Prioritizing improvements to truck driver vision

This report presents the results of a three-part study of truck driver exterior vision and its safety consequences. In part one, crash data are analyzed to document vision-related truck crash issues. About 20% of truck-initiated crashes occur in configurations in which limitations to truck driver vision may have been an important factor contributing to the crash. Right-going lane changes and turns account for more than half of these crashes. On average, right-going truck-initiated crashes are about 4.5 times more likely than left-going crashes. Non-motorists killed in startup and right-turn crashes were nearly all adults and tend to be older the pedestrians struck in other crash modes, suggesting that near-field truck vision analyses should focus on adults rather than children. Over half of pedestrians involved in start-up crashes are over age 65. An experimental study showed that driver performance in detecting lane-change conflicts was directionally consistent with the findings from the crash data. Drivers took longer to detect conflicts on the right side of the vehicle than on the left. The longest reaction times were observed when the target vehicle was directly to the right of the cab, suggesting that detecting a conflict in this area is most difficult for drivers. Drivers also made more errors on the right side of the vehicle, including several failures to detect a vehicle directly to the right of the cab. Based on these findings, a prioritized set of vision zones was developed. The highest priority for improvements to driver vision is the area directly to the right of the truck cab. This area represents the most likely position of a crash partner at the truck driver’s decision point in right lane-change crashes and is also the pre-crash position of many non-motorists involved in right turn and start up crashes. This report presents a new approach to evaluating exterior vision from truck cabs. The method differs from previous approaches, e.g., SAE J1750, by providing an aggregate score that is related to a specific crash-safety issue. The method is based on the visibility of standing adult pedestrians, and hence addresses the specific problem of pedestrian involvement in start up and right turn crashes. The experimental paradigm presented in Section 3 also represents a promising approach to evaluating the quality of exterior vision provided by alternative vision systems. The time drivers require to determine if a conflict exists provides a sensitive measure of the difficulty of the task. The parallels between the findings of the experimental study and the crash data analysis support the validity of the experimental approach. This method could be applied to evaluate alternative mirror systems, camera-based systems, and other technologies that might be developed to address the priorities established in this report.International Truck and Engine Corporationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83927/1/102737.pd

Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic Plan (Phase I Report)

This interim report on an Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic (ITS) Plan has been developed as documentation of the process of offering a vision for ITS and recommending an outline for organizational structure, infrastructure, and long-term planning for ITS in Kentucky. This plan provides an overview of the broad scope of ITS and relationships between various Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) functional areas and ITS user service areas. Three of the functional areas of ITS have been addressed in this interim report with sections devoted to mission, vision, goals, and potential technology applications. Within each of the three areas, recommendations have been made for applications and technologies for deployment. A more formalized business plan for will be developed to recommend specific projects for implementation. Those three functional areas are 1) Advanced Rural Transportation Systems (ARTS), 2) Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS), and 3) Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO). A survey of other states was conducted to determine the status of the development of ITS strategic plans. Information received from the 11 states that had completed strategic plans was used to determine the overall approach taken in development of the plans and to evaluate the essential contents of the reports for application in Kentucky. Kentucky\u27s ITS Strategic Plan evolved from an early decision by representatives of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KyTC) to formalize the procedure by requesting the Kentucky Transportation Center to prepare a work plan outlining the proposed tasks. Following several introductory meetings of the Study Advisory Committee, additional focus group meetings were held with various transportation representatives to identify ITS issues of importance. Results from these meetings were compiled and used as input to the planning process for development of the Strategic Plan components of ARTS and ATIS. The development of a strategic plan for Commercial Vehicle Operations originated from a different procedure than did the other functional areas of ITS. As part of well-developed commercial vehicle activities through the ITS-related programs of Advantage I-75 and CVISN, Kentucky has become a national leader in this area and has developed a strategic plan of advanced technology applications to commercial vehicles. The strategic plan for Commercial Vehicle Operations was developed out of the convergence of several parallel processes in Kentucky. Empower Kentucky work teams had met over a two-year period to develop improved and more efficient processes for CVO in Kentucky. Their conclusions and recommendations encouraged the further activities of the Kentucky ITS/CVO working group that first convened in the summer of 1996. In an effort to conceptually organize the various ITS/CVO activities in Kentucky, and as a commitment to the CVISN Mainstreaming plan, an inclusive visioning exercise was held in early 1997. Out of this exercise emerged the six critical vision elements that guided the CVO strategic plan. The remaining functional areas to be included in the ITS Strategic Plan will be addressed in the second phase of this study. Those areas are Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS), and Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS). It is anticipated that a process similar to that developed for the first phase of this study will continue

Scientific, Technical, and Forensic Evidence

Materials from the conference on Scientific, Technical, and Forensic Evidence held by UK/CLE in February 2002

