Aaa Foundation For Traffic Safety

THE FOUNDATION CONDUCTS OR FUNDS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPS EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO ENHANCE TRAFFIC STUDY

IN 2021, THE FOUNDATION PUBLISHED 14 NEW TRAFFIC SAFETY REPORTS, INITIATED 3 NEW TRAFFIC SAFETY RESEARCH CONTRACTS, AND CONTINUED WORK ON 10 TRAFFIC SAFETY RESEARCH PROJECTS INITIATED IN PREVIOUS YEARS.THE FOUNDATION FUNDED, MANAGED, AND/OR PERFORMED RESEARCH IN 2021 DETAILED IN THE FOLLOWING REPORTS (IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER BY DATE OF PUBLICATION): EXAMINING THE INCREASE IN PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 2009-2018; IDENTIFYING POLICY APPROACHES TO EXTENDING THE SAFE MOBILITY OF OLDER ADULTS; IMPACT OF SPEEDS ON DRIVERS AND VEHICLES - RESULTS FROM CRASH TESTS; DRIVER'S MENTAL MODELS OF ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES - A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR IDENTIFYING AND PREDICTING OPERATOR ERRORS; A PILOT SENTINEL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM FOR DRUG USE BY DRIVERS IN CRASHES - LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS; FATAL WRONG-WAY CRASHES ON DIVIDED HIGHWAYS; USERS' TRUST IN AND CONCERNS ABOUT AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEMS; NEW AMERICAN DRIVING SURVEY, UPDATED METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS FROM JULY 2019 TO JUNE 2020; EXPECTATIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AMONG DRIVERS, PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLISTS, AND PUBLIC TRANSIT RIDERS; TRAVEL IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE AND DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC; OBJECTIVE DRIVING DATA IN THE LONGROAD STUDY: AN OVERVIEW OF CHANGES TO DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES FROM A DATALOGGER TO A TRAVEL APP; 2020 TRAFFIC SAFETY CULTURE INDEX; ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AND OLDER DRIVERS - CHANGES IN PREVALENCE, USE, AND PERCEPTIONS OVER 3 YEARS OF THE AAA LONGROAD STUDY; AND IMPROVING ROADSIDE RESPONDER CRASH DATA - OUTCOMES FROM AN EXPERT ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION. FOUNDATION RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE USED TO SUPPORT NATIONAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, SUCH AS NATIONAL TEEN DRIVER SAFETY WEEK AND DROWSY DRIVING PREVENTION WEEK. THEY ARE ALSO USED TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, AND SUPPORT ADVOCACY EFFORTS OF AAA AND OTHER TRAFFIC SAFETY ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. FOUNDATION RESEARCH FINDINGS ON PEDESTRIAN SAFETY HAVE BEEN CITED IN NUMEROUS STATE AND LOCAL TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT "VISION ZERO" PLANS OUTLINING NEEDED SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. ALL OF THESE EFFORTS ARE ULTIMATELY DESIGNED TO INFLUENCE AND AFFECT REAL WORLD IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAFFIC SAFETY. FOUNDATION RESEARCH HAS ALSO SUPPORTED OUR NUMEROUS PARTNERSHIPS IN THE TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY COMMUNITIES. FOUNDATION CO-SPONSORED RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH THE SAFER-SIM UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER TO EXAMINE DRIVERS' UNDERSTANDINGS AND INTERACTIONS WITH ADVANCED DRIVER-ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS. GRANTS WERE PROVIDED TO THE COLLABORATIVE SCIENCES CENTER FOR ROAD SAFETY UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER AND THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TO EXAMINE CRASH CAUSATIONS ON VEHICLES WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE TRANSPORTATION SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACH, RESPECTIVELY. FINALLY IN 2021, THE FOUNDATION INITIATED RESEARCH PROJECTS DESIGNED TO MONITOR ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR ABOUT TRAFFIC SAFETY AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC; MEASURE HOW MANY MILES AMERICANS ARE DRIVING IN RELATION TO FACTORS RELEVANT TO TRAFFIC SAFETY; AND ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AUTOMATED VEHICLE ALERT SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE FOUNDATION CONTINUED WORK ON SEVERAL ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS BEGUN