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Volpe Center Highlights - April 1999

Focus

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security | Published and Presented

Volpe Shines at ITS '99 Conference

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) apply advances in information processing, communications, and system control technologies to make our existing transportation system safer and more efficient. As a center of ITS expertise, the Volpe Center has been supporting a number of U.S. DOT efforts. This research was recently highlighted at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America's (ITS America) ninth annual meeting and exposition, ITS '99, held in Washington, DC. Volpe staff from a several Divisions presented papers, moderated panels, participated in committee meetings, and gathered stakeholder input in support of their work. These projects are sponsored by the DOT ITS Joint Program Office, in conjunction with such other DOT agencies as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Ms. Anya Carroll, of the Accident Prevention Division, gave an oral presentation entitled, "Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Applications of ITS," at the Rail Applications of ITS: Evaluation and Activities session. Ms. Carroll's talk presented a five-year historical perspective of research towards improving safety at rail-highway grade crossings. Several ongoing initiatives were also discussed including tests of off-track train and highway vehicle detection system technologies scheduled for this summer at the Transportation Technology Center Inc., in Pueblo, CO, and a cross-cutting study of seven ITS highway-rail grade crossing high priority demonstration projects scheduled to be finalized in December 1999.

Dr. Wassim Najm, also of the Accident Prevention Division, gave an oral presentation entitled, "Safety Benefits Assessment of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems," at the Emerging Analyses and Evaluations for Automatic Vehicle Control System session. His talk described the data used to estimate reductions in the number of collisions and crash-related injuries caused by the widespread use of intelligent vehicle safety systems. This novel methodology takes into account non-crash data gathered from field operational tests, during which subjects drive the test vehicles with, and then without, the assistance of these systems.

Mr. David Jackson, of the Economic Analysis Division, served as a panelist for the session, Transportation Planning Using ITS. The panel focused on integrating ITS into the metropolitan planning process. It described some of the efforts to date to ensure ITS integration, as well as identifying best practices that should be duplicated by agencies in other metropolitan areas. Mr. Jackson also presented a paper entitled, "Merging ITS with Transportation Planning."

Mr. Alan DeBlasio, also of the Economic Analysis Division, and Dr. Douglas Lee, of the Service Assessment Division, were panelists on the Metropolitan Model Deployment Initiatives Evaluation session. The session panel presented the latest evaluation results from the Metropolitan Model Deployment Initiative (MMDI) including the methodology and results for measuring customer satisfaction, long term and short-term costs, as well as the impact of institutional issues on MMDI deployment. Mr. DeBlasio presented, "The Metropolitan Model Deployment Initiative: Evaluating the Institutional Impacts", and Dr. Lee gave a presentation on the cost and benefits of MMDI. Mr. DeBlasio also served as the moderator for the session, Lessons Learned from Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) Procurement and Deployments, which featured partners from deployed ATIS projects who discussed lessons learned regarding procurement, institutional/political issues, and the various constraints and opportunities that commonly punctuate such projects.

Ms. Sari Radin, of the Economic Analysis Division, served as a panelist on the ITS Deployment Tracking session. The purpose of the session was to present the effort currently underway to measure the level of ITS deployment in the U.S. The metropolitan effort measures the level of deployment of nine core metropolitan ITS infrastructure components in 78 of the nations largest metropolitan areas. The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems Network (CVISN), a related effort, measures ITS/Commercial Vehicle Operations deployment in all 50 states. The session also featured a case study of how one metropolitan area has used the ITS Deployment Tracking process as an aid in planning future ITS deployment in their region. Ms. Radin's presentation focused on CVISN deployment.

Mr. Michael Dinning, Chief of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division, was a panelist at a session titled, ITS Electronic Payment Systems: Deployment Challenges, where the panelists presented results from a February meeting between representatives from transportation applications (transit, toll, parking and commercial vehicles), financial institutions, and card providers. Besides discussing the results of the meeting and recommendations for addressing the identified challenges, the panel also described regional electronic payment system programs underway in many parts of the country. They concluded that the transportation industry is dominating regional electronic payment initiatives and has an opportunity to influence future partnerships with financial institutions, government agencies, universities, and other organizations.

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