RESEARCH & EVALUATION

Vehicle Safety Research

Vehicle Safety

Resources
Reports Library (rosap)

The Office of Vehicle Safety Research and supports U.S. DOT’s and NHTSA’s safety goals by conducting research and safety testing of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. 

NHTSA’s recently published vehicle safety reports are listed chronologically below.



186 Results
Title Report

Test Track Evaluation of FCW and BSW Installed on Motorcycles

This report used modified NHTSA light-vehicle test methods to research motorcycle-based forward collision warning and blind spot warning system operation on the test track. A modified version of FMVSS No. 127 and NHTSA NCAP automatic emergency braking test procedures were used for FCW research, whereas a modified version of the NHTSA NCAP BSW test procedure was used for motorcycle BSW testing. Both motorcycles tested issued FCW alerts during trials performed with a moving or decelerating lead vehicle, however neither responded to a stationary lead vehicle. although some differences were observed during decelerating lead vehicle trials. The study shows that NHTSA’s light-vehicle FCW and BSW procedures can be adapted for motorcycles by accounting for their observed motion characteristics and smaller size.

 DOT HS 813 863

HBM Virtual Testing Framework Development and Demonstration

This study’s objectives were (1) to propose a virtual testing framework for evaluating vehicle occupant protection using human body models (HBMs), and (2) to perform an initial demonstration of that framework. Development focused on high-level steps, including HBM validation, vehicle model development and validation, crash simulation setup (HBM positioning, settling, and belt fitting), and injury assessment with potential weighting factors. The demonstration used 11 HBMs in seven sizes and shapes and four crash conditions, producing 28 crash simulations with the detailed vehicle model by GM and 35 simulations with the parametric vehicle model by UMTRI. Results showed generally consistent predictions for occupant kinematics and injury risks between the two vehicle-model approaches, with discrepancies in a few isolated cases. Despite differences in HBM geometry, settling method, and belt fitting approach, the two vehicle models produced similar overall weighted average injury risks. This study highlights the potential of the HBM virtual testing framework for occupant protection assessment while identifying limitations and areas for future improvement.

 DOT HS 813 838

Radar Congestion Testing And Simulation of a Forward Collision Warning System

This report documents work to measure the potential for automotive radars to mutually interfere when operating in proximity to each other. It continues the modeling and simulation of mutual interference performed in the first phase of the project with track and laboratory testing. Test procedures were developed to determine the impact of mutual interference on radar. These tests were executed at the component level on two commercially available radars and at the system level on a forward collision warning system integrated on a vehicle, with results showing that interference has an observable effect on their performance. Additional testing was performed to develop an empirical path loss model for automotive radars.

 DOT HS 813 826

Rear Automatic Braking Feature Confirmation Test Procedure Refinement

Rear automatic braking systems detect obstacles in the path of reversing vehicles, give warnings to s drivers, and apply the vehicle brakes automatically to avoid striking obstacles. The research documented in this report evaluated possible revisions to an existing 2019 draft research test procedure for assessing the pedestrian crash avoidance performance of light vehicle RAB systems. It characterizes performance of current RAB systems in detecting pedestrian and test object conditions encountered by a reversing vehicle. Most available systems cannot detect pedestrians. The test procedure in this report involved two test scenarios, Reversing Vehicle – Stationary Test Object. and Reversing Vehicle – Dynamic Test Object. Scenarios were tested with test vehicle speeds, test object overlap percentages, and test objects including pedestrian mannequins of different sizes, to permit characterization of system performance. Four model year 2022 U.S. market passenger vehicles with RAB systems were tested. None of the vehicles consistently avoided contact with pedestrian test objects.

 DOT HS 813 830

Driver Visual Accommodation With Camera-Based Rear Visibility Systems Versus Rearview Mirrors

This report describes research examining camera-based visibility systems, sometimes referred to as camera monitor systems or CMSs, which are designed to replace or supplement required vehicle mirrors with cameras that transmit video images to interior-mounted electronic visual displays. Research was performed to help inform NHTSA’s decision whether to grant industry petitions seeking the revision of FMVSS No. 111, Rear visibility, to permit CMSs to satisfy current requirements for rearview mirrors. Two experiments obtained information regarding how driver visual behavior with, ability to focus on, and extract information from a CMS-based electronic visual image differs from that afforded by outside and inside rearview mirrors.

