Big data, traditional data and the tradeoffs between prediction and causality in highway-safety analysis

Analytic Methods in Accident Research puchlished a piece describing the tradeoffs between prediction and causality in highway-safety analysis on January 25, 2020.Office of the VP for Researc

How can we maximize efficiency and increase person occupancy at overcrowded park and rides?

This study was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. The purpose of this project was to provide the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), King County Metro Transit, and Sound Transit with more detailed information on the use of 17 of the busiest park and ride facilities in the Central Puget Sound Region. These park and ride lots, like a large fraction of lots across the region, are currently operating at or near capacity. The agencies would like to obtain detailed information on their use to inform potential parking management strategies in the future. In particular, the long-term objective is to eventually implement strategies to increase the number of people served by the limited parking spaces. Two empirical data collection efforts were performed. The first was an on-site audit of the existing use of 10 of the 17 facilities. The second data collection effort was a user intercept survey administered both in-person at all 17 lots and electronically to the set of registered vanpool users at these facilities and those who could not complete the survey on site. The survey collected more detailed information from individual park and ride users, including trip purpose, origin-destination information, mode of entry and exit, reasons for using park and rides, and user reactions to potential strategies that WSDOT and the other agencies are considering to help increase person efficiency of these lots. The report details a few major findings from this work. The data suggest that the following strategies might be successful at improving person efficiency at overcrowded park and ride facilities: (1) implement parking fees for single-occupant vehicles to disincentivize their use; (2) dedicate a portion of parking spaces at each lot for multi-occupant vehicle use only; (3) revise local transit service near these locations to increase the fraction of drivers that have feasible transit options to the park and rides; and (4) examine the use of parking at available lots near the park and ride facilities for overflow or single-occupant vehicle parking

Bearing e.g. connecting rod bearing, mounting method for reciprocating piston engine of motor vehicle, involves fixedly connecting bearing housing parts by welding process, where welding of parts is performed in defined external region

The method involves dividing a bearing housing into bearing housing parts (4A, 4B) by fracture-splitting. Bearing half-shells (5) are inserted into the parts. The parts are combined to a bearing that encloses a shaft, and are fixedly connected with each other by a welding process such as resistance welding, ultrasonic welding or cold pressure welding process. The welding of the parts is performed in a defined external region. An insulation material is applied between the half-shells and/or the shaft and the housing parts before welding. The parts are pressed on each other during welding

MIMIC \u2014 Multidisciplinary Initiative on Methods to Integrate and Create Realistic Artificial Data

693JJ31950023Traditional safety modeling efforts primarily focus on accurately estimating crash frequencies or rates. The true relationships between crashes and potential causal factors are not always easily discernible from safety models. While a model consisting of multiple causal factors may produce accurate estimates of crash measures, it may not accurately explain all causal relationships. Knowing the true cause-and-effect relationships is important while choosing countermeasures to address safety problems. This Exploratory Advanced Research Program project developed a framework to generate realistic artificial data (RAD) datasets that mimic the known causal relationships between contributing factors and crashes. The proposed framework is generic and can be used to generate RAD for other facilities, such as work zones, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, innovative geometric designs, etc. The framework was applied to generate RAD for ramp terminals and speed change lane facilities at diamond interchanges. A web-based software was developed to provide easy access to the RAD dataset. The software provides 196 pregenerated datasets and the option to request custom datasets. Sample RAD datasets were used to test negative binomial and a suite of machine learning models. A model evaluation rubric was developed to evaluate and compare the performance of different models. Additionally, this project developed a second type of RAD dataset\u2014the virtual reality (VR) simulation testbeds for crashes and near-crashes occurring at interchanges. Driving simulator studies offer another source of RAD for evaluating new behavioral and roadway countermeasures. The testbeds were developed using safety critical events recorded in the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 Naturalistic Driving Study data. VR offers an engaging visualization platform to educate the public about interchange crashes and to evaluate different countermeasures. These interventions are well aligned with the USDOT\u2019s National Roadway Safety Strategy\u2019s Safe System Approach of considering an overlapping set of safety measures\u2014roadway countermeasures, behavioral interventions, enforcement, vehicle safety features, and emergency medical care\u2014to achieve zero roadway fatalities