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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Assessing Traffic Flow and Motorcyclist Safety Outcomes Associated with Lane Filtering</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2720302</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There is a significant gap in research examining how motorcyclists and drivers behave when motorcyclists lane split and/or lane filter in live traffic environments, and safety outcomes associated with lane splitting and lane filtering.

Motorcycle lane splitting involves riding between lanes of slow-moving or stopped traffic.

Lane filtering is the practice of a motorcyclist moving between lanes of stopped or slow-moving traffic to move to the front of the queue, typically at intersections or during heavy congestion.

These practices are legal in some states, prohibited in others, and ambiguously defined in others. Motorcycle safety advocates and motorcyclist rights groups frequently cite safety benefits associated with lane splitting and lane filtering, while law enforcement agencies and traffic safety organizations raise concerns regarding increased risk and operational conflicts. These discussions often rely on limited domestic research, most notably a single observational study conducted in California, as well as studies conducted outside the United States. International research provides useful context but is limited in its applicability to U.S. traffic environments.

U.S. decision-makers are often required to extrapolate from non-comparable data sources, contributing to inconsistent definitions and interpretations of these practices. Developing a better understanding of real-world interactions between motorists and motorcyclists, and safety outcomes associated with motorcycle lane splitting and lane filtering is critical for the development of effective driver training curricula and public education campaigns.

The objectives of this research are to: 1. Document the existing state of knowledge regarding the impact safety outcomes associated with motorcycle lane splitting and lane filtering; 2. To support development of standardized, behaviorally grounded definitions to reduce ambiguity and improve consistency in policy and practice, conduct a multi-state observational study to understand interactions between motorists and motorcyclists during lane-splitting and lane-filtering; 3. Develop an evidence-based toolkit for use by state highway safety offices, state driver licensing agencies, and state motorcycle safety programs to manage the behavioral and safety complexities of motorcycle lane splitting and filtering.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 19:30:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2720302</guid>
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      <title>Optimize Tradeoffs between Centerline Buffers, Lane Width, and Shoulders for Rural Undivided Highways</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2652072</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team will provide a practical framework for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to choose between cross-sectional design alternatives to optimize operational and safety performance on rural two-lane undivided highways. This framework will incorporate variables such as traffic volume, heavy vehicle mix, speed, and access density. Texas and other states have increasingly used a narrow centerline buffer area, separated by longitudinal pavement markings, to introduce physical separation between approaching vehicles, producing operational and safety benefits on undivided roadways without widening to a traditional divided cross-section. However, providing centerline buffers require reduced lane or shoulder widths. Project 0-7035 “Examine Trade-Offs between Center Separation and Shoulder Width Allotment for a Given Roadway Width” studied this effect for four-lane roadways with positive results, but less is known about two-lane roadways; understanding the benefits of center separation, along with the effects of various lane and shoulder combinations, would be useful for making decisions on cross-sections for new and resurfaced two-lane roadway segments. The research team will collect and analyze data for two-lane highways with centerline buffers and compare their safety and operational performances with traditional two-lane undivided highways. Additionally, the research team will quantify differences in the performance of two-lane undivided highways compared to other cross-sectional designs. The research team will use observed data and simulation to achieve the project objectives.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:29:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2652072</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Statewide Lane Reconfiguration “Road Diet” Screening for Louisiana</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394474</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research is to investigate opportunities for and feasibility of implementing road diets on roadways to help Louisiana develop a network accommodating non-motorized travels and meet other potential needs (e.g., speed management).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 10:47:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394474</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>
National Investigation of the Environmental, Safety and Livability Impacts of Travel Lane Width: Evidence from 10 American Cities</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2331768</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project is one of the most comprehensive efforts to date to address a long overdue built environmental and transportation challenge to health: unnecessarily wide travel lanes that are designed to accommodate fast and convenient driving. There has been a constant competition for space in roadways’ right-of-way. In most American cities, the automobile is the winner of this competition, making it a challenge to find space for bike lanes and sidewalks. One of the easiest and most cost-efficient way to make space for cyclists and pedestrian is to narrow travel lanes and parking lanes to an optimal width. The main drawback is safety concerns. Are wider lanes safer? A recent study in seven US Cities by the PI found that narrower lanes do not have a higher number of crashes than their wider counterparts, after controlling for 21 functional and design street characteristics. This study builds on the earlier effort by (1) expanding sample to more than 1,500 street sections with three additional cities and measuring a comprehensive set of 21 micro-scale street design features for these streets; (2) quantifying the impact of narrow travel lane on traffic fatalities, pedestrian safety, and bicycle safety indicators; and (3) measuring the impact of narrow lane width on pedestrian volume and activities. Finally, from the national sample of ten cities, the PIs will select one lane width reduction project for further longitudinal analysis of traffic speed, roadway capacity (traffic volume), roadway safety (crash severity and frequency) and GHG emission impacts before and after the lane width reduction.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2024 10:04:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2331768</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analysis of Lane Departure Crashes Leveraging Advanced Driver Assistive Systems (ADAS) Machine Vision Sensing Data
PROBLEM</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2310056</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The goal of this research is to develop a new technical framework to quantify contribution factors of lane departure crashes in Washington leveraging emerging machine vision data collected by Advanced Driver Assistive Systems (ADAS)-equipped vehicles. Under this goal, the research teams (WSU and VSI lab) aim to achieve three specific objectives:
(1) collect machine vision data using ADAS-equipped vehicles; (2) develop methods to retrieve lane marking and other road conditions from the collected machine vision data;  and (3) quantify contributions of different factors in lane departure crashes.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2023 13:52:18 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2310056</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>NCHRP Implementation Support Program.  Implementing a Guide for Urban and Suburban Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2166264</link>
      <description><![CDATA[NCHRP Research Report 1036: Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation: A Guide describes a decision-making framework for identifying, comparing, evaluating, and justifying context-based cross-sectional reallocations of existing urban and suburban roadway space for multimodal safety, access, and mobility. This framework integrates transparency into the decision-making process, helping practitioners compare tradeoffs and facilitate productive community conversations regarding who gets to use roadway space and how they can use it. NCHRP Research Report 1036 is supplemented by two decision-making spreadsheet tools, one on reconstruction and another on repaving, to help users implement the guidelines developed through the research.

