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The COVID-19 pandemic, mitigation efforts such as stay-at-home orders, and ensuing trends such as the rise in working from home, have had substantial impacts on traffic. In March, NHTSA reported that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) decreased 11% from 2019 to 2020, while police-reported crashes decreased 22%. However, fatalities per 100 million VMT increased 21% from […]
With inexpensive sensor technologies and integrated control systems becoming widespread in the automotive industry, platooning has emerged as a viable method for reducing fuel and energy consumption of vehicles, particularly within the heavy-duty trucking sector. In this report, we computationally analyzed the effect of platooning on semi-trucks with regards to aerodynamic drag using computational fluid […]
In 2016, three veterans of the still young autonomous vehicle industry formed Aurora, a startup focused on developing self-driving cars. Partnerships followed with major automakers, including Hyundai and Volkswagen. CEO Chris Urmson said at the time that the link-ups would help the company bring “mobility as a service” to urban areas—Uber-like rides without a human behind the wheel. But […]
Since 2015, the lack of available truck parking has been consistently ranked as one of the top five industry concerns among trucking stakeholders. Among truck drivers, the issue ranks as the top concern. Drivers frequently report parking on shoulders, ramps or other undesignated locations when there is no available truck parking. Prior research also identified […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in cooperation with the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe), uses a quantitative model called the Carrier Intervention Effectiveness Model (CIEM) to measure the effectiveness of motor carrier interventions in terms of estimated crashes prevented, injuries prevented, and lives saved. This model provides FMCSA management with […]
To advance the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) mission of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), FMCSA requires CMV drivers and their employers to follow certain rules regarding drug and alcohol testing. These requirements address the frequency of testing, which substances to test for, evaluation and treatment programs, and reporting […]
To advance the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) mission of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), FMCSA requires CMV drivers and their employers to follow certain rules regarding drug and alcohol testing. These requirements address the frequency of testing, which substances to test for, evaluation and treatment programs, and reporting […]
The objective of this study was to prospectively examine a wide array of driver personal and situational factors to determine the prevalence of these factors as well as their relationship to being involved in a crash. This study involved the collection of driver medical, demographic, and other personal factors to examine the relationship between these […]
In response to the coronavirus, and the unique needs surrounding the pandemic, the federal government is easing some of its regulations on truckers in order to meet those needs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a nation-wide emergency declaration allowing truckers to stretch some of the guidelines they normally work under. Specifically the […]
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has likely impacted the U.S. economy like no other event since the Great Depression. Shelter-at-home laws, business closures and “social distancing” have dramatically affected every sector of the economy, from manufacturing to consumer spending. Recent economic analyses indicate that the COVID-related unemployment levels exceeded 20 percent in March 2020 – […]
