Safety evaluation of TravTek

The Statement of National Transportation Policy issued by President Bush and Secretary Skinner last year points out that "innovation and technological advances within the transportation field will be vital to ensure that the system can meet the Nation's transportation requirements for the 21st century." TravTek, a major Intelligent Vehicle/Highway System (IVHS) advanced motorist information demonstration program in the United States, provides an example of just such innovation. The TravTek program focuses on the navigation and route-guidance needs of out-of-town visitors and utilizes a fleet of specially equipped rental cars as the test bed for the advanced technologies to be evaluated. One of the goals of the TravTek program is to evaluate the potential for, and identify needed enhancements for, increased safety of advanced route-guidance projects. This paper discusses the tools that will be used and the methodologies that will be developed to provide the safety component of the evaluation of TravTek. The evaluation will include the development and application of methodologies for addressing driver/vehicle interaction considerations, collision experience, and the relationship between congestion and collisions.