Red-light violations at traffic signals are a major contributor to crashes and fatalities. Right-angle type crashes typically account for the most serious of these collisions, and most of them are caused by vehicles running red lights. This research will explore technology that could be used to warn drivers when they are about to run a red light.
Continue reading New Project: Red Light Running Warning SystemCategory Archives: Traffic and Safety
Evaluating Weather’s Effects on the Accuracy of Automated Vehicles
Fully automated vehicles may not be market-ready yet, but one day, they expect to provide a variety of benefits like reduced emissions and greater safety and transportation equity. These vehicles and the complex combination of underlying technologies that power them are continually being tested and improved to ensure the vehicles will meet the highest standards of safety and performance.
Continue reading Evaluating Weather’s Effects on the Accuracy of Automated VehiclesCOVID-19 Travel Reductions: Lessons for Relieving Traffic Congestion
As the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020 kept people at home, reduced travel and, therefore, traffic congestion were to be expected. But how much of an impact did the restrictions have on traffic congestion? After analyzing changes in traffic levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions, researchers identified how incremental changes in vehicle miles traveled impact regional congestion. These results will inform efforts by MnDOT and its partners on the outcomes of reduced travel demand.
Continue reading COVID-19 Travel Reductions: Lessons for Relieving Traffic CongestionNew Project: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near Automated Vehicles
With the number of automated vehicles increasing on our roadways it is important to understand their potential impacts and how other road users will interact with them. In the future, there will be a more pronounced shared levels-of-automation transportation network, with fully manual, partially automated, and fully automated vehicles sharing the same Minnesota roads. While planners and engineers have a reasonable idea of how humans drive around other humans, what is not as well-known is human driving behavior around automated vehicles.
Continue reading New Project: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near Automated VehiclesWebinar Recording: The Health and Transportation Nexus
Transportation is a crucial contributor to health: it not only directly shapes the social and physical environments in myriad ways, but it also determines the types of places where people can live, learn, work, and play in their everyday life.
Continue reading Webinar Recording: The Health and Transportation NexusMaking Freeway Travel Times in the Twin Cities Area More Reliable
Providing consistent freeway travel times for Twin Cities area drivers requires careful traffic management and well-planned freeway projects. To effectively respond to incidents and identify the most needed renovations, MnDOT traffic managers need to know precisely where, when and why congestion is happening.
Continue reading Making Freeway Travel Times in the Twin Cities Area More ReliableNew Technology and Existing Equipment Improve Statewide Vehicle Classification Counting Process
In a recent study, researchers leveraged previous MnDOT research and existing traffic monitoring infrastructure to refine inductive loop signature technology that counts and classifies vehicles. Positive results have given MnDOT a feasible and cost-effective way to collect vehicle classification data throughout the state for planning and decision-making.
Continue reading New Technology and Existing Equipment Improve Statewide Vehicle Classification Counting ProcessModel Helps Predict Likelihood of Farm Vehicle Crashes on Public Roads
This article was originally published in Catalyst, January 2022.
A U of M study of farm vehicle safety on rural roads identified factors—such as crop type and number of vehicles operated—that can help predict the likelihood of a farm’s vehicles being involved in a crash on a public road.
Continue reading Model Helps Predict Likelihood of Farm Vehicle Crashes on Public Roads