Real-time pedestrian detection in a Truck's blind spot camera

In this paper we present a multi-pedestrian detection and tracking framework targeting a specific application: detecting vulnerable road users in a truck's blind spot zone. Research indicates that existing non-vision based safety solutions are not able to handle this problem completely. Therefore we aim to develop an active safety system which warns the truck driver if pedestrians are present in the truck's blind spot zone. Our system solely uses the vision input from the truck's blind spot camera to detect pedestrians. This is not a trivial task, since the application inherently requires real-time operation while at the same time attaining very high accuracy. Furthermore we need to cope with the large lens distortion and the extreme viewpoints introduced by the blind spot camera. To achieve this, we propose a fast and efficient pedestrian detection and tracking framework based on our novel perspective warping window approach. To evaluate our algorithm we recorded several realistically simulated blind spot scenarios with a genuine blind spot camera mounted on a real truck. We show that our algorithm achieves excellent accuracy results at real-time performance, using a single core CPU implementation only.status: publishe

From Command and Control to Collaboration and Deference: The Transformation of Auto Safety Regulation

Created in 1966 primarily as a rulemaking body empowered to force thetechnology of motor vehicle safety, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) had by the mid-1980s largely abandoned rulemaking in favor of aggressively recalling defective vehicles. Devastating losses in pre-enforcement judicial review of rules combined with judicial embrace of recalls to drive that first-period adaptation. Congressional reaction mimicked the signals from the courts, and the Reagan administration\u27 s regulatory reform and relief programs of the 1980s further solidified NHTSA\u27s rulemaking retreat. Prodded by congressional mandates, beginning in 1991, but largely of 21st century origin, NHTSA returned to rulemaking in the last two decades, but in a radically revised form

FIMCAR : Frontal Impact and Compatibility Assessment Research

The goal of the FIMCAR (Frontal Impact and Compatibility Assessment Research) project was to propose a frontal impact assessment approach addressing self- and partner protection. Research strategies and priorities were based on earlier research programs and the FIMCAR accident data analysis looking at modern cars. The identified real world safety issues – such as structural interaction (especially under-/override), high acceleration loading of the occupant especially in large overlap accidents and insufficient horizontal and vertical load spreading were used for evaluating the different test candidates. In addition to the issues mentioned above, the FIMCAR accident analysis suggested that frontal force compartment integrity matching is less of an issue as originally expected. FIMCAR developed a car-to-car test program that investigated the performance of vehicle structures. Results of the test program show that the presence of a lower load path contributes to a more robust performance of the vehicle. The rearward offset of a lower load path could be reviewed and used to quantify when a lower structure design can contribute to structural interaction in both frontal and side impact configurations. In addition to the car crash test programme, numerical models of actual cars and barriers were developed and used. As car-to-car simulations with models of different car manufacturers are almost impossible because of confidentiality, Parametric Car Models (PCM) and Generic Car Models (GCM) were developed. Due to the parametric design of the PCMs it is possible to modify the models in an easy and fast way. The GCMs model virtual cars which represent an average real car of the respective category in a comparable way to the OEM models. Within the FIMCAR project, different frontal impact test candidates were analysed regarding their potential for future frontal impact legislation. The research activities focused on car-to-car frontal impact. Test procedures were developed with both a crash test programme and numerical simulations. This analysis resulted in the combination of the Full Width Deformable Barrier test (FWDB) with compatibility metrics and the existing Offset Deformable Barrier (ODB) as described in UN-ECE Regulation 94 with additional cabin integrity requirement as being proposed as the FIMCAR assessment approach. The advantages of the FWDB compared to the rigid wall are the more representative pulse and deformation pattern as well as the better assessment of load paths. The introduction of a (M)PDB without compatibility metrics (that FIMCAR was unable to deliver in time) was considered as not being appropriate. The proposed frontal impact assessment approach addresses many of the issues identified by the FIMCAR consortium (impact alignment, high acceleration pulse loading, maintenance of compartment strength requirements, etc.) but not all frontal impact and compatibility issues could be addressed (load spreading).A benefit analysis estimated the benefit of the following three options: no change, introduction of full width test with compatibility assessment in addition to current ECE R94 and introduction of full width test with compatibility assessment and replacement of current ODB test by PDB test with load spreading metric. The comparison of calculated break even costs for option 2 with estimated costs for achieving the benefit from previous projects suggests a positive cost benefit ratio.EC/FP7/234216/EU/Frontal Impact and Compatibility Assessment Research/FIMCA

Casco Bay Weekly : 10 April 2003

https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/cbw_2003/1013/thumbnail.jp

Bowdoin Orient v.139, no.1-26 (2009-2010)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-2010s/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Whitworthian 2006-2007

The Whitworthian student newspaper, September 2006-May 2007.https://digitalcommons.whitworth.edu/whitworthian/1091/thumbnail.jp