Intelligent Transportation Systems

Advanced Safety Technologies, including Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Advanced safety technologies, especially Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), are being actively researched, developed and applied to improve highway safety in the United States, and in other countries. They involve the use of information processing, communications, and electronic devices capable of improving safety and efficiency for surface transportation. A major U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) ITS program involves public and private cooperation, coordination and funding of projects, often lead or administered by the various US DOT Administrations, including FHWA, NHTSA, FMCSA, FRA and RITA. The ITS projects involve research, testing and deployment of ITS that are associated with the road infrastructure (such as road-based sensors, computers, communications and traffic control devices) and vehicles, often involving cooperative, coordinated systems and user interfaces. In addition to the ITS projects for the highway infrastructure, there are other significant initiatives are focusing on advancing highway safety that advance vehicle and information technologies which sometimes need highway infrastructure involvement. As these advances safety technologies evolve, awareness of key developments and opportunities related to safety and safety programs, and the sharing of information on applications of these technologies will best help deployment of these technologies for improving road safety.

USDOT ITS Web Site
FHWA ITS Research
"Improving Highway Safety with Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)" Training Course, (NHI Course# 137044):
- For Classroom version - search course number "137044.", or
- For Web-based version, or
- Contact Kathleen Frankle, Consortium of ITS Training and Education (CITE), (410) 414-2925, KFrankle@umd.edu.
Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN)
Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI)
IVI Human Factors
Integrated Vehicle Based Safety Systems (IVBSS)
Vehicle Research and Test Center's Crash Avoidance Research/ITS Research
NHTSA's Intelligent Transportation Systems
Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems (CICAS)

Specific Pedestrian Safety Through Advanced Technology

Field test on ITS for pedestrians (Japan)
PedSmart: ITS Applications for Pedestrians - [HMTL, PDF 495KB]
Techbrief: GIS Tools for Improving Pedestrian and Bike Safety - FHWA - [PDF, 2.24MB]
Passive Pedestrian Detection at Unsignalized Crossings - DKS Associates - [PDF, 244KB] - This report includes the discussion of a project conducted by the City of Portland to evaluate available sensor technologies for passive pedestrian detection, design of a crossing to utilize these sensor technologies, and a preliminary evaluation of how well the sensors operate once installed at the crossing.