This is a follow-on to TPF 5(361) SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Pooled Fund: Advancing Implementable Solutions, however there is no longer a suggested minimum yearly commitment. We hope this will encourage more states to partner. TPF 5(361) will be completing its portfolio of six projects February 2023 - please contact Charles Fay for draft final reports.  In TPF 5(361), the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) developed a list of 30+ research topics and prioritized these topics based on input from the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee. Using the prioritized list of research topics – a request for proposals was issued. The response included 25 proposed projects, totaling over $8 million. With the available funds, the TAC prioritized projects and funded over $2 million of research. Individual projects ranged from approximately $200,000 to $500,000, with the majority between $350,000-400,000.  Each project initiated with a feasibility phase to help minimize risk. The TAC members reviewed results from the feasibility studies, and the majority voted to fund all six to completion. Following completion, project videos will be developed to support product implementation. See the six projects being conducted under TPF 5(361) listed below in the Comments Section.

SHRP 2

The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) addressed the goals of the SHRP 2 Safety Research Program by conducting a large Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS). The NDS study also collected data on roadway characteristics and information about driving context, such as weather and presence of work zones. These data are contained in the SHRP 2 Roadway Information Database (RID). While data was collected for Highway Safety, the value extends to other disciplines such as Traffic Management and Operations.

The SHRP 2 data consists of an extensive collection of detailed information describing the driver, vehicle, trip, and roadway. The driver, vehicle and trip information is referred to as NDS data, the roadway data is referred to as RID data. The NDS data contains information from over 3,000 volunteer drivers, females and males, with an age range of 16-90+, during a three year data collection period (most drivers participated 1 to 2 years) amounting to nearly 50 million vehicle miles, 5+ million trip files, over 3,900 vehicle years, and more than 1 million hours of video. In addition to video, other sensor data (radar, GPS, vehicle network, etc) were collected continuously over the entire trip. Those 5+ million trips composed approximately 2 petabytes of data containing information about the driver and the vehicle; trips involving crash-free driving plus those with crash, pre-crash and near-crash events; in addition to information on exposure, traffic, weather and the roadway environment.  Data were collected across six study sites: Florida, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

Link to SHRP 2 NDS data website: SHRP2 NDS Data Access

The RID consists of two general types of data – 1) new roadway data that were collected consistently across the six study sites by mobile data collection vehicles and quality assured to meet project specifications, and 2) existing data acquired from state DOTs and other public sources (e.g., FHWA, NOAA). The coverage of the new data is approximately 12,500 centerline miles across the study sites, and in addition to the roadway characteristics and features collected, includes a high definition (HD) video-log. The coverage of the acquired-existing data is approximately 200,000 centerline miles. In addition to the state roadway inventory files, it includes supplemental data on traffic volumes, weather, work zones, crash histories, and safety laws. The RID includes over 800 gigabytes of spatial and acquired aerial imagery data, plus an 8 terabyte HD video log. Link to SHRP 2 RID data website: SHRP 2 – Roadway Information Database | Center for Transportation Research and Education (iastate.edu)

The objectives of this pooled fund are:

To conduct research using data from SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS), including the Roadway Information Database (RID) that will support a more efficient, reliable, and safer experience for road users.

To advance development of implementable solutions that address issues of high priority to State and Local transportation agencies with an emphasis on the broad areas of Highway Safety and Traffic Management and Operations.

To create a venue for highway practitioners to share information and collaborate on research that advances their goals and objectives. 

This pooled fund study will support research using data from the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS). Projects in the areas of Highway Safety and Traffic Management and Operations will focus on advancing implementable solutions for State and Local transportation agencies. This could include development, improvement, and/ or verification of countermeasures, predictive models, design guides, policy recommendations, etc. See Comment Section for list of current projects being conducted under TPF 5(361) as examples. These represent a small sample of how these data can be of value. See FAQ section under Background tab on SHRP 2 NDS InSight website for list of topics previously researched using SHRP 2 NDS data SHRP2 NDS Data Access.

This will be a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) led pooled fund with very active participation from member State and Local agencies to determine the research that is undertaken.

A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will be appointed to direct the pooled fund activities. Projects with an emphasis in two broad areas—Highway Safety and Traffic Management Operations—will be pursued.

