Two Webinars and a Workshop Scheduled on New SHPR2 Safety Product

AASHTO Journal, 25 April 2014

Two webinars and a workshop will be offered in the coming weeks to provide more detailed information on the upcoming safety-related product being offered in Round 4 of the FHWA/AASHTO SHRP2 Implementation Assistance Program. Due to the complexity of both the available data and the process needed to develop a strong application, the AASHTO Safety Task Force determined that more in-depth presentations would be helpful to state departments of transportation interested in “Concept to Countermeasure – Research to Deployment Using the SHRP2 Safety Databases.” Applications for Round 4 implementation assistance will be accepted May 30–June 27, 2014 with selections announced in late summer 2014.

Schedule of webinars:

  • April 30, 2014, 2-3:30 pm (EST) Concept to Countermeasure: Research to Deployment Using the SHRP2 Safety Databases (Part 1) Webinar—Gain a new appreciation for the rich data sets developed from the Naturalistic Driving Study and the Roadway Information Database and how they can inform your advanced safety research. This webinar will introduce you to the NDS data housed at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and the potential research questions already investigated by SHRP2. It will clarify differences between the two databases and discuss linkages. To register, please click on the link above.
  • May 8, 2014, 11-12:30 pm (EST) Concept to Countermeasure: Research to Deployment Using the SHRP2 Safety Databases (Part 2) Webinar—Ask questions and delve further into the details and specifics about the financial and technical assistance being made available for accessing the NDS and RID databases. Learn more about the partnerships states can build to address timely safety research questions. This webinar will clarify what DOTs and their research partners need to know to respond to the solicitation, will provide additional details about the solicitation, and offer opportunities to ask questions. To register, please click on the link above.

Special workshop on the Safety product available in Round 4:

For Round 4, FHWA and AASHTO are soliciting state DOTs and their partner research agencies who can use the SHRP2 Safety databases to advance promising research proposals likely to lead to practical measures that will reduce highway crashes and achieve highway safety targets.

The webinars and workshop have been set up to clarify for states and researchers the type of data being made available, the possible research topics of interest already identified, and the parameters involved in acquiring and using this large body of data.

“The captured data is vast and complex,” said Rudy Malfabon, director of the Nevada Department of Transportation and chair of AASHTO Safety Task Force. “We want to give state DOTs and their research partners every opportunity to clearly understand how best to access what they need, how to pose data-appropriate research questions, and how to accurately assess their findings. These three sessions will go a long way in clarifying exactly what will be involved in this implementation opportunity.”

Other ways to prepare for the upcoming solicitation:

Five identified research topics might be of interest to state DOTs and their researchers. The webinars and workshop might suggest other options for consideration as well.

  • What driver speed reactions, considerations, or adjustments occur under various roadway and/or environmental changes or in response to traffic control devices, work zones, school zones, transitional speed zones, weather elements, adjacent vegetation, or other factors?
  • What and how do roadway features, e.g., lighting, signage, pavement markings, rumble strips, stop bars, superelevation or clear zones, or other features influence driver performance and behavior?
  • What and how do driver characteristics, behavior, performance or roadway elements tend to precede crashes and near-crash events and what commensurate actions tend to prevent crashes?
  • How do drivers interact with vulnerable road users, e.g., pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists?
  • How is negotiation performance at either rural or urban intersections influenced by roadway elements or driver characteristics and behaviors such as at-grade intersections on rural expressways, by lighting conditions, turn lanes, medians, signs or pavement markings, signalized versus un-signalized intersections, by the presence of pedestrians, by driver age, or other driver characteristics?

For more information on these webinars or any other aspect of the SHRP2 program, contact Pam Hutton at phutton AT aashto.org or 303-263-1212. Those interested may find more information at SHRP2.transportation.org.

This entry was posted in Bridge Design/Const., Bridge Pres. Apps., New Technology, News, Pavement Design/Const., Pavement Pres. Apps., Treatments. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.