Strategies to Reduce Truck Mounted Attenuator Crashes

The objective of this project is to identify the most promising methods that could reduce the occurrence and severity of truck mounted attenuator (TMA) crashes in construction and maintenance work zones, including both stationary and mobile operations. The research team will investigate methods to improve safety such as increasing the conspicuity of TMAs, including changes in markings, colors, or lighting; changes in traffic control devices; changes in the location, staging, or setup of TMAs for different work zone configurations; improvements in operator training; methods to improve the safety of the TMA operator in the event a collision does occur; and connected vehicle applications that provide vehicle-to-vehicle warnings and pre-collision alarms or advance notice of the TMA’s location for oncoming drivers.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $324946
• Contract Numbers:

  116121

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Managing Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Project Managers:

  Cottrell, Benjamin

• Performing Organizations:

  Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

  3500 Transportation Research Plaza
  Blacksburg, Virginia  United States  24061

  George Mason University Transportation and Economic Development Center

  George Mason University
  102CFinley Building, MS-2C9
  Fairfax, VA  United States  22030-4444
• Principal Investigators:

  Gibbons, Ronald

  Medina Flintsch, Alejandra

  Li, Eric

  Mollenhauer, Mike

  Esmaeili, Behzad

• Start Date: 20190901
• Expected Completion Date: 20221231
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Connected vehicles; Countermeasures; Crash severity; Improvements; Truck crashes; Truck mounted attenuators; Work zone safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01714074
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Virginia Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 116121
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 20 2019 10:19AM