Center for Advancing Transportation Leadership and Safety · 2015. 11. 4. · encompasses analysis...
Transcript of Center for Advancing Transportation Leadership and Safety · 2015. 11. 4. · encompasses analysis...
Center for Advancing Transportation Leadership and Safety
Volume 2, Issue 3 October, 2015
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3
FROM THE DIRECTOR
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Fall has arrived, classes are in full swing, and many of us are looking forward to the holiday season.
Fall is an exciting season for the ATLAS Center with regard to educating the brightest and best
students. This is the time where we look back over the past year and assess the impact of
educational programs, as well as look ahead to future opportunities. By all accounts, our Summer
Internship Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) continues to be a resounding
success. This summer’s program brought together students from four universities who had the
unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience conducting research with professional researchers
and professors at both TTI and the larger Texas A&M University (TAMU) campus. It is our hope
to continue to grow this program and we encourage any safety-related UTC to consider sending
students next summer. Look in future ATLAS Express newsletters for the announcement.
The ATLAS Center is sponsoring a new set of research projects. Each of these projects will support at least one student,
giving them valuable research experience and access to faculty. Details about these projects can be found in this
newsletter. We are also in the process of selecting our 2016 Student of the Year and look forward to supporting the
winner's travel to the CUTC and TRB meetings in January. You can read about student involvement and other educational
opportunities in this newsletter.
We are very excited to announce that Dr. Carol Flannagan, Interim Director of UMTRI, has agreed to serve on the
ATLAS Center Advisory Board. We look forward to benefiting greatly from her experience and knowledge. We also
welcome Ms. Holly Nielson, UMTRI's Business Administrator, to the ATLAS Center team. You can find out more about
each of these individuals in this newsletter.
To find out more about the ATLAS Center and our many activities, I encourage you to visit our website (www.ATLAS-
Center.org) or “like” our Facebook page. The ATLAS Center will continue to bring together researchers and professionals
to share knowledge, plan future research, and make research outcomes accessible to the public and practitioners. You can
read about these activities in this and future issues of the ATLAS Express. If you have questions or feedback about the
ATLAS Center, or if you wish to contribute financially to our activities, please contact me at: ATLAS-
My Best Regards,
David W. Eby, PhD
Director, ATLAS Center
Center for Advancing Transportation Leadership and Safety
The purpose of the
ATLAS Express is to inform
faculty, students, sponsors,
and other transportation
stakeholders about the ongo-
ing activities of the Center
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Despite stereotypes to the contrary, motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable
groups of road users. In 2013, 4,668 people died in motorcycle crashes in the
United States (US). That year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-
tion reported that motorcyclists were 26 times more likely than passenger car oc-
cupants to die in a crash per vehicle mile traveled, and 5 times more likely to be
injured. The higher likelihood of death and injury indicates that special effort
should be made to find ways to improve the safety of motorcyclists.
Without a doubt, the best way for a rider to avoid death or serious injury from a
crash is by wearing an approved motorcycle helmet. Although studies have shown
that helmets reduce the risk of death by 37 to 42 percent, not all riders choose to
wear one and many riders use helmets that have not been approved by the US
Department of Transportation. For that reason, many states have implemented
motorcycle helmet laws, which are highly effective in increasing helmet use, thereby reducing the severi-
ty of head injuries, the likelihood of death, and the overall costs of medical and health care for motorcy-
clists in a crash. Unfortunately, in Michigan, home to the ATLAS Center’s lead institution UMTRI, the
mandatory helmet law was repealed in 2012. UMTRI Associate Research Scientist Lisa Molnar and Re-
search Scientist Lidia Kostyniuk investigated the safety and economic cost of that repeal using 2009
Michigan motorcycle crash and cost data. These researchers estimated that if Michigan’s helmet law had
been repealed in 2009, helmet use would have dropped from 98% to about 50%, fatalities and serious
injuries would have risen 45%, and the average cost per crash-involved motorcyclist would have
increased 48%. After the repeal, UMTRI Associate Research Scientist and UMTRI Interim Director Car-
ol Flannagan analyzed 2012 Michigan crash data and found helmet use dropped from 98% to 74%. She
also found that if the law had not been repealed, there could possibly have been 26 fewer motorcycle
deaths and 49 fewer injuries that year. Both of these analyses clearly demonstrate that if more riders
chose to wear helmets, more lives would be saved.
