ATRI Board Approves 2019 Research Agenda
The research topics cover several critical industry issues, including truck parking, younger driver safety, the return on investment of new truck safety technologies, and the impact of "nuclear" verdicts on the trucking industry.
The American Transportation Research Institute's board of directors has approved the 2019 Top Research Priorities identified by ATRI's Research Advisory Committee, ATRI announced March 25. The committee developed the list of recommended research topics at a meeting earlier this month.
The research topics cover several critical industry issues, including truck parking, younger driver safety, the return on investment of new truck safety technologies, and the impact of "nuclear" verdicts on the trucking industry. The 2019 top research priorities are:
- Standardizing Truck Parking Information Systems – developing ideal truck parking data formats and standards based on truck driver preferences.
- Rethinking Mileage-Based Safety Metrics – given the growth in E-commerce and other changing industry trends that have changed trip lengths and route locations, examining the potential for new metrics to evaluate safety performance beyond traditional rates per million vehicle miles traveled.
- Analyzing Younger Driver Safety in Intrastate Driving – quantifying the safety performance of 18-20 year old truck drivers who are currently driving in intrastate operations versus experienced interstate commercial drivers.
- Revising the ROI of Truck Safety Technologies – updating cost-benefit analyses that ATRI originally conducted for FMCSA on several more advanced safety technologies being deployed today.
- Impact of "Nuclear" Verdicts on Trucking – documenting and quantifying historical trends associated with growing jury awards and out-of-court settlements.
- Tolls: Who Pays and Where Does the Money Go? – updating ATRI's previous infrastructure analyses to focus on tolls, comparative analysis of toll revenue reinvestment in roads versus administration, and the equity of toll formulas for cars and trucks.
The institute will begin its data collection for the Truck Parking Information Systems research through a driver survey at the big Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville March 28-30 and is asking professional drivers attending the show to stop by ATRI booth #40577 to take part in the study.