Advancement of Gender Equity in Transportation Safety, Design, Development, and Evaluation of Roadside Safety Hardware

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) provides guidelines for crash testing and evaluating highway safety features. However, these guidelines have predominantly been based on research using a male crash test dummy, resulting in a potential lack of inclusiveness and applicability to a broader group of motorists, specifically female drivers and passengers. This project aims to address this issue by investigating the suitability of the MASH impact safety requirements for a diverse range of motorists and recommending necessary adjustments and considerations. The proposed research will focus on evaluating the existing criteria and determining any potential shortcomings related to the representation of female drivers and passengers. By conducting thorough assessments and performance evaluations of highway safety standards, the project will seek to identify areas where adjustments may be necessary to ensure the safety of all road users, in particular females. The significance of this project lies in its potential to enhance highway safety measures by considering the specific needs and characteristics of female motorists. Specifically, this proposal will investigate the applicability of the current MASH impact safety requirements to female drivers and passengers, identify potential shortcomings, initiate preliminary computer simulations using female and male dummies considering the limitations of time and budget, provide recommendations for areas of adjustments, and provide future research plan to improve the inclusiveness and effectiveness of highway safety devices. By focusing on these specific objectives, this proposal aims to contribute significantly and meaningfully to improving highway safety standards and creating safer and more inclusive transportation infrastructure for all road users.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $170000
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348307

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Mid-America Transportation Center

  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Nebraska, Lincoln

  1400 R Street
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68588
• Principal Investigators:

  Asadollahi-Pajouh, Mojdeh

  Perry, Brandon J

  Stolle, Cody

  Faller, Ronald

• Start Date: 20230601
• Expected Completion Date: 20240731
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash tests; Drivers; Dummies; Equity; Females; Gender; Highway safety
• Identifier Terms: AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01908404
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Feb 19 2024 6:31PM