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Volpe Center Highlights - March 1999

Safety

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

Promote public health and safety by working toward the elimination of transportation-related deaths, injuries, and property damage.

Hazardous Material in Aircraft Cargo Compartments Examined (RSPA)

The Volpe Center's Environmental Engineering Division provides analytical and technical support to RSPA's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety on the safe transport of hazardous materials. The Division has conducted a quantitative analysis to determine the probability that a life-threatening incident would occur as the result of transporting hazardous materials in aircraft cargo compartments. This project was initiated following the tragic May 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592 near Miami, FL, which has been linked to hazardous materials (chemical oxygen generators) shipped in violation of RSPA regulations. Results of the Volpe Center's research will help RSPA in determining the effectiveness of current regulatory activities, targeting specific threats for priority action, and developing effective countermeasures. Towards this end, the Volpe team developed a threat assessment model, using both "fault tree" and "event tree" methodologies, that calculates the probabilities of life-threatening incidents per flight based on the presence of a package containing the selected material, the specific cargo compartment, and a package's state of compliance. A panel of experts suggested countermeasures, experimental tests, and provided input data for the model, helping the team. The results for each scenario provided: a relative ranking of the threat for the selected hazardous materials over all the cargo compartment types; a breakdown of the threat by the specific events (fire, explosion, poisonous material release); and relative ranking of the threat by cargo compartment type.

Center Analyzes Low Speed Derailments (FRA)

The Volpe Center has been providing support to the FRA in evaluating the potential causes of, and corrective actions for, low speed derailments that have been experienced by Commuter Railroads in the New York City Area. In cooperation with the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, the Volpe Center's Structures and Dynamics Division recently conducted two weeks of measurements and tests at an instrumented test site in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal. The primary purpose of the tests was to obtain data to better understand the mechanics of commuter railroad truck designs. Several types of vehicles were tested on a section of sharply curved track, instrumented with strain gauges that measure lateral and vertical wheel loads. The collected data, which will be used to calibrate computer simulation models being developed by the Volpe Center, will assist in the development of safety-related procedures in high curvature track conditions and for track and equipment maintenance in yard and terminal areas. It is anticipated that the results of these studies and tests will be incorporated into the recommendations of the American Public Transit Association's Passenger Rail Equipment Safety Standards Task Force's Working Group on Low-Speed Derailments.

Fatigue Research Exhibited at White House Conference on Transportation Safety (FRA)

Fatigue based vehicle operator error has been identified as the primary factor in millions of transportation crashes and incidents each year. During the White House's National Transportation Safety Conference, the Volpe Center's Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division exhibited and demonstrated several new technologies that can help ensure operator vigilance on duty, such as fitness-for-duty testing and alertness monitoring. Attending the conference were Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, most of the Modal Administrators, a few members of Congress, hundreds of DOT managers, and numerous Congressional and Office of Management and Budget staffers. There were also representatives of most of the transportation trade associations and unions, as well as various safety groups. Volpe's research in this field is sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); however, these technologies are expected to find application in all different transportation modes.

Volpe Staff Presents Safety ITS Crash Avoidance Research at 1999 SAE Exposition (NHTSA)

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), a resource for "technical information and expertise used in designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air or space," recently held the 1999 SAE International Congress and Exposition in Detroit, MI. The Exposition is a significant annual, automotive engineering event that addresses current technical and business disciplines, introduces new products from global suppliers, and disseminates information through 250 information sessions. Mr. Joseph Koziol, Accident Prevention Division, attended the conference and presented his paper (co-authored by Mr. Andrew Lam) entitled "The Application of State Space Boundaries in the Safety Evaluation of Collision Avoidance Systems." The paper describes the development of a new measure for indicating the safety effects of longitudinal collision avoidance systems based on data from a field test of an Intelligent Cruise Control System for automobiles and other light vehicles. The paper will also be published in a special SAE publication titled "Intelligent Transportation Systems."

Volpe Center Effort to Reduce Switching Operations Fatalities (FRA)

The Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) Committee is a collaboration of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), American Association of Railroads (AAR), and railroad industry representatives committed to finding ways to eliminate switching fatalities. During the last Committee meeting in Las Vegas, NV, Mr. David Skinner, of the Volpe Center's Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division, presented data gathered on railroad worker fatalities involved in switching operations from 1992 to 1997. In April, Mr. Skinner will provide additional analyses to the SOFA Committee at their meeting in Dallas, TX. This work is sponsored by the FRA's Office of Research and Development.

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