Technical Report for Kentucky Commercial Vehicle Safety Applications Evaluation [cover title]

Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office2008PDFTech ReportBrown, V. J.Anderson, M. S.Sell, R. N.Zewatsky, J. E.Orban, J. E.Battelle Memorial InstituteUnited States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation SystemsUnited States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology AdministrationKentuckyCommercial vehicle operationsCommercial vehiclesCommercial transportationTruckingInspectionLaw enforcementVehicle safetyEvaluation and assessmentSafetyMotor carriersTrucksTruck driversBrakesThermal imageryInfrared imageryIntegrated Safety and Security Enforcement System (ISSES)Kentucky Commercial Vehicle SafetyApplications (CVSA)CVISNElectronic screeningFHWA-JPO-08-025DTFH61-02-C-00134, Task BA34018Lappin, Jane; Augustine, JohnAn advanced-technology Integrated Safety and Security Enforcement System (ISSES), now deployed at three commercial vehicle inspection sites along interstate highways in Kentucky, was evaluated from the point of view of system performance, potential effects on inspection selection efficiency (choosing the highest-risk trucks from the stream of commerce), user acceptance, and costs. Overall, despite the fact that commercial vehicle law enforcement staffing levels in Kentucky did not allow for full-time, dedicated use of the ISSES by inspectors at the time of the evaluation, the subsystems that were under evaluation in this task were found to be performing effectively in a stand-alone mode. The ISSES software and components now deployed, though operational, are considered to be in a development mode. The roadside system was not yet integrated with instate or national databases of historical safety information on carriers or vehicles, so the ISSES was not able to provide instant, \u201cactionable\u201d historical information that the inspectors could apply in their decision-making. Such integration has the potential, if implemented, to afford significant benefits in vehicle screening and safety enforcement. Kentucky\u2019s current inspection selection methods were compared with potential applications of ISSES technology across a set of scenarios, used to model improvements in commercial vehicle safety. Applying various combinations of inspection selection strategies and available or envisioned technologies for real-time vehicle identification and safety information exchange at the roadside, in a hypothetical statewide deployment supporting about 44,000 vehicle inspections and 86,000 driver inspections in a year, the ISSES was estimated to contribute to incremental reductions of between 63 and 629 commercial vehicle-related crashes per year, reductions of between 16 and 163 personal injuries, and reductions of up to 7 fatalities. Overall, to the extent that they had been exposed to the ISSES, the users were positive toward it and appeared to recognize its potential, but within their current organizational environment, they regarded it as more of a developmental test or research device than as a tool that they wanted to use immediately in their day-today commercial vehicle inspection and law enforcement duties.119