If helmets and other safety gear save lives, why doesn’t everyone wear them? Texas, home to the
ATLAS Center partner TTI, has one of the highest motorcycle crash rates in the US, with 467
motorcyclists killed in 2012. Of those killed, 52 percent were not wearing proper protective gear at the
time of the crash. Researchers at TTI wanted to understand the reasons for this, and identify a way to
promote the use of motorcycle safety gear. TTI Senior Research Scientist Michael Manser led a project,
funded by TxDOT, that included a survey of riders age 18 and over to find out why Texans do and do not
wear proper safety gear, and to determine how to use that information to promote safety gear use. The
results showed that riders wanted detailed information about the specific ways that safety gear prevented
or reduced injuries, and that messages from family/friends to wear more protective gear could be
powerful in convincing riders to wear safety gear.
Researchers at the ATLAS Center partner institutions recognize motorcyclists’ vulnerability and will
continue work to increase their safety when sharing the road with other motor vehicles. One clear
message coming out of this research program is that if you are a rider, you should wear a helmet and
other protective gear. If you are a family member or a friend of a rider, you should encourage him/her to
wear the appropriate safety gear. This gear includes: a helmet, padded jacket, eyewear, gloves, padded
riding pants and riding boots.
Feature — Motorcycle Safety
2
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Dr. Carol Flannagan is Interim Director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research
Institute (UMTRI), co-Director of UMTRI’s da-ta center, and an Associate Research Scientist in the Biosciences group. She earned an MA in
Statistics and a PhD in Mathematical Psycholo-gy from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Flannagan’s work in transportation research
encompasses analysis of a wide variety of transportation-related data, including natural-istic driving, field operational test, crash, and
injury outcome data. She has developed innova-tive approaches to data and information integra-
tion, including linking analysis of driving and crash datasets, as well as linking crash and medi-
cal outcome data. In her free time, Carol likes to walk the dog while simultaneously playing Fris-bee and football with her husband and three
mostly-grown children.
Holly Nielsen is the Business Administrator for UMTRI. In this role, Holly is responsible for
developing and administering the financial, busi-ness information, human resource, and facilities functions of UMTRI. Holly earned a BA from
U-M, majoring in Economics and German. Her studies included a semester abroad at the
University of Heidelberg in Germany. She also earned an MBA from the U-M Ross School of
Business. Prior to joining UMTRI, Holly had a variety of
positions at U-M with increasing responsibil-ity. She worked in the Ross School of Business
Administration; Office of the President, Academic Affairs, and Office of Budget and
Planning; University Information Systems; College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; the M-Pathways Project, and Information Technol-
ogy Services. In her free time she likes to exercise, eat good food, and spend time with her
husband and three children.
Meet the ATLAS Center Team
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Identifying the Potential of Improved Heavy Truck Crashworthiness to Reduce Death
and Injury for Truck Drivers, a project by Chiara Silvestri Dobrovolny (TTI), Daniel Blower
(UMTRI), Marco Benedetti (UMTRI) and Nathan D. Schulz (TTI), has been completed. This project examined heavy truck crashes that would still occur if all tractor-semitrailers were
equipped with all available crash-avoidance technologies, and developed a methodology using fi-nite element analysis and simulation to address occupant safety in such crashes. The final report
one-page research brief, and web briefing video can be found on our website at the links below.
Final Report: http://www.atlas-center.org/technology-transfer/reports/ Research Brief: http://www.atlas-center.org/technology-transfer/research-briefs/ Web Briefing Video: http://www.atlas-center.org/technology-transfer/web-briefings/
Eight proposals were received for this year’s Research
Excellence Program. These proposals were carefully
reviewed by invited technical experts, and three projects
were awarded funding. These projects began on September 1st and will continue for 8
months.
