ATRI announces 2018 top research priority list

Which trucking-related issues need more research and studies? Although there are many arguably correct answers, the American Transportation Research Institute’s Research Advisory Committee has narrowed it down to six in their 2018 top research priorities list.

Last week, ATRI’s board of directors vetted and approved the committee’s list of research topics over critical industry issues. There was only one research priority that was also on 2017’s list: Autonomous impacts on the truck driver.

ATRI’s 2018 top research priorities:

• Urban planning and smart city design for trucks – examining how and where truck freight delivery can be effectively incorporated into urban planning and smart city design approaches;
• Assessing the consistency and accuracy of CMV crash data – identify ways to improve commercial motor vehicle crash data collection, quality review, data management and data submission at the local and state levels;
• Role and impact of government regulations on autonomous vehicles – assess the positive and negative impact of regulations being promulgated at the state-level for identification of model legislation on how autonomous technologies and vehicles should be deployed;
• Inconsistencies in CDL testing – review the range of requirements for CDL testing across states and identify best practices to develop an effective set of testing requirements;
• Autonomous impacts on the truck driver – a detailed analysis of how autonomous truck technologies will change the operational environment and driving requirements for commercial drivers; and
• Best practices for cannabis intoxication testing – exploring best practices in the U.S. and abroad, the research that will benchmark recommended maximum intoxication levels and identify recommendations for driver sobriety testing.

ATRI’s 2017 list included the following:

• Driven to distraction – examining the impact of technology deployment inside the truck which may either exacerbate or reduce truck driver distraction;
• Cumulative economic impact of trucking regulations – examining the potential for developing a standardized methodology for conducting regulatory impact analyses of trucking industry regulations which can then be applied across agencies and regulations to identify industry costs;
• HOS flexibility: A possible solution to bottlenecks – exploring the opportunity for addressing some of the nation’s worst congestion choke points through flexibility in the federal Hours-of-Service rules, which would allow drivers to wait out the most congested periods of the day;
• Impact of e-commerce on trucking – mapping potential impacts of e-commerce to the trucking industry’s top industry issues;
• Truck bottleneck trends: Economic changes or infrastructure improvements – conducting a deep dive into ATRI’s Annual Truck Bottleneck List to identify specific infrastructure improvements that will positively impact congestion; and
• Autonomous truck impacts on the truck driver – a detailed analysis of how autonomous truck technologies will change the operational environment and driving requirements for commercial drivers.

ATRI is the research arm of the American Trucking Associations.