach industry.

FMCSA R&T consults and collaborates within the DOT with highway safety

researchers such as those at the FHWA Turner–Fairbank Highway Research

Center, heavy vehicle design researchers from the NHTSA Office of Vehicle

Safety Research, and other specialists from DOT modal administrations. In

particular, FMCSA collaborative efforts are aided by the DOT Safety Council,

Human Factors Coordinating Committee, and related “One DOT” activities.

FMCSA R&T chairs the TRB Truck and Bus Safety Research Subcommittee,

an important means of communication with the academic community. FMCSA

co-sponsors and actively participates in a wide range of conferences,

symposia, and workshops. We believe that much can be learned from our

colleagues and constituents, including those from international motor carrier

safety communities. To that end, we sponsored several major conferences to

promote information exchange and dissemination. Highlights of conferences

sponsored by FMCSA R&T in FY’01 are provided in the following section.

Improving Safety for Drivers and Fleets: Historical and Innovative

Approaches. The objective of this conference, conducted by the 21st Century

Driver and Truck Alliance, was to stimulate both discussion and action toward

the understanding and implementation of holistic approaches to commercial

driving safety—in particular approaches that emphasize the driver’s

contribution to safety. Held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 18–19, 2001,

the conference focused on developing a program that addresses a

fundamental understanding of safety processes and practical approaches to

improve safety in the trucking industry. Of particular interest was the ability to

use advanced technologies relating to driver training, testing, safety

management, and crash avoidance. Proceedings from the Conference are

available by contacting Richard Grace at (412) 681-7159 or

rgrace@rec.ri.cmu.edu.

International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver

Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design. This international safety

conference, conducted by the University of Iowa and co-sponsored by

FMCSA R&T, provided an

interdisciplinary forum for

scientific exchange between

experts and users. Topics

included at the conference

held on August 14 –17, 2001,

in Aspen, Colorado, included

driver assessment and driver

performance enhancement,

as well as related tools and

technologies to improve

highway safety. Approximately
40

150 individuals attended this conference, including representatives from 16

countries. Symposium participants addressed a number of technical areas

including driver performance management, instrumented vehicles, vehicle

design, driver assessment tools, driving simulators, training, driver

recruitment and selection, and driver health and wellness. The symposium

included a technical session dedicated exclusively to commercial drivers, as

well as a multi-disciplinary panel discussion designed to solicit ideas to further

enhance commercial vehicle operations, commercial driver performance, and

highway safety. For additional information, see the conference Web site at

www.driving-symposium.org.

International Driver Training and Research Conference. The Carnegie

Mellon Driver Training and Safety Institute (CMDTSI) hosted the First Annual

EuroTra (European Transport Training Association) Transatlantic

Transportation Safety Summit in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on June 6–9,

2001. The purpose of the conference was to address developments in

commercial driver training such as the use of technology for potentially

enhancing driver performance and safety. Conference attendees included

Federal transportation officials and representatives of the 20 European

countries that comprise EuroTra. The conference provided an international

exchange of information to enhance driver training, performance, and safety.
41

Tech Briefs and Analysis Briefs

The following documents are available on the FMCSA Web site at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Qualifying Individuals with Insulin-Treated Diabetes to Operate Commercial Motor Vehicles

Tech Brief, November 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-02-001

FMCSA Research and Technology Workshop January 2001

Workshop Brief, November 2001

Drug and Alcohol Testing Survey—1999 Results

Analysis Brief, August 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-01-008

Visual Requirements for Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

Tech Brief, June 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-01-007

Impact of Local/Short-Haul Operations on Driver Fatigue

Tech Brief, May 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-01-006

Cost of Large Truck- and Bus-Involved Crashes

Analysis Brief, March 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-01-005

Bus Driver Fatigue and Stress Issues Study

Tech Brief, February 2001, FMCSA-MCRT-01-004

List of Acronyms

CDLIS Commercial Driver Licensing Information System

CDL commercial driver’s license

CMDTSI Carnegie Mellon Driver Training and Safety Institute

CMV commercial motor vehicle

CVISN Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks

CVO Commercial Vehicle Operations

CR Compliance Review

DOT United States Department of Transportation

EDI electronic data interchange

EEG electroencephalograph

EuroTra European Transport Training Association

FHWA-OMC Federal Highway Administration Office of Motor Carriers

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

FMCSRs Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

FY Fiscal Year

HMPIP Hazardous Materials Package Inspection Program

IDEA Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems

IVI Intelligent Vehicle Initiative

MCSIA Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999

NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NTSB National Transportation Safety Board

PERCLOS PERcent of eyelid CLOSure

R&T Research and Technology Program

SBIR Small Business Innovation Research

SimVal simulator validation

TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century

TRB Transportation Research Board

TST Transportation Safety Technology

Published in 2001
42

Project Contacts

Internet users may access the FMCSA homepage at www.fmcsa.dot.gov. For further information

about the FMCSA Office of Research and Technology, please contact:

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Office of Research and Technology

400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20024

(202) 358-5016

(202) 358-7100 fax

Individual members of the Office of Research and Technology are listed below with their contact

information. To contact new R&T employees not on board at the time of this printing, please consult

the FMCSA Web site.

Albert Alvarez

(202) 358-5684

albert.alvarez@fhwa.dot.gov

Bill Byrd

(202) 366-4111

bill.byrd@fhwa.dot.gov

Bob Carroll

(202) 358-5685

bob.carroll@fhwa.dot.gov

Peter Chandler

(202) 366-5763

peter.chandler@fhwa.dot.gov

Zeborah English

(202) 358-5671

zeborah.english@fhwa.dot.gov

Ron Finn

(202) 366-0647

ron.finn@fhwa.dot.gov

Amy Houser

(202) 358-5680

amy.houser@fhwa.dot.gov

Tim Johnson

(202) 358-5649

tim.johnson@fhwa.dot.gov

Jim Keenan

(202) 366-2966

jim.keenan@fhwa.dot.gov

Kaye Kirby

(202) 366-3109

kaye.kirby@fhwa.dot.gov

Ron Knipling

(202) 366-4003

ron.knipling@fhwa.dot.gov

Jeff Loftus

(202) 358-5651

jeff.loftus@fhwa.dot.gov

Bob Proferes

(202) 366-9220

bob.proferes@fhwa.dot.gov

William Quade

(202) 366-2172

william.quade@fhwa.dot.gov

Jerry Robin

(202) 358-5667

jerry.robin@fhwa.dot.gov

Chuck Rombro

(202) 366-5615

chuck.rombro@fhwa.dot.gov

Jeff Secrist

(202) 358-5658

jeff.secrist@fhwa.dot.gov

Tony Schafer

(202) 366-2953

tony.shafer@fhwa.dot.gov

Dan Shelton

(202) 366-0476

dan.shelton@fhwa.dot.gov

Dale Sienecki

(202) 366-1861

dale.sienecki@fhwa.dot.gov

Sandy Zywokarte

(202) 366-2987

sandy.zywokarte@fhwa.dot.gov

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Office of Research and Technology

400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20024

www.fmcsa.dot.gov

Publication No. FMCSA-RT-02-001