An official website of the United States government.
Here's how you know
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites always use a .gov or .mil domain. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure you’re on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browser's address (or "location") bar.
This site is also protected by an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate that's been signed by the U.S. government. The https:// means all transmitted data is encrypted — in other words, any information or browsing history that you provide is transmitted securely.
The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Annual Accomplishments highlights our best work of 2021 and illustrates the sustained impact of the Volpe Center in supporting the U.S. DOT’s top priorities and strategic goals: safety, climate solutions and sustainability, transformational innovation, economic strength and global competitiveness, transportation equity, organizational excellence, and small business innovation research. This year’s […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research, Development and Technology (RD&T), conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of engineering treatments to deter vehicles from turning onto a rail right-of-way (ROW) at highway-rail grade […]
The advent of mass-produced, relatively low-cost automobiles by Henry Ford and his manufacturing advances revolutionized how we get from place to place and how we live day to day. For the first time in a century, Bryan Mistele, CEO of INRIX, sees a similar transformation coming. “Fundamentally the idea of a human being buying a car […]
The promise of transportation automation seems to become more and more fulfilled each day. Today’s automobiles that keep themselves in their lane and maintain safe speeds and distances—even in stop-and-go traffic—have recently been joined by successful tests of flying delivery drones. However, increasing automation levels eventually requires a vehicle to be able not only to […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is leading a Safety Data Initiative (SDI), to enhance the analysis and visualization that informs safety policy decisions. In support of the SDI, Volpe applied machine learning techniques to assess the potential for crowd-sourced roadway data such as Waze alerts to serve as a reliable indicator of police-reportable crashes. […]
This report examines the feasibility of transferring 13 current automated systems technologies from light-duty vehicles and commercial trucks to 40-ft diesel transit buses. It explores the associated technical and safety challenges of implementing those systems in transit buses and ways to overcome some of the identified barriers to implementation. The transferability of each systems was […]
This bulletin includes information about the US DOT redesigned website, detecting damage in structural components with new infrared technologies, and understanding traffic systems with innovative pedestrians and cyclist detection.
This bulletin contains information about improving road safety by pooling resources, transformation of the global transportation system, and optimizing freight and fuel movement with flow analysis.
This bulletin contains information about how effective pedestrian detection systems in cars are, how an automated car platoon works, and improving service and safety at Penn Station in New York City.
This bulletin contains information about how traditional aviation testing can inform unmanned aerial technologies and includes the analysis of online media reporting on rail suicide and trespass incidents.