FEILD OPERATION EXPERIMENT AND DATA ANALYSIS OF DRIVER ADAPTATION TO CRASH WARNING PRODUCTS

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), Research and Innovative Technology Administration, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Cambridge, MA, intends to solicit and award a firm fixed price contract for the field operational experiment and data analysis of driver adaptation to crash warning products (referred to as FOE). The purpose of the FOE is to assess how drivers adapt to crash warning systems based on long-term exposure in a naturalistic driving environment. Data acquisition systems (DAS) will be installed to collect numerical and video data. Some of the vehicle data to be collected includes vehicle acceleration, velocity, yaw rate, turn signal use, brake and throttle application, headway to a lead vehicle, etc. The files downloaded from the real-time cameras will contain views of the driver's face, forward scene of the vehicle, left side, right side, vehicle rear, and over the driver shoulder. The information obtained from the vehicle data channels and video files will allow the U.S. DOT to investigate driver adaptation by examining, in detail, behavioral measures such as travel speed, longitudinal headway, unintended lane excursion, turn signal use during lane change, and distraction rate. Driver exposure rate and response to driving conflicts will also be measured. The results obtained from the experiment will also let the U.S. DOT determine more accurate estimates of the effects of crash warning products on long-term driver behavior that could affect the safety of distracted drivers. Specifically, the results of such an experiment will be used to address the following objectives: - Provide a better prediction of driver risk compensation and other unintended consequences; - Gauge driver acceptance; - Identify factors that could increase safety benefits and minimize possible adverse effects; - Promote the technology to increase deployment, and - Support rulemaking and safety standards by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A complete performance work statement will be set forth in the Request for Proposal (RFP). Issuance will be on or about June 20, 2011. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541720 and the small business size standard is $7.0 million dollars. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. All contractors must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to receive award from a DOT Agency. Contractors may access the site at http://www.ccr.gov to register and/or obtain information about the registration process. Additionally, solicitation Representation and Certifications are no longer provided within the solicitation and must be submitted on-line through On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). ORCA is a web based system that centralizes and standardizes the collection, storage and viewing of the Representations and Certifications required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Potential Offerors are highly encouraged to complete the on-line provisions within the Representations and Certifications at https://orca.bpn.gov. Telephone calls will not be accepted. The following notice is provided for informational purposes for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Short-Term Lending Program (STLP) offers working capital financing in the form of lines of credit to finance accounts receivable for transportation related contracts. Maximum line of credit is $750,000 with interest at the prime rate, as published daily in the Wall Street Journal, plus 1.75 percent. For further information, call DOT Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at (800)532-1169 or visit their website http://osdbuweb.dot.gov.