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.



177 Results
Title Report

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

Considerations for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems: Seating Preference Study

This VTTI study examined passenger seat belt behavior and seating preference in ADS-DVs with different seating arrangements: conventional, conventional with no manually operated controls, and an unconventional layout with a rear-facing and a forward-facing row of seats. They were recruited under the guise of testing rideshare applications in those three vehicles. Seat belt buckling was observed, with all passengers buckled in prior to requesting to start the ride on 94% of trips. Results also showed passengers preferred sitting in the front row in a conventional vehicle or in forward-facing seats of an unconventional seating layout.

 DOT HS 813 793

Comparative Analysis of Impedance and Gas Sensor Diagnostics for LFP/Graphite Cell Failures

This research investigated early detection of safety risks of lithium-ion battery packs in electric/hybrid vehicles, including rapid electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, sensing of volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen-gas-sensing technology. These sensors monitored four types of cells and packs for failure markers. It evaluated early detection methods during overtemperature and overcharge tests in Li-ion phosphate/graphite cells. The result showed that rapid electrochemical impedance spectroscopy consistently warned earlier for the overtemperature tests. For overcharge tests, volatile organic compound and H₂ gas sensors were more responsive, particularly in larger packs where venting occurred rapidly and before measurable impedance changes occurred.

 DOT HS 813 817

Evaluation of Heavy-Vehicle Collision Warning Interfaces – Follow-On Testing

This follow-on study to a 2015 report evaluated heavy-truck collision warning interfaces focused on the auditory and visual components of a forward collision warning system. This follow-up evaluated nighttime conditions and the implications of delaying the visual component of the alert. Overall, test drivers who received warning alerts responded significantly quicker than drivers who did not receive alerts, similar to the original testing. Delaying the visual component resulted in 100 percent of drivers looking forward to the road as their first response, but did not result in quicker brake response times versus when not delaying the visual alert.

 DOT HS 813 825

Conventional Vehicle Driver and Automated Driving System-Equipped Vehicle Interactions

This report describes findings of an on-road experiment that investigated drivers’ behaviors around a vehicle identified as a “self-driving” vehicle. Researchers collected data on public highways using a research vehicle, which on different drives had the outward appearance of either a conventional vehicle or an ADS mockup vehicle. During data collection trips on a fixed freeway route, the behavior of nearby drivers and their vehicles were observed and recorded. Observers noted that nearby drivers exhibited longer glances, more surprised expressions, and occasional gestures or even camera use when approaching or passing the mockup research vehicle, and drivers generally took longer to pass it. However, objective measures of potentially unsafe actions (e.g., cut-ins, tailgating) showed no statistically significant differences between the mockup research vehicle and conventional vehicle.

 DOT HS 813 751

Low-Cost Pedestrian Safety Zone Case Study

A previous study by Blomberg and Cleven (1998) developed a pedestrian safety zone approach in Phoenix, Arizona, and Chicago, Illinois, focusing on pedestrian safety countermeasures in subsets of the cities that had experienced a high number of crashes involving people 65 and older. It proved efficient deploying countermeasures, significantly reducing the targeted pedestrian crashes in Phoenix. This original zone process, however, still needed significant resources to address the entire city, and required a relatively long time to plan and implement. The primary objectives of the present study included adapting the previous zones approach to be implementable quickly by cities using their resources and demonstrating the resulting low-cost pedestrian safety zones approach in several cities. Three cities—Gainesville, Florida; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Saint Paul, Minnesota—agreed to demonstrate the low-cost zones approach. Each site prepared a case study report documenting the activities reported here. The approach appeared flexible and effective in all three cities. The discussion section of this report includes ideas for supporting more widespread use of the technique.

 DOT HS 813 747

Development of an Alternative Shoulder For the THOR-50M

This report describes the design of two alternative shoulders for the THOR-50M crash test dummy because the version of the shoulder currently described in the drawing package has patents associated with it. The two alternative shoulder designs underwent legal review to determine if they would infringe on any patents. After the legal review the shoulders were evaluated for fit and performance. This report primarily describes the installation, fit, and performance evaluations of those alternative shoulders.

 DOT HS 813 681

Evaluation of Motorcycle Helmet Test Procedures

FMVSS No. 218, Motorcycle helmets, specifies minimum performance requirements for helmets used by motorcyclists and other motor vehicle users. FMVSS No. 218 has three performance test types that have remained largely unchanged since it was first published in 1973: an impact attenuation test, a penetration test, and a retention system test. In 2013 NHTSA initiated a helmet testing research program with compliance test labs. Based on this testing, adjustments were made to the test procedures and were evaluated in this study. NHTSA’s testing in this report aimed to (1) assess the feasibility of conducting modified FMVSS No. 218 tests and other performance tests, and (2) evaluate the repeatability of each of the modified test procedures assessed. Six helmet models were tested in six test types. Two of the test types were based on tests included in FMVSS No. 218, while four of the test types were based on tests included in international standards.

 DOT HS 813 782

UNECE Global Technical Regulation No. 13 Fire and Closure Tests

This research evaluated the fire test and primary closure test procedures outlined in the draft United Nations Economic Council for Europe Global Technical Regulation GTR No. 13 and the revised NHTSA test methods, as opposed to examining individual specimens. This report is divided into two parts: Part 1 covers the fire tests where two series of tests on compressed hydrogen storage systems evaluated the fire test procedures. Part 2 tested primary closure components including the thermally activated pressure relief device, check valves, and shutoff valves, following the draft GTR No. 13 procedure. Based on findings, the test methods were revised, and both fire and primary closure testing were repeated using the updated procedures.

 DOT HS 813 750

Evaluation and Comparison of Glazing Performance in Impact Tests

FMVSS No. 205, Glazing materials, uses impact test methods specified in ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996. NHTSA’s Vehicle Research and Test Center evaluated a subset of ANSI test methods including the 227-g ball, shot bag impact tests, fracture test on tempered glass, and the ball test and dart test on laminated glass. Other research studied potential changes to tempered glass strength due to the ceramic paint area (CPA) and compared the performance of 12-by-12-inch flat samples and full-size production parts. Glass evaluated included tempered rear quarter, sunroof, and backlight glazing and laminated windshield glazing. A modified shot bag with stiffened sidewalls was compared to the ANSI standard shot bag. Overall trends showed a decrease in glazing strength due to the CPA when struck with the 227-g ball. The ECE R43 fracture test location produced larger pieces than the ANSI fracture location. Laminated ball and dart tests produced similar results. Sample and production tests also generally had similar results for both the tempered and laminated glazing.

 DOT HS 813 753