Hot Off the Press

Brian Philips – Human Factors Team Lead 

brian.philips@dot.gov 202-493-3468

Michelle Arnold – michelle.arnold@

dot.gov 202-493-3990

Ann Do – ann.do@dot.gov 

202-493-3319

Jesse Eisert – jesse.eisert@dot.gov 

202-493-3284

Laura Mero – laura.mero@dot.gov 

202-493-3377

Meet the Team

Roldan, S. M., T. B. Gonzalez, and M. 

Arnold. 2021. Effective Indicators of 

Partially Automated Truck Platooning. 

Report No. FHWA-HRT-21-016.

Washington, DC: Federal Highway 

Administration.

Weaver, S. M., S. M. Roldan, T. B. 

Gonzalez, and B. H. Philips. 2021. 

The Effects of Vehicle Automation 

on Driver Engagement: The Case of 

Adaptive Cruise Control and Mind 

Wandering. Report No. FHWAHRT-21-017. Washington, DC: 

Federal Highway Administration.

TRAVEL LANE

Current Research:

 Return to Data Collection – Summer of 2021 marked a return to data collection for 

several human factors research projects.

» Data collection is underway in the 

Highway Driving Simulator (HDS) at 

Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA’s) Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center (TFHRC) under the 

joint project, Driver Interaction 

With Partial Driving Automation 

Technology When Passing Bicyclists 

in a Shared Use Lane, and Response 

to Emergency Vehicles When Driving 

in a Mixed-Vehicle Fleet. The studies 

are being led by Michelle Arnold 

and Jesse Eisert.

» FHWA staff are being recruited to drive the National Advanced Driving Simulator 

miniSimTM at TFHRC to investigate Human Factors Issues Related to Truck 

Platooning, a study led by Michelle Arnold.

» The Office of Safety Research and 

Development (R&D) Human Factors 

Team’s field research vehicles were 

modified to allow remote interactions 

between a participant and a researcher 

to support data collection for the 

project, Exploring the Effects of 

Vehicle Automation and Cooperative 

Messaging on Mixed Fleet Eco-Drive, 

led by Jesse Eisert.

» The study, Guidelines on Variable Message Sign Messaging During Non-Recurring 

Events, led by Michelle Arnold, was adapted to collect data remotely using web 

conferencing software. Data collection is underway.

» FHWA staff are being invited to TFHRC Human Factors Sign Design and Research 

Facility to collect data for the project, Evaluation of Additional Alternatives of, 

and Arrow Sizes for, Overhead Arrow-per-Lane Guide Signs, led by Laura Mero.

» Data collection for the project, Evaluation of Aesthetically Treated Crosswalks, led 

by Jesse Eisert, is being conducted offsite. The driving portion was completed and 

the pedestrian portion of the study is currently underway.

» Data collection for the project, Enhancing Conspicuity for Standard Signs and 

Retroreflectivity Strips on Posts, led by Laura Mero was completed.

Source: FHWA.

Source: FHWA.

Source: FHWA.

Exploring Human Behavior

Safety R&D Program

SUMMER 2021 | VOLUME 14

HUMAN FACTORS TEAM | biannual highlights

https://highways.dot.gov/research
MILEPOSTS

THE ROAD AHEAD

Looking forward

 HDS Visual Upgrade. The Human Factors Team is excited 

to announce the visual upgrade of FHWA’s HDS at TFHRC. 

The new, state-of-the art system will feature seven 

vertically mounted 4K high-resolution dynamic range 

projectors. The simulator will use the latest upgraded 

hardware and software to produce world-class realistic 

simulation scenes to enable the next generation of human 

factors driving research. Contact Brian Philips for more 

information on this project. 

Recent activity 

 FHWA Safety Discipline Meeting. On April 21, 2021, Laura 

Mero and Jesse Eisert presented research on aesthetically 

treated crosswalks on the FHWA Safety Discipline monthly call. 

 2021 National Association of County Engineers’ Annual 

Conference. On April 22, 2021, Laura Mero and Jesse Eisert 

presented updates on bicycle and pedestrian research and 

on the Traffic Control Device Consortium Pooled Fund Study 

(TCD PFS) at this virtual conference.

 Transportation Association of Canada’s Spring Technical 

Meeting. On April 27, 2021, Michelle Arnold presented 

on the ongoing project, “Human Factors Issues Related to 

Truck Platooning Operations,” at this virtual meeting. The 

presentation included an overview of the project and results 

from the recently published TechBrief, Effective Indicators of 

Partially Automated Truck Platooning.

 FHWA Human Factors Team Meet with National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Research in 

the Biden Administration’s Priority Areas. In May 2021, 

members of the Human Factors Team met with NHTSA’s 

Human Factors and Engineering Integration Office to discuss 

human factors, pedestrian, and automated vehicle research 

that aligns with President Joseph R. Biden’s priority areas of 

safety, economic recovery, and climate change. FHWA staff 

shared their current and planned research and the research 

tools at TFHRC.

 Ensuring Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA) 

Vehicles and Vulnerable Road Users (VRU’s) Safety 

Through Infrastructure. This project, led by Jesse Eisert, 

kicked off in May 2021. It will seek to identify potential 

infrastructure solutions, countermeasures, and strategies to 

facilitate safe interactions between CDA equipped vehicles 

and VRU.

 TCD PFS 2021. The TCD PFS 2021 Annual Meeting was held 

virtually in early August 2021. Laura Mero is the lead for the PFS. 

 HDS – CARMASM Integration. The Office of Safety R&D’s Human Factors 

Team is working with members of the Office of Operations R&D’s 

Cooperative Automation Research Program to integrate the CARMA 

platform into the HDS. The team’s first step is to create a common scene 

simulation environment by developing a virtual replica of TFHRC campus 

that can be driven using the HDS. The goal is to combine road- and 

simulation-based testing scenarios using cooperative-automated driving 

system (C-ADS) behaviors as defined in CARMA. These scenarios also 

allow Human Factors testing of these features through simulation and 

improve simulation of C-ADS with real world, model verification. 

Contact Brian Philips for more information on this effort. 

TRAVEL LANE Current Research (continued)

Source: FHWA.

 Intersection Crossing Behavior of Human Drivers and 

Automated Vehicles Below and Above 15 mph. The 

Human Factors Team is preparing to collect data for this 

study led by Jesse Eisert. Researchers will assess how driver 

behavior is affected by information about the duration 

of an upcoming green traffic signal. The Team will also 

look at how the behavior of pedestrians approaching 

an intersection compares with automated vehicles 

approaching the same signalized intersection. 

FHWA-HRT-22-008

https://highways.dot.gov/research https://doi.org/10.21949/1521696

biannual highlights