The audience for these materials includes transportation professionals involved in transportation decisions for roadway cross-section reallocation, such as transportation professionals involved in state project development, external advocates, transportation planners, designers, transit agencies, and other agency partners. NCHRP Research Report 1036 decision-making framework and tools are intended to be used during the scoping phase and in support of internal and public communications. These products can help streamline the documentation of design exceptions (e.g., documenting why a narrower lane may be used), explain the tradeoffs when insufficient space is available, and bolster design guidance. 

Transportation professionals need support in implementing the NCHRP Research Report 1036 decision-making framework and tools.

The objective of this research is to enhance the usability of the NCHRP Research Report 1036 decision-making framework and tools by providing hands-on practice.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2023 18:02:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2166264</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Improve the effectiveness of safety countermeasures as well as tools that promote operational efficiency</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071569</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research involves enhancements to lane reduction transitions through signing and lane markings and working with over 25 states through Traffic Control Device Pooled Fund Study.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071569</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Best Practices for MOT on Interstate Pavement Rehabilitation Projects</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2039846</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On interstate pavement rehab projects, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) often finds it challenging to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction. The standard practice is to use a full-width shoulder as a thru lane while work is done on adjacent lanes. But difficulties arise when the shoulder is not wide enough to operate as a thru lane — particularly when the required depth for rehabilitation demands more lateral clearance for lanes under construction. Designers can also face maintenance of traffic (MOT) challenges at interchanges due to the widths of mainline bridges, lateral clearances of cross-road structures, and ramp lengths. Researchers will review ongoing and completed interstate rehab projects where KYTC found it challenging to maintain desired lane widths during construction and document negative impacts of MOT on completed facilities.  
The objective of this study is to develop best practices for MOT to help Project Managers mitigate risks on pavement rehab projects.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 12:57:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2039846</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Equitable Deployment of Wireless Charging Lanes in Transportation Networks</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1876106</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To alleviate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, electric vehicles (EVs) are introduced as a promising solution to reduce tailpipe emissions, providing a more sustainable transportation system. However, the primary unfavorable factor that may negatively impact EV market share is the limited driving range of EVs. Wireless charging lanes are one of the most convenient and promising charging solutions that can eliminate range anxiety if they become prevalent in a regional transportation network. Given the limited government budgets, the deployment of public charging infrastructure should address both efficiency and equity concerns.

