Federal Research Projects

January 1, 2024

Formative Research and Resources to Prevent Cannabis Impaired Driving Among Teens and Young Adults (BTS-32)

Project Underway: The project will develop educational resources to support parents and caregivers in talking with teens about cannabis impaired driving and impaired driving laws.

January 1, 2024

Quantifying the Safety Impacts of Reduced Traffic Enforcement (BTS-31)

Project Underway: The objective of the research is to identify how enforcement activity has changed in recent years, and associate those changes with corresponding changes in crashes, injuries, and/or fatalities. Statistical comparisons can describe those factors that may be significant and guide future investments in enforcement and prioritization among policing agencies.

January 1, 2023

Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors (BTS-28)

Project Underway: This research will examine, among other things, the association between confirmed incidences of distracting behaviors and inattention to the driving task by teen drivers with crash and near-crash involvement, in relation to their incidence during baseline events.

January 1, 2023

Motorcycle Licensing: Evaluation of Current Practices and Recommendations for Improvement (BTS-27)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to evaluate the current state of practice for motorcycle licensing in the U.S. and develop recommendations for improvement based on the latest empirical data.

January 1, 2023

Determining the State of Knowledge, Opportunities for Outreach, and Data-driven Tools for Consumer Education of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) (BTS-26)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to characterize the current state of knowledge related to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), identify populations in need of education on the matter, and recommend methods of delivery for that education.

January 1, 2023

Multi-Solving Safety Approach - Stepping Away from Silos to Achieve a Safer System (BTS-24)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to re-define stakeholder engagement during the development of safety plans, interventions, programs, projects, and policies so outcomes focus on multi-solving decision-making and implementation.

January 1, 2022

Guidelines for Selecting Communication Channels to Deliver Traffic Safety Messaging (BTS-22)

Project Underway: The research will evaluate a variety of traditional and innovative behavioral traffic safety campaigns to identify noteworthy practices and cost-effective approaches.

January 1, 2022

Strategies to Address Misreporting of Impaired and Distracted Driving in Motor Vehicle Crashes (BTS-20)

Project Underway: This project will develop procedures to assess the existence and extent of under/over-reporting of impaired and distracted driving in crash data and to propose a methodology to improve the reporting of impaired and distracted driving in motor vehicle crashes.

January 1, 2021

Determining the Effectiveness of Combined High Visibility Enforcement (BTS-17)

This project provides a scalable evaluation framework and methodologies to determine the effectiveness of combined law enforcement/engagement for reducing crashes and their severity involving road user behaviors.

January 1, 2021

Improving Moped and Seated Motor Scooter (50 cc or less) Rider Safety (BTS-19)

This study investigated safety issues unique to moped and motor scooter riding and provided practical policy recommendations.

January 1, 2021

Objectives, Components, and Measures of Effective Traffic Safety Public Awareness and Education Efforts (BTS-18)

Project Underway: A better understanding of how to engage road users effectively in such campaigns and ways to measure effectiveness would help create successful and sustainable initiatives.

January 1, 2021

Developing Driver Skills Examination and Scoring Guidance for Evaluating and Predicting High Safety Risk Drivers (BTS-16)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of the current on-road driver skills tests and test scoring methods and develop guidance that include methods for on-road driver skills test administration and scoring that predicts high safety risk.