 DOT HS 813 776

Variability Study for 50th Percentile Females and Males

The objective of this research is to use parametric human body models (HBMs) to understand how geometric variability among individuals who have the same sex, stature, and body weight may affect the impact responses and injury outcomes, focusing on the midsize male and midsize female populations. We first detailed the methods of quantifying the geometric variations in skeleton and external body surface in midsize male and midsize female occupants using principal component analysis, regression, and residual error analysis. Our findings revealed significant geometric variability in the ribcage and pelvis, whereas variations in the femur and tibia were minimal for both midsize males and females. Based on these geometric analyses, nine midsize male and nine midsize female geometry models were developed, focusing on ribcage and pelvis variations, which account for most of the observed geometric variability. The simplified Global Human Body Modeling Consortium midsize male model was then morphed to match the predicted geometries of the 18 HBMs. Subsequently, 162 impact simulations were conducted under nine impact conditions using the morphed HBMs. Overall, the component-level impact simulations demonstrated relatively small variations in HBM impact responses among models with the same sex, stature, and body weight. However, in the US-NCAP frontal crash simulations, notable variations in injury risk were observed, especially in the front passenger position. These results suggest that geometric variability, even among HBMs with the same sex, stature, and body weight, should not be overlooked when assessing injury risks in severe frontal crashes.

 DOT HS 813 836

NHTSA's DrIIVE Program: Alcohol-Impaired, Drowsy, And Distracted Driving Detection Algorithms

Third of three parts. Driver impairment from drowsiness, distraction, and alcohol intoxication accounts for a substantial percentage of motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA’s Driver Monitoring of Inattention and Impairment Using Vehicle Equipment (DrIIVE) program is aimed at detection and mitigation of driver impairment using data available from inside the vehicle. This project demonstrates that impairment from distraction, drowsiness, and alcohol-intoxication can be detected and, to a large degree, differentiated. Additionally, the project has demonstrated that, for drowsiness, staged alerts can improve driver lane keeping performance at least in the short term. The mitigation track and the general summary are covered in associated reports.

 DOT HS 813 564c

NHTSA's DrIIVE Program: Drowsy Driving Lane Departure Mitigation Countermeasures

Second of three parts. Driver impairment from drowsiness, distraction, and alcohol intoxication accounts for a substantial percentage of motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA’s Driver Monitoring of Inattention and Impairment Using Vehicle Equipment (DrIIVE) program is aimed at detection and mitigation of driver impairment using data available from inside the vehicle. This project demonstrates that impairment from distraction, drowsiness, and alcohol-intoxication can be detected and, to a large degree, differentiated. Additionally, the project has demonstrated that, for drowsiness, staged alerts can improve driver lane keeping performance at least in the short term. The detection track and the general summary are covered in associated reports.

 DOT HS 813 564b

NHTSA's DrIIVE Program: Phase 2 Summary

First of three parts. Driver impairment from drowsiness, distraction, and alcohol intoxication accounts for a substantial percentage of motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA’s Driver Monitoring of Inattention and Impairment Using Vehicle Equipment (DrIIVE) program is aimed at detection and mitigation of driver impairment using data available from inside the vehicle. This project demonstrates that impairment from distraction, drowsiness, and alcohol-intoxication can be detected and, to a large degree, differentiated. Additionally, the project has demonstrated that, for drowsiness, staged alerts can improve driver lane keeping performance at least in the short term. The detection track and the mitigation track are covered in associated reports.

 DOT HS 813 564a

Exploring Driver Adaptation to L2 Driving Automation Using Existing Naturalistic Driving Data

This research explored the concept of behavioral adaptation – how humans respond to introduction of a new technology that serves a specific need of the driver. Three existing naturalistic driving study databases were analyzed: (a) the L2 Naturalistic Driving Study, (b) the Virginia Connected Corridor Elite Naturalistic Driving Study, and (c) the Older Driver L2 Naturalistic Driving Study. The results illustrated an increase in eye off road metrics when L2 systems were active. Results further suggested that driver adaptation was present for high-risk secondary tasks, where there was a significant increase in engagement when L2 systems were active. Additionally, drivers set their vehicle speed above the speed limit more frequently over time, with higher speeds set when L2 systems were active.

 DOT HS 813 827