DOT Awards Run-off-the-Road Crash Prevention Project to UMTRI-Visteon-AssistWare Team
IVsource.net
9 November 2001 -- amended 27 Nov 2001

USDOT has partnered with UMTRI, Visteon Corporation, and AssistWare Technologies to go after run-off-road collisions in a $16.3M three-year project.

The US Department of Transportation has announced the start of an intelligent vehicle operational test that will examine a system designed to help drivers avoid run-off-the-road crashes.  The system warns drivers when they are about to drift off the road and hit an obstacle, or are traveling too fast for an upcoming curve.

"Too many lives are lost on our nation's highways, and this initiative is another step toward improving highway safety through the use of new technologies," US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said.  "The Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) system studied in this test is intended to help save lives and reduce injuries by preventing crashes before they occur."

Ten Million from USDOT

Partners in the project are the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) -- lead, Visteon Corporation in Dearborn, MI, and AssistWare Technology, Inc. in Wexford, PA.  Chicago-based Navigation Technologies will supply the map database, a critical component of the system.  The $16.3 million cost of the test is split between public and private sector partners: DOT's contribution of $10.5 million is about 60 percent of the project's allocated funding.

As a leading systems integrator, Visteon will bring to the partnership overall system engineering, design, and implementation of the road departure crash warning system itself.  "In collaboration with UMTRI and AssistWare, Visteon is pleased to be working with the USDOT on this initiative,'' said Tim Tiernan, Manager of Visteon's Collision Avoidance Technology Department.  "Visteon is committed to supporting its customers, and that customer support goes beyond the automakers.  We are working to help the USDOT prove-out collision avoidance technologies.''

UMTRI, a leader in designing and conducting field operational tests of driver assistance systems, will serve as the partnership lead, coordinating and conducting the system testing.  "Our extensive testing of this system will support a scientific evaluation of its performance and benefits,'' said Robert Ervin, Head of UMTRI's Engineering Research Division and project director.  "Being able to warn the driver of road drift-off and curve over-speed hazards is [likely] to play a key part in reducing the disproportionate toll of injuries and deaths claimed each year through road- departure crashes.''

AssistWare Technology, a leader in the development of advanced vehicle safety components, will provide the core lane-tracking and crash-warning algorithms for the field test. AssistWare commercialized the SafeTRAC Lane Departure Warning System for the heavy truck market in 1999, which is now available as a retrofit or as an option from several truck manufacturers.

On-Road Testing Starts in ‘03

The test will involve about 120 drivers, ranging in age from 18 to 70, who will use 10 equipped cars for several weeks each in the Detroit region of southeast Michigan.  The test will last three years, with on-road testing starting in 2003.  The test will assess the maturity of the system technology to support its commercial deployment, predict driver acceptance, and evaluate its safety implications.

Although the technology warns of an imminent collision, the driver will retain control of the vehicle at all times.  The system operates on straight and curved paved roads and during day or night, as well as in light rain.

Run-off-the-road crashes account for more than 20 percent of all police-reported crashes in the US (1.2 million a year) but result in more than double that amount -- 41 percent -- of all in-vehicle fatalities (15,000 a year).  This test system has the potential to prevent run-off-the-road crashes caused by driver inattention, distraction, drowsiness, and excessive speed.

Congressional Prodding Played a Role

USDOT’s IVI program is a key component of their broader Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program.  After achieving success in initiating several heavy-truck based field tests, the government’s action to initiate this field test was motivated in large part by Congress.  The House-Senate conference report of the fiscal year 2001 Transportation Appropriations Act designated specific IVI funding for "an operational test to advance collision avoidance technologies in the light vehicle platform."

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For More Information ...

... contact Lloyd Emery of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who is managing the project for the government: lloyd.emery@nhtsa.dot.gov.  Or, visit USDOT's ITS website at www.its.dot.gov.

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