Quantifying the Benefits and Harms of Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies to Public Health and Equity

Automated vehicle technologies (AV) have the potential to become one of the most highly disruptive technological applications of our century. AV technologies represent a switch in driving responsibility from human to machine. They encompass a diverse range of automated technologies, from relatively simple driver assistance systems to fully automated, driverless vehicles. Because 94% of crashes are attributed to human-error, the safety benefits that AVs could provide are compelling—although incontrovertible empirical proof that AVs deliver safety benefits has yet to be produced. Other anticipated benefits of AVs are related to the potential mitigation of congestion, air pollution, and greenhouse gases (GHG), and mobility enhancement for underserved populations, which could impact public health significantly. Because they represent a disruptive innovation, AVs have attracted attention from various areas of research such as driver behavior, land use, roadway design, transport policy, etc. However, there has been less focus on the public health impacts of AVs. The implications for AVs on health are very complex, and modeling them requires an interdisciplinary effort. This study is an attempt to quantify the AVs’ impacts of public health and health equity through the changes in transportation. To this end, the researh team focused on two risk factors, motor vehicle crashes and air pollution.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $265820
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A3551747115

  • 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:

    Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)

    Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
    Blacksburg, VA  United States  24060
  • Project Managers:

    Glenn, Eric

  • Performing Organizations:

    Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI)

    400 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South
    Suite 300
    College Station, TX  United States  77845-4375
  • Principal Investigators:

    Dadashova , Bahar

    Khreis, Haneen

  • Start Date: 20190515
  • Expected Completion Date: 20220601
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01737736
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3551747115
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Apr 23 2020 11:39PM