R
esea
rch
Ex
cell
ence
Pro
gra
m
Research News
Effects of Clinical Obesity on Seat Belt
Fit
Principal Investigator: Monica
L.H. Jones, PhD,
Assistant Research Scientist, UMTRI
Co-Investigators: K. Han Kim, UMTRI;, Matthew
P. Reed, UMTRI; Oliver A. Varban, U-M Health
System; and Bruce Bradtmiller, Anthrotech
Cooperative Research Program
Circadian Timing, Drowsy Driving, and
Health Risk Behavior in Novice Adolescent
Drivers
Principal Investigator: Daniel Keating,
M.D. Professor of Psychology,
Psychiatry, and Pediatrics; Research Professor, U-M Institute of Social Research (ISR)
Co-Investigators: Todd Arendt, U-M Medical
School; Edward Huntley, U-M ISR; and Bruce
Simons-Morton, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia
Improving the Safety of Older Heavy-Vehicle Drivers: Developing a
Framework for Moving Forward
Principal Investigator: Lisa J.
Molnar, Associate Research Scientist, UMTRI
Co-Investigators: David W. Eby,
UMTRI; Daniel Blower, UMTRI;
Sharon Newnam, Monash University, Australia; and Sjaan
Koppel, Monash University,
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Our six student interns completed their summer internships in Au-gust and presented their research with their TTI mentors at the
TTI Undergraduate Poster Competition. The interns kept busy throughout the summer as they worked on their respective traffic
safety research projects, watching a crash test demonstration at TTI-Riverside, attending TTI brown
bag lunch sessions, and enjoying the entertainment and nightlife in Texas. On August 31, the U-M interns visited
UMTRI to discuss their research and overall experience with ATLAS
Center staff and other transportation researchers. All of the interns remarked that they thoroughly enjoyed their time in Texas this past
summer.
Garrett Ackner: Analysis of Crashes Involving
Emergency Vehicles in Emergency Calls
Lolivone de la Rosa-León: Safety Analysis of a Work
Zone Queue Warning System
Marci Early: Operational Performance at Two-Way
Stop Controlled Intersections
George Gillette: The Effect of Distractions on a
Pedestrian’s Waiting Behavior at Traffic Signals: An Ob-
servational Study
Marielle Saunders: The Perception of Neighborhood
Safety Among Older Adults: Influential Factors
Zach Snyder: Development of a Smartphone
Application to Evaluate Older Driver Fitness
Summer Internship Research
As part of the ATLAS Center Symposium Series, UMTRI hosted Dr. Sue Chrysler, Human Factors Psychologist and Senior Research Scientist from
TTI on September 29th. Dr. Chrysler gave a talk titled, Using Driving Simula-tion vs. Naturalistic Driving Data to Examine Driver Behavior: Can’t We Just Get
Along?, discussing appropriate research platforms for transportation human
factors work. While at UMTRI, Dr. Chrysler met with many researchers, toured the facilities, and was hosted by Dr. Paul Green for a researcher din-
ner at a local Ann Arbor restaurant. Please take a look at our website for the video presentation and her PowerPoint slides at www.atlas-center.org/educationworkforce-development/atlas-symposium-
series-program/sue-chrysler/.
Symposium Program Series
Educational News
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Educational News (cont’d)
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Symposium Program Series (con’t)
The 2015 Transportation Safety Research Symposium sponsored by
UMTRI and the ATLAS Center was held on the campus of the University of Michigan, October 15, 2015. The full-day event featured panels that focused on the impact that UMTRI research has made
in the field of transportation safety. ATLAS Center Director, David W. Eby, presented longitudinal research on aging drivers; Lidia Kostyniuk, ATLAS Center Research Coordinator, presented her
work on driving behaviors in early stage dementia, and Lisa Molnar, ATLAS Center Associate Director, presented work on the implications of automated vehicles for older drivers.