IN PRIOR YEARS INCLUDING: EXAMINING COUNTERMEASURES TO REDUCE DROWSY DRIVING; EXAMINING COUNTERMEASURES TO REDUCE DRIVER DISTRACTION; PREDICTING THE FUTURE SOCIETAL SAFETY IMPACT OF VEHICLE AUTOMATION; PREDICTING DRIVER'S READINESS TO RETAKE CONTROL DURING PARTIALLY AUTOMATED DRIVING; INVESTIGATING HOW EXPOSURE TO ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS INFLUENCES DRIVERS' MENTAL MODELS OF THE SYSTEMS; EXAMINING PERCEPTIONS OF VEHICLE AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY AMONG OTHER ROAD USERS BESIDES DRIVERS; LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH ON AGING DRIVERS (THE LONGROAD STUDY), AND 2 SEPARATE PROJECTS EXAMINING COUNTERMEASURES TO PROTECT ROADSIDE SERVICE AND INCIDENT RESPONSE PERSONNEL.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: ALL RESEARCH REPORTS AND FINDINGS PRODUCED BY THE AAA FOUNDATION ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, FREE OF CHARGE. ADDITIONALLY, THE FOUNDATION PRODUCES COMPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR EACH PROJECT SO THAT VISITORS TO THE WEBSITE CAN FIND KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM EACH STUDY. THESE MAY INCLUDE FACT SHEETS, RESEARCH BRIEFS, INFOGRAPHICS, ETC. THE AAA FOUNDATION HAS PROVIDED OUTREACH THROUGH CONFERENCES, FORUMS AND WORKSHOPS, TO A RANGE OF AUDIENCES INCLUDING TECHNICAL EXPERTS, KEY STAKEHOLDER, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, WITH THE GOAL OF EFFECTING REAL-WORLD IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAFFIC SAFETY. IN 2021, FOUNDATION RESEARCH FINDINGS WERE PRESENTED AT NUMEROUS CONFERENCES AND EVENTS INCLUDING: AAA TECHNOLOGY TAKES THE WHEEL??, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING; AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TRANSPORTATION & DEVELOPMENT; HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING; INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS ANNUAL MEETING, ROBERT F. BORKENSTEIN COURSE ON THE EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOR; AND TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD ANNUAL MEETING. AAA FOUNDATION STAFF ALSO PRESENTED RESEARCH AT STATE-LEVEL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY CONFERENCES HOSTED BY STATES INCLUDING MARYLAND, NEBRASKA, OHIO, AND VERMONT. THE AAA FOUNDATION'S PRESENCE AT THESE CONFERENCES HELPED SPREAD AAA FOUNDATION'S RESEARCH AND MISSION TO DIVERSE AUDIENCES. THE AAA FOUNDATION WAS ALSO A CO-SPONSOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS ANNUAL MEETING AND THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD ANNUAL MEETING IN 2021. THROUGHOUT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE AAA FOUNDATION REMAINED A RELEVANT RESOURCE TO MEDIA AND CONSUMERS ALIKE - ESPECIALLY AS AMERICANS RETURNED TO THE ROAD AFTER WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS, OF NOT DRIVING ROUTINELY. THE AAA FOUNDATION ALSO STRIVES TO PUBLISH MUCH OF OUR RESEARCH IN LEADING PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL JOURNALS TO ENSURE THAT OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE SHARED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND POLICYMAKERS. IN 2021, RESEARCH PERFORMED AND/OR FUNDED BY THE AAA FOUNDATION WAS PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS INCLUDING: ACCIDENT ANALYSIS & PREVENTION; AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY; HUMAN FACTORS; JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS; JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH; TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD; AND TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART F: TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR.FINALLY, ON SEPTEMBER 15-17, 2021, THE FOUNDATION CONVENED ITS FOURTH FORUM ON THE IMPACT OF VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES AND AUTOMATION ON USERS, THIS TIME IN VIRTUAL FORMAT. THE FORUM FEATURED PRESENTATIONS FROM 10 LEADING EXPERTS FROM THE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES AND ACADEMIA AS WELL AS BREAKOUT GROUPS WHERE 75 ATTENDEES DISCUSSED THE MOST PRESSING RESEARCH NEEDS AND ISSUES TO ENSURE THAT EMERGING VEHICLE AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE DEPLOYED, UNDERSTOOD, AND USED IN WAYS THAT ENHANCE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.