Federal Research Projects

April 8, 2025

Outcomes of Variability in Teen Driving Experience and Exposure: Evidence from the Naturalistic Driving Study (BTS-23)

Project Complete: The analysis considered changes in driver behavior and subsequent crash risk, and includes recommendations/strategies for improving teen driver safety.

January 1, 2025

The Future of Automated Traffic Enforcement and Public Acceptance (BTS-42)

Project Underway: The objectives of this research are to conduct a comprehensive assessment of automated traffic law enforcement to assist in the public policy discussion of the future of traffic enforcement across the nation and develop a toolkit for state highway safety offices and other stakeholders.

January 1, 2025

The Future Use of Law Enforcement Personnel and Traffic Safety Enforcement (BTS-41)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to provide public policy guidance for decision makers on the role of law enforcement in traffic safety enforcement.

January 1, 2025

Workplace-Based Approaches to Improve Driver Behavior and Reduce Crashes (BTS-40)

Project Underway: The objectives of this research are to identify resources that utilize countermeasures proven most effective in raising awareness of the risk of motor vehicle crashes both on and off the job and provide actionable program tools.

January 1, 2025

The Last Impaired Mile: Challenges of Impaired Mobility in a Multimodal World (BTS-39)

Project Underway: The objectives of this research are to develop an improved understanding of the scope of the “last mile” problem in multimodal environments, explore what could be altered to change driver behavior and develop a toolkit of practical strategies.

January 1, 2025

Slow Down Move Over Best Practices (BTS-38)

Project Underway: The objectives of this research are to 1) understand the current state of practice and legal nuances that differ among jurisdictions and 2) develop a toolkit of practical strategies for SHSOs and other stakeholders to effectively communicate the goals of implementation and requirements for drivers to realize safety improvements.

January 1, 2024

Optimizing Parent-Teen Supervised Drives to Reduce Teen Crash Rates (BTS-33)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to provide actionable data for states to optimize the supervised driving requirement to ensure it creates safer teen drivers and reduces the crash risk for this vulnerable age group.

January 1, 2024

Formative Research and Resources to Prevent Cannabis Impaired Driving Among Teens and Young Adults (BTS-32)

Project Underway: The project will develop educational resources to support parents and caregivers in talking with teens about cannabis impaired driving and impaired driving laws.

January 1, 2024

Quantifying the Safety Impacts of Reduced Traffic Enforcement (BTS-31)

Project Underway: The objective of the research is to identify how enforcement activity has changed in recent years, and associate those changes with corresponding changes in crashes, injuries, and/or fatalities. Statistical comparisons can describe those factors that may be significant and guide future investments in enforcement and prioritization among policing agencies.

January 1, 2023

Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors (BTS-28)

Project Underway: This research will examine, among other things, the association between confirmed incidences of distracting behaviors and inattention to the driving task by teen drivers with crash and near-crash involvement, in relation to their incidence during baseline events.

January 1, 2023

Motorcycle Licensing: Evaluation of Current Practices and Recommendations for Improvement (BTS-27)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to evaluate the current state of practice for motorcycle licensing in the U.S. and develop recommendations for improvement based on the latest empirical data.

January 1, 2023

Determining the State of Knowledge, Opportunities for Outreach, and Data-driven Tools for Consumer Education of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) (BTS-26)

Project Underway: The objective of this research is to characterize the current state of knowledge related to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), identify populations in need of education on the matter, and recommend methods of delivery for that education.