U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater has announced a multi-million dollar contract for advanced safety research to be performed by a consortium of traffic safety research organizations headed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in Blacksburg, Va.
Funding for the contract is not to exceed $15 million over a three-year period, with an option to continue for an additional two years. Exact amounts will be determined through further negotiations at later dates.
"This project will provide a vehicle for the nation's best researchers to solve some of our most difficult real-world problems using tools that have never been available before including the Smart Road and the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS)," said the director of VTTI, Tom Dingus.
Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the contract will provide support to explore human factors research using data collected on actual roadways, on the Virginia "Smart Road" test facility, and under simulated driving conditions implemented on the NADS.
Areas of research that may be explored by the consortium include: antilock brakes, vehicle lighting, vehicle mirrors, vehicle visibility, vehicle sensors, advanced technologies, suspension, handling, braking, displays/controls, driver response measurement/instrumentation, heavy vehicles, simulator support, technology assessment, device acquisition, consumer acceptance, and rollover.
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NHTSA said Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has put together a team of experts that cut across a broad range of knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the diverse requirements of this contract. These partners include The University of Iowa, Westat, Human Factors North, Carnegie Mellon University, UMTRI, Systems Technology Inc., Veridian, Pennsylvania State University, Battelle, and The Scientex Corporation