Two separate research tracks will be developed. A Safety-Track and a Traffic Management and Operations-Track. TAC members can notify the FHWA Lead, Charles Fay, how their respective organization would like funds allocated to each track. Example: 75 % Safety, 25 % Operations; 50% Safety, 50% Operations; 100% Safety, 0% Operations; 0% Safety, 100% Operations; 20% Safety, 80% Operations.  There is no template, it is the Partner’s choice.  If a Partner prefers to defer to the TAC-majority how best to allocate funds across these tracks-notify Charles Fay.

The TAC will define the research needs for the pooled fund, select the projects to be conducted, approve research teams, and oversee the work to ensure the objectives are met.

FHWA will manage the pooled fund, and with oversight and approval of the TAC, develop plans to address the TAC’s research needs, manage research contracting, and each individual project. 

The TAC will identify appropriate mechanisms for the deployment and implementation of pooled fund results.

A goal is to utilize SHRP 2 data in some aspect of the research to meet the TAC priorities. When appropriate, other datasets that could supplement SHRP 2 data will be used to meet project objectives. How to effectively use SHRP 2 data depends on the research. SHRP 2 data can support some research objectives without any other data (ex. first five projects listed in Comments). Other paths include a combination of SHRP 2 data plus additional existing data(ex. last project listed in Comments); or the SHRP 2 data are used for part of the analysis as well as to guide the design of site-specific data collection to meet the research objective (ex. some of the SHRP 2 Implementation Assistance Program (IAP) projects  AASHTO - Strategic Highway Research Program 2 - Safety (transportation.org). 

Contact Charles Fay at charles.fay@dot.gov or 202-493-3336.

There is no suggested minimum yearly commitment.   

Projects currently being conducted under TPF 5(361): Please contact Charles Fay for draft final reports. 

Investigating How Multimodal Environments Affect Multitasking Driving Behaviors

This study will examine multi-tasking behaviors when drivers are in environments that include large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists. Multi-tasking behavior refers to any secondary activity (e.g., cell phone) not related to the primary driving task. More specifically, this study will focus and provide guidance on the likelihood of drivers engaging in (or disengaging from) secondary task activities given the presence of pedestrians and cyclists; and the effect of different types of crosswalks and bike lanes (including pavement markings and signage) on secondary task activities.

Verification and Calibration of Microscopic Traffic Simulation Using Driver Behavior and Car-Following Metrics for Freeway Segments

The objective is to leverage microscopic driving behavior and car-following metrics to develop guidelines that will assist and enhance calibration and verification of microscopic traffic simulation. This project is intended to provide practitioners and researchers with new criteria to evaluate simulation from a microscopic point of view, complementing typical calibration efforts for macroscopic performance measures. Deliverables include a user-ready and model-independent guideline for calibration and verification of microscopic simulation.

Incorporating the Impacts of Driver Distraction into Highway Design and Traffic Engineering

The objective is to quantify the impacts of driver distraction on perception-reaction time and deceleration rate. The study will examine perception-reaction time and deceleration rate under several contexts, such as freeways, two-lane highways, and signalized intersections. Parameters of interest include stopping sight distance, yellow and all-red clearance intervals, and start-up lost time. The results of these evaluations will serve as the basis for recommendations as to how several design parameters that are influenced by these driver performance measures can be calibrated for application across a range of settings.

Freeway Guide Sign Performance at Complex Interchanges: Reducing Information Overload

This study seeks to identify performance-based recommendations for guide-sign design at complex freeway interchanges. The study will examine freeway interchange guide-sign information overload thresholds by roadway, traffic, background, and visibility conditions, and the impacts of sign information complexity levels on driver behavior relevant to safety. Deliverables include recommendations for guide-sign/roadway design/traffic control guidelines.

Validation of Performance-Based Design

Validation of Performance-Based Design (PBD) has mainly focused on crash data, expected crashes, or microsimulation. SHRP 2 NDS data provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity to broaden the validation of PBD. The objective is to use safety surrogates to validate performance-based design practices for curves on rural two-lane roadway. Deliverables include a spreadsheet tool for safety and economic assessment.

Developing Speed Crash Modification Factors (CMF) Using SHRP 2 RID Data

The objective of this project is the development of speed-related CMFs for the Highway Safety Manual Part C crash prediction models. This will be accomplished by linking and analyzing three databases: SHRP 2 Roadway Information Database (RID), National Performance Management Research Dataset (NPMRDS) database Version 2, and the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) crash data. Linking these databases will enable research on the effect of operating speed and/or operating and posted speed differentials on crash frequency and/or crash severity. Deliverables include speed related CMFs for different facilities.