In this study, the research team develops a modeling framework for the equitable and efficient deployment of wireless charging lanes in general transportation networks. The team envisions that EVs are about to become common in the road network, and that governmental agencies are striving to apply an equitable and efficient deployment strategy to introduce wireless charging lanes into transportation systems. To efficiently and equitably deploy charging lanes, one must consider the charging and route choice behaviors of EV drivers who follow a selfish decision-making procedure, as well as proper deployment strategies that guarantee the fair distribution of all benefits of charging lanes.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2021 08:20:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1876106</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4615: I-69 Added Travel Lanes Data Collection and Analysis</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1874064</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The SPR-4517 project includes tasks to monitor and analyze the pavement sensor data (i.e., stress, strain, temperature, moisture, traffic, and groundwater level) from the I-69 added travel lanes test site near Anderson, Indiana. While the project began to develop a set of comprehensive data collection and analysis tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the various drainage scenarios and high-strength subgrade treatment options for the I-69 test site, funding was committed for only six months, due to the nature of the funding cycle. To complete the project, additional research and funding are necessary.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:11:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1874064</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4517: Field Drainage Evaluation Test on I-69 Added Travel Lanes in Indiana</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1768729</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) implemented the application of advanced subsurface drainage systems on the I-69 added travel lanes near Anderson, Indiana. Evaluation of the drainage systems constructed in the test strips is needed.  Optimized field drainage evaluation methods and comprehensive analysis-visualization tools with advanced data analysis techniques and software will be provided through this study.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2021 12:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1768729</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Guidelines for Selecting Lane Widths on Urban and Suburban Arterials</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1673345</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In an era of multimodal design and expensive right-of-way, transportation agencies must make decisions on how to safely accommodate all users of the roadway system. One of the key decisions that affects roadway operation and safety is the selection of lane widths. Previous research projects have examined the relationship between lane width and safety on urban and suburban arterials. These studies showed inconsistent results on whether or not the use of lane widths narrower than 12 feet on urban and suburban arterials increased crash frequencies. Therefore, there is a need to provide guidelines for state departments of transportation (DOTs) on selecting the appropriate lane widths and understanding the safety impacts of lane width decisions.

The objective of this research was to develop guidelines for the selection of an appropriate lane width considering bike and parking lanes on urban and suburban arterials. The guidelines should incorporate the assessment of safety impacts of lane width in the decision-making process.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2019 12:24:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1673345</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Image Processing Approaches to Traffic Situation Understanding, Risk Assessment, and Safety</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1636491</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will explore several potential applications of image processing, including NN/deep learning technologies, to the analysis of traffic scenes involving passenger and transit vehicles.  The project team outlines three potential applications below- the exact distribution of effort and topics addressed will depend on the availability of student and research staff. (1) Traffic scene risk assessment and driver behavior understanding (2) Methodologies for extracting information from transit vehicle video for traffic flow estimation (3) Optical flow for automated vehicle lane following]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jul 2019 15:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1636491</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Dynamically Adapting Driver Assistance Systems Using Driver Monitoring Technology</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1595406</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), are rapidly becoming standard across manufacturer lineups. These technologies (SAE Level 1; SAE, 2014) provide either steering or acceleration assistance to the driver, such as lane departure warnings (LDW) that alert the driver that the vehicle is approaching a marked lane boundary without signaling. These technologies have been referred to as “Guardian Angel” systems in that they can compensate for driver errors, which account for over 90% of fatal vehicle crashes (NHTSA, 2017). Research suggests that many ADAS technologies, such as forward collision warnings (FCW), could significantly reduce the number of crashes (Jermakian, 2011). Unlike FCW, however, evidence is at best mixed on the potential crash reduction associated with lane departure warnings. Data from the Highway Loss Data Institute failed to show a reduction in crash claims for LDW-equipped vehicles. One contributing factor may be driver acceptance of LDW. Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that, of a sample of 1,000 ADAS-equipped vehicles, only 45% had the systems activated. These deactivation rates are linked to driver acceptance issues and lack of trust in the systems. Most LDW are triggered before a vehicle crosses a lane boundary, increasing the potential that these alerts could be seen as nuisance alarms. Nuisance alarms have a direct negative impact on user trust and subsequent willingness to use technology (Bliss & Acton, 2003).
One potential solution is adaptive automation, which dynamically adjusts the level of automation based on the state of the operator (Scerbo, 2008). The goal of adaptive automation is to tailor the amount of technological support to the dynamic needs of the operator. For example, a LDW might fire if a driver is distracted or otherwise impaired but not when he is attentive. Extensive research shows a benefit of adaptive automation over static automation across tasks such as air traffic control and display monitoring (Parasuraman et al., 1999). Recent technological innovations make it possible to monitor the driver’s state via in-cabin camera, which could be used as the input into an adaptive system. A recent SaferSim automated vehicle study used a production driver monitoring system to provide feedback to distracted drivers in highly-automated vehicles (Gaspar et al., 2018).
The goal of this proposal is examine whether driver state information can be used to create adaptive lane keeping systems and examine the impact on driver performance, acceptance, and trust. This research builds on previous Safer-Sim research to address the focus area of Automated Vehicle Technology.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Apr 2019 11:19:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1595406</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Driving Simulator Assessment of Dynamic Lane Grouping at Signalized intersections</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1513355</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research explores using sensors and technology for dynamic changes and how  drivers react to it. The cases and scenarios have already been developed, but are there technical barriers?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2018 15:00:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1513355</guid>
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