The deployments of automated vehicles, shared mobility services, and other transformational transportation technologies have the potential to dramatically increase safety, reduce congestion, improve access, enhance sustainability, and spur economic development. However, success in meeting these goals is not assured, and there are significant risks that these deployments could cause unintended c...

Travel time reliability is frequently cited as an important metric for the trucking community and users of truck freight services. While the travel time reliability for trucking is commonly measured, truck reliability is seldom considered in the benefit–cost evaluation of mobility projects, which underrepresents the benefits accrued to freight users of the roadway system. The TRB National Coope...

Medium and heavy duty vehicles (MHDVs) are a significant contributor to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., accounting for approximately 22 percent of U.S. transportation energy consumption. The fuel consumption of MHDVs has only recently begun to be regulated at the federal level. To provide scientific and technical advice on MHDV efficiency, the Energy Independence an...

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on poli...

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) ship stability regulations governing the  ability of a vessel to return to an upright position after being disturbed is the focus of a  new TRB publication,  Review and Update of U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Stability Regulations and Guidance.  The authors advise the  USCG  on how it can make its stability regulations more usable and complete in ...

State transportation agencies will always fulfill a role in the emergency-management effort - for all incidents, from the routine traffic incident through major emergencies to catastrophic events. State agency plans and procedures are expected (indeed required if the agency seeks federal compensation) to be related to state and regional emergency structures and plans. This involves multi-agency...

Since 2009, when NCHRP's last Security 101 report was released, there have been significant advances in transportation security approaches, including new strategies, programs, and ways of doing business that have increased the security of transportation systems as well as ensured their resiliency. Hazards and threats to the system have also continued to evolve since 2009. While the inciden...

TRB’s Forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility has released Transportation Research Circular E-C247: TRB Forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility.  The circular provides a summary of a February 2019 mini-workshop on the importance and role of connectivity within the automated vehicles and shared mobility environment. Key takeaways from the workshop...

The full edition of the November-December 2018 edition of the TR News is now available. This edition explores a study conducted by NASEM about alcohol-impaired driving. This edition also features articles about the U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, TRB's Inclusion and Diversity Initiative, and information about recent TRB reports. The TR News is TRB'...

TRB's Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program Final Report 85: Location Aware Networks Optimizing Use of Transit Systems by Blind Travelers explores the development and testing of the feasibility of LookingBus as a Smart City solution that is designed to improve the accessibility of public transportation for people with disabilities, including people with visual impair...

The full edition of the September-October 2018 TR News is now available. This edition explores the impacts of the 2017 solar eclipse on traffic. Articles also focus on connected and automated vehicles, automated transit applications, and data-driven project selection. The TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in al...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program has released ACRP Research Report 192: Airport Management Guide for Providing Aircraft Fueling Services designed to assist airports that are considering or are currently self-providing fueling services directly to their customers. The management guide includes a methodology to help evaluate whether an airport should or should not provide fuel service, ...

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released Assessing the Risks of Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System. This consensus study examines the various ways that risk can be defined and applied to integrating these Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (F...

TRB's Conference Proceedings 56: Socioeconomic Impacts of Automated and Connected Vehicles summarizes a symposium held in June 26–27, 2018, in Brussels, Belgium. Hosted by the European Commission and TRB, it was the sixth annual symposium sponsored by the European Commission and the United States. The goals of these symposia are to promote common understanding, efficiencies, and trans-Atlantic ...

TRB has released Critical Issues in Transportation 2019 . In this report, which is updated periodically by the TRB Executive Committee, a series of challenging questions are posed to explore issues and opportunities that may arise 10 to 20 years into the future. These questions, 63 in all, have been organized into 12 topic areas and provide a way to frame future areas of research, policy analys...

TRB Special Report 329: Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future explores pending and future federal investment and policy decisions concerning the federal Interstate Highway System. Congress asked the committee to make recommendations on the “features, standards, capacity needs, application of technologies, and intergovernmental roles to up...

A featured article in the November-December 2018 issue of the TR News examines the implementation and results of various designated driving programs to deter alcohol-impaired driving. The TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in all modes of transportation. It also includes brief news items of interest to the trans...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 896: Updating Regional Transportation Planning and Modeling Tools to Address Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles, Volume 1: Executive Summary summarizes guidelines to help agencies update their modeling and forecasting tools to address expected impacts of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on transportation...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 896: Updating Regional Transportation Planning and Modeling Tools to Address Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles, Volume 2: Guidance provides detailed information and guidelines for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to help update their modeling and forecas...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) latest Impacts on Practice explores the impact ACRP Synthesis 39 : Airport Wildlife Population Management has had on integrated wildlife management plans at airports. A wildlife biologist at Orlando International Airport utilized this report to develop a holistic approach to mitigating bird strikes with a specific species of heron that thrives i...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 4: Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan (AVAP) develops awareness of the legislative landscape and the foundational laws and regulations that may need to be prioritized for modification for Connected and Automated Driving Systems (C/ADSs) technologies. The A...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 2: State Legal and Regulatory Audit assists state agencies as they work to adapt their legal programs to reflect the realities of Connected and Automated Driving Systems (C/ADSs)—a term that in this report encompasses both vehicle connectivity and an A...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 3: Legal Modification Prioritization and Harmonization Analysis identifies how and when regulations and laws will need to be modified to facilitate the implementation of Connected and Automated Driving Systems (C/ADSs)-equipped vehicles. The report als...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 5: Developing the Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan provides technical background on developing Volumes 1 through 4 of NCHRP Web-Only Document 253. It includes further background on terminology and definitions used in the suite of reports; legal and regul...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 6: Implementation Plan provides a technical memorandum on how to put the research findings and products into practice; identifies possible institutions that might take leadership in applying the research findings/products; and identifies issues affecti...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 253: Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 1: Legal Landscape explores federal, state, and international legal activities and practices regarding Connected and Automated Vehicles and Highly Automated Vehicles (C/AV/HAVs): Section 1 reviews United States federal activities within the sphere of r...

TRB E-Circular 236: National Academies–TRB Forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility summarizes the deliberations of a TRB forum launched in early 2018 to facilitate evidence-based research needed to deploy automated vehicle technologies in a manner and timeframe that informs policy to meet long-term goals. The deployments of automated vehicles, shared mobility services, and...

TRB's Rail Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program has released its final report for Project 31: Modeling and Validation of Standards for a Sleeping Compartment on Accessible Passenger Rail Vehicles. This report explored designs for accessible sleeping compartments on single level and bi-level intercity trains that accommodate up to four passengers traveling together in...

TRB's Rail Safety Innovations Deserving Exporatory Analysis (IDEA) program has released Safety Report 32: Railroad Bridge Inspections for Maintenance and Replacement Prioritization Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with Laser Scanning Capabilities. Measuring bridge movement under trains in the field is difficult and expensive because a fixed reference point is not normally available, thus c...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report 195: Broadening Understanding of the Interplay Among Public Transit, Shared Mobility, and Personal Automobiles explores the effects of app-based transportation network companies on the cities in which they operate, including on public transit ridership, single-occupancy vehicle trips, and traffic congestion. Built upon the findin...