ATRI Announces Top 2018 Research Priorities
Planning cities to better accommodate trucks is one area of study the American Transportation Research Institute will delve into further this year, according to a press release issued by the organization April 2.
ATRI’s board of directors recently approved the 2018 top research priorities identified by the institute’s Research Advisory Committee. The committee crafted its list of research topics at its March meeting, and the board approved the topics at its meeting last week.
Urban planning to examine how freight delivery can be incorporated into “smart city design approaches” topped the list. Another priority is assessing the consistency and accuracy of commercial motor vehicle crash data at the local and state levels.
“ATRI’s research is a valuable tool for [American Trucking Associations] and the entire trucking industry as we advocate a pro-safety, pro-trucking agenda in Washington and across the country,” ATA spokesman Sean McNally said. “Good policy is based on good data, and ATRI’s research produces the quality of data we need to support our work in D.C. and elsewhere.”
Autonomous technologies also featured on ATRI’s list. The board has agreed to prioritize studying the role of state government regulations on autonomous vehicles and the impact of autonomous truck technologies on drivers.
Brewster
ATRI President Rebecca Brewster said autonomous technologies and smart city planning are linked as equipment such as vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies can be outfitted into the physical environment to communicate with cars and trucks.
The institute also will focus on inconsistencies in commercial driver’s license testing by reviewing CDL testing requirements across states and identifying best practices. The final topic on the list is determining best practices for cannabis intoxication testing, including research that will benchmark recommended maximum intoxication levels.
Brewster said the topics will serve as a complement to other work ATRI has published, including its “Framework for Infrastructure Funding,” which was released in November. The research determined that a federal fuel tax increase is the best option for achieving a large-scale infrastructure program.
“They really do cover the landscape,” Brewster said. “We need to make sure trucking is part of that conversation.”
