Fusion Sensor Warning Light/Siren System For Follow Vehicles
Work zones continue to pose a significant safety challenge on the nation's roadways. In 2022 alone, roughly 96,000 work zone crashes nationwide resulted in approximately 37,000 injuries and 891 fatalities. Rear-end collisions accounted for about 21 percent of fatal work zone crashes, and speeding was a contributing factor in roughly 34 percent of them, with commercial motor vehicles involved in a substantial share of these incidents. While work zone fatalities have shown a modest recent decline, overall crash and injury totals remain elevated following a decade of steady increases, underscoring the continued need for effective safety measures for both motorists and roadway workers. Truck-mounted attenuators are widely used to reduce injury severity when a vehicle strikes a work zone safety truck, absorbing impact energy to protect motorists, workers, and equipment. However, these devices function primarily as passive protection: they mitigate the consequences of a crash but do not prevent one from occurring. Because traditional signage and attenuators still rely heavily on driver awareness and behavior, distracted, speeding, or inattentive drivers can still strike shadow vehicles and active work zones despite these safeguards. To help close this gap between impact mitigation and crash prevention, Omnisight, Inc. has developed the Fusion Sensor, a system that combines HD radar and video analytics with predictive algorithms to detect approaching road users and assess the likelihood of a collision with a mobile work zone. The system is designed to deliver timely visual and acoustic alerts to both drivers and roadway workers before a potential incursion, shifting work zone safety from passive protection to proactive, real-time intervention. Beyond immediate crash risk reduction, this type of advance warning can also support smoother traffic flow by reducing sudden braking and secondary collisions. This research is needed to rigorously evaluate and validate the performance of the Fusion Sensor system in reducing work zone incidents, enhancing roadway safety, and minimizing the human and economic impacts associated with work zone crashes, providing the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) with an evidence-based understanding of the technology's value before broader deployment decisions are made.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $57,000.00
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Contract Numbers:
278277
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Sponsor Organizations:
Utah Department of Transportation
Research and Innovation Division
Salt Lake City, UT United States 84114 -
Managing Organizations:
Utah Department of Transportation
Research and Innovation Division
Salt Lake City, UT United States 84114 -
Project Managers:
Jensen, Travis
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Performing Organizations:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
110 Central Campus Drive Suite 2000
Salt Lake City, UT United States 84112 -
Principal Investigators:
Rashidi, Abbas
- Start Date: 20260824
- Expected Completion Date: 20280531
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash avoidance systems; Warning systems; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
- Geographic Terms: Utah
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 02000407
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Utah Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: 278277
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Aug 25 2026 12:24PM