Evaluating the Influence of Vehicle Active Safety Technologies on Roadway Departures

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assist (LKA), and electronic stability control (ESC), have become increasingly prevalent in the United States vehicle fleet. However, it remains uncertain how ADAS technologies affect vehicle dynamics during roadway departure crashes, including those involving roadside safety hardware. For example, AEB systems, which are designed to reduce rear-end crashes, may also reduce approach speeds during impacts with breakaway devices or trigger hard braking that compresses a vehicle’s front suspension, lowering the front bumper before it impacts a barrier. Likewise, LDW and LKA may influence the frequency and departure angles of roadway departure crashes. Research is needed to better understand how ADAS technologies influence passenger vehicle roadway departures and impact conditions, and whether updates to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) or other publications are warranted. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to quantify how current ADAS technologies in passenger vehicles influence roadway departures, impact conditions, vehicle interaction with roadside safety hardware, and the performance of roadside safety hardware systems.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5886
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $450,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 22-68

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Turner, Anne-Marie

• Start Date: 20260801
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash avoidance systems; Crash tests; Driver support systems; Ran off road crashes; Vehicle dynamics
• Identifier Terms: AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01956824
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 22-68
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 29 2025 12:38PM