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Motor Carrier Research at TRB

mode_motor_iconThe mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. This page highlights recently released TRB reports, meeting announcements, requests for proposals, and other announcements related to motor carriers. In addition, it includes links to selected motor carrier research-related activities taking place at the federal and state levels, and within the academic and international transportation communities. Finally, this page also highlights and provides links to TRB motor carrier-related programs and activities, which are the source of most of TRB’s marine transportation-related research products.

What's New

TRB Highway-Related Programs and Activities

Position Available: Deputy Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
February 8, 2012
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is seeking candidates for the position of Deputy Director to manage and direct the operations of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The Deputy Director is responsible for helping guide the Bureau’s programs under the direction of the Secretary of the Department, the RITA Admi...
Operator Drug- and Alcohol-Testing Across ModesOperator Drug- and Alcohol-Testing Across Modes
February 8, 2012
TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 23: Operator Drug- and Alcohol-Testing Across Modes explores practices used to deter drug and alcohol use among operators within the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) regulated community. The report includes a brief history of the transportation workplace drug- and alcohol-testing program, the general approach,...
Tracking Costs of Alternatively Fueled Buses in Florida
February 8, 2012
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that establishes a recording and reporting mechanism for collecting field data on the performance and costs of alternatively fueled public transit vehicles operating in Florida.
Driver Selection Tests and MeasurementDriver Selection Tests and Measurement
February 5, 2012
TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 21: Driver Selection Tests and Measurement synthesizes information on the use of tests, measurements, and other assessment methods used by commercial truck and bus companies in the driver selection process. The report also identifies and describes driver selection methods and instruments and their potential usefulness in...
Understanding Transit Ridership Demand for a Multi-Destination, Multimodal Transit Network in an American Metropolitan Area: Lessons for Increasing Choice Ridership While Maintaining Transit Dependent Ridership
February 3, 2012
The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a report that examines the factors underlying transit demand in the multi-destination, integrated bus and rail transit network for Atlanta, Georgia.
Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program: A Status Report 2012Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program: A Status Report 2012
February 2, 2012
TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Research Results Digest 9: A Status Report describes the progress and status of the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP). CTBSSP is a cooperative research program sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and administered by the Transportation Research Board. The program was author...
National Cooperative Freight Research Program: A Status Report 2011National Cooperative Freight Research Program: A Status Report 2011
January 29, 2012
TRB’s National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Research Results Digest 3, NCFRP: A Status Report is a staff digest of the progress and status of the program. The NCFRP is a cooperative research program sponsored by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) and administered by the Transportation Research Board. The program was authorized in 2005 with the passage o...
Montana Intercity Bus Service Study
January 11, 2012
The Montana Department of Transportation has released a report that assesses intercity bus services within the state of Montana, and provides a methodology to help the Montana Department of Transportation determine if needs are being met and, if not, a process to identify potential new routes and how to allocate funding for these services.
Driving for Work: Managing Speed
January 4, 2012
The European Transport Safety Council has released a report that provides insight into tackling speeding among employees driving for work.
Potential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational EfficienciesPotential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational Efficiencies
December 24, 2011
TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 20: Potential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational Efficiencies addresses risk avoidance strategies and highlights their use and perceived safety effects. The report is designed to assist motor carriers in deploying their vehicles in ways that may minimize crash risk.

National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP)
NCFRP conducts research and disseminates timely findings that will inform investment and operations decisions affecting the performance of the freight transportation system.
Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program
TRB's Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) report series, Synthesis of Commerical Truck and Bus Safety Practice.
Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP)
HMCRP conducts research intended to advance current knowledge and practice relating to hazardous materials transportation.
Cooperative Research Programs
TRB's Cooperative Research Programs Division manages several cooperative research programs that frequently produces reports that have relevence to issues outside of the program's core focus areas.
Technical Activities Standing Committees
TRB's Technical Activities Division provides a forum for transportation professionals in all modes and functions to identify research needs and to share information on research and issues of interest. The Division's staff of specialists in each mode and discipline work with a network of volunteers to carry out activities on behalf of TRB sponsors and the transportation community, including the TRB Annual Meeting, conferences and workshops, publications, visits to each state, and responses to inquiries. This network includes members and friends of over 200 standing committees, supplemented by designated TRB representatives in each state, over 150 universities, and 35 transit agencies.
Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program
TRB's Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate new and unproven concepts or to evaluate novel applications of technologies that have been tried, tested or used for safety systems practice.
Research in Progress in this Subject Area
TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database now contains more than 11,900 current or recently completed transportation research projects. Most of the RiP records are projects funded by federal and state departments of transportation. University transportation research is also included. The RiP Database also serves as a clearinghouse of University Transportation Centers ongoing research.
Research Needs in this Subject Area
An important function of TRB is to stimulate research that addresses concerns, issues, or problems facing the transportation community. In support of this function, TRB Technical Activities standing committees identify, develop, and disseminate research need statements (RNS) for use by practitioners, researchers, and others.
Research Completed in this Subject Area
TRB's TRID is integrated database that combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide.

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