Nearly 40 students entered the poster session, sponsored by ATLAS Center and the Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC). Posters were evaluated by a panel of judges on
quality, presentation and the significant of their work in the field of transportation safety. Tanaz Rahimzadeh, PhD candidate, Mechanical Engineering won first place with her poster, A Safety
Helmet Design Strategy for Optimal Impact Mitigation to Minimize the Risk of
Brain Injuries. Ding Zhao, PhD student, Mechanical Engineering received
second place for his poster, Accelerated Evaluation of Automated Vehicles,
and Steven Vozar, research fellow, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science received third place for his poster, Minimum Effort Avoidance for
Autonomous Vehicle Safety Evaluation.
Event
The
Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) completed the first part of their ATLAS Center
funded research, and gave an overview of their work to Center staff in July. WIN’s staff, including former ATLAS Center summer intern Meg Mulhall,
completed an analysis and profile of the current transportation safety work-force in Michigan. WIN separated occupations into three clusters: engineering & design, operations and planning, and investigated the demand for further
transportation safety workers and those workers’ educational needs.
Our next symposium will be held at TTI. Dr. Robert Hampshire,
Assistant Research Professor at UMTRI, will be visiting both Austin and College Station, Texas from November 18-19, 2015. His
symposium talk will be Is the Curb 80% Full or 20% Empty? Assessing the Impacts of San Francisco’s Parking Pricing Experiment.
Workforce Development
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A biannual report is being produced to highlight Center activities and accomplishments during its first 2 years of operation. The report will be
available in December on our website, with a limited supply of hard copies.
Technology Transfer
Biannual Report
Renée St. Louis served as lead technician for a Child Passenger Safety Certification course in Grand Blanc, Michigan on August
12-15 in which 15 people became newly certified child passenger safety technicians. The four-day course culminated with a child
safety seat check event at the Grand Blanc Township Police Department. Over 20 families were provided with education and
hands-on assistance with the proper use of child restraint systems and seat belts.
Lidia Kostyniuk was invited to
attend the TRB Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and
Transportation Midyear Meeting in Woods Hole, MA on August 23 and 24 to
present, Perceptions of Lowering the BAC Standard
in the US.
Activities
Lisa Molnar served as an invited member on the panel
“Vulnerable Road Users: How Can Automated Vehicle Systems Help Keep Them Safe and Mobile?” as part of the
Automated Vehicles Symposium held in Ypsilanti, Michigan July 20-23. As part of the panel, she gave a presentation on Implications of Automated Vehicles for Older Drivers.
David W. Eby gave an invited presentation at the 7th The Eye, the Brain,
and the Auto World Research Congress on
September 9 titled, An Overview of the
LongROAD Project.
In August, Lisa Molnar and Lidia Kostyniuk attended the Human Computer Interface
International Conference 2015. Lisa served on the program board for the conference and moderated a session entitled “Emerging IT for Older Drivers: Boon or Bane.” She
also presented The Progression Toward Automated Vehicles: Implications for Older Drivers. As
part of the same session, Lidia presented Use of Emerging IT to Advance Understanding of
Older Driver Behavior, work that she had done with coauthors Shan Bao (UMTRI) and
Ruifeng Zheng (visiting scholar at UMTRI from Hunan University in China).
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Advancing Transportation Leadership & Safety
The ATLAS Center is a collaboration between the
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and the
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI)
2901 Baxter Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2150
Phone: (734) 764-6240
Fax: (734) 936-1081
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ATLAS-Center.org
Enjoy the
Fall Season!
David, Lisa, Robert,
Melissa, Lidia,
Renée, Nicole,
Barb, and Beth
Front Cover Photo: U-M Law Quad — Dustin_j_Williams, Law Quad
with Bike, Flickr.com
Inside Photos: Motorcycles —TAMU Media; U-M Researchers & Facul-
ty—U-M Media; Jumping Interns —TAMU Media; Interns at BBQ—
Marci Early; U-M Interns—Nicole Zanier; Sue Chrysler—UMTRI
Marketing; Child Passenger Safety Certification class —Anonymous;
Research Symposium Poster Session winner —U-M Media
Back Cover Photo: TTI Campus—TAMU Media
If you would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter or contact the ATLAS Center, please
email us at [email protected] or call (734) 764-4778.