Transportation Research Board Support for Motor Carrier Safety Research and Technology Program

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA's) mission is to reduce commercial vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. FMCSA's Research and Technology (R&T) program is key to reaching the Agency's goal of reducing large-truck-related fatalities. Recognizing that highway crashes often stem from a number of interrelated factors and not just a single cause, FMCSA has created a comprehensive motor carrier R&T program to support its safety goal. The developed R&T program is based on the following strategic objectives: Produce Safer Drivers: Ensure that commercial drivers are physically qualified, trained to perform safely, and mentally alert; Improve Safety of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Improve truck and motorcoach performance through vehicle based safety technologies and infrastructure; Produce Safer Carriers: Support efforts to improve carrier safety by applying safety management principles, compiling best management practices, communicating best practices, and supporting the Agency's enforcement of carrier-related regulations; Advance Safety Through Information-Based Initiatives: Improve the safety and productivity of commercial motor vehicle operations through the application of information systems and technologies; Improve Security through Safety Initiatives: Develop and implement in conjunction with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and others safety initiatives that also have security benefits for truck and motorcoach operations; Enable and Motivate Internal Excellence: Improve performance to serve the customers of the Office of Research and Technology more effectively and economically. In addition to supporting FMCSA's diverse operational safety initiatives, this program has a major thrust to deliver safety in new ways, including the development, evaluation, and deployment of advanced safety technologies. It also supports transportation security. R&T conducts a wide range of research involving a variety of driver, vehicle, roadway, and environmental issues, including those associated with conventional and advanced in-vehicle technologies designed to assist drivers and influence their ability to avoid crashes. Research develops knowledge about how driver characteristics and capabilities interact with vehicle systems, the roadway (e.g., road type and other vehicles) and the environment (e.g., weather, daytime/nighttime) to influence the safety, effectiveness, and ease of use of these systems. Such research has a broad focus, including experimental studies of driver performance, measurement of on-road driver behavior and performance, driver outreach (education and training), evaluating driver behavior and performance in crash-likely situations in simulators, evaluations of the safety benefits and disbenefits of system designs in real-world use, and the application of cutting edge technology to address a wide range of traffic safety and related issues. Specific examples of past and ongoing research include: Advanced Fatigue Modeling for Individual Differences Assessment of CDL Holders' Traffic Violations, Convictions, and Suspensions Case Study of Mexico's Third-Party Entry-Level CDL Driver Training Commercial Driver Individual Differences Study Commercial Driver Training Survey Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Restart Study Commercial Motor Vehicle Roadside Technology Consortium Crash Reporting Research Crash Risks by Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Schedules Driver Distraction: Eye Glance Analysis and Cognitive Distraction Effectiveness of Fostering Safety Culture in Motor Carriers Effects of Detention Times on Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue Electronic Logging Device Compliance Test Procedure Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminisration's Advanced System Testing Utilizing a Data Acquisition System on Highways (FAST-DASH) Program Future research will likely extend ongoing work dealing with conventional commercial vehicle issues as well as focus on the integration and development of advanced technologies that can assist drivers in detecting and responding to potential crash situations as well as systems that can be used to deter unsafe driving behaviors. Finally, the availability of new, robust data collection and analysis tools provides a unique opportunity to address traffic safety issues that could not adequately be addressed in the past. These include: the availability of hardware and software to construct sophisticated, in-vehicle data collection systems that allow for unobtrusive naturalistic studies; the availability of the simulators which permits a wide range of studies that cannot be safely carried out on the open road; and the availability of eye movement and glance analysis techniques that permit the assessment of driver attention on a moment to moment basis. PURPOSE The purpose of this statement of work is to provide FMCSA with a contract vehicle (i.e., an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity [IDIQ] contract) that will provide personnel, facilities, services and materials as may be required to assist FMCSA in carrying out and fulfilling its various missions and obligations mandated by legislation and regulations. The efforts of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) to stimulate transportation research, to correlate such research, and to disseminate its results have been developed and refined over many years and are continuous in nature. Its specific activities'such as the organization and conduct of the Annual Meeting, committee activities, dissemination of research, and other services'have served to support many modes within the Department of Transportation. The goal and objective of these activities are to continue to provide the services of the NAS and TRB to assist FMCSA in the establishment of an orderly connection among the various highway R&T programs and to accomplish the following: a. Support a national and international motor carrier safety R&T program. b. Encourage and promote the establishment of research activities within all highway agencies. c. Operate and maintain the Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS). d. Disseminate transportation research results to promote implementation and technology transfer. e. Convene a research analysis committee, conduct special studies, program reviews, conferences, and workshops when requested by FMCSA. f. Conduct special studies, workshops, and conferences in response to demands of the international, national, regional and local transportation communities to address issues of significant priority and immediate need.