Louisiana State University receives grant to study truck crashes

October 10, 2019

Land Line Staff

|

Improvements to truck crash data may happen sometime in the future. Louisiana State University’s Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety was recently awarded more than three-quarters of a million dollars to study the causes of commercial motor vehicle crashes.

According to a news release, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has given the university a $773,504 grant to study the causes of truck crashes to improve safety on Louisiana’s roadways.

As part of the study, researchers will identify areas prone to truck and passenger vehicle “conflict,” according to LSU. Using artificial intelligence technology, the study aims to enhance crash analysis through advanced video analytics on data captured from multiple traffic cameras.

Data collected will include number of trucks, traffic crashes, vehicle breakdowns, congestion and vehicle speed. The cameras will also detect lane violations, following too close, hard braking, aimless driving and other unsafe driver behavior.

The Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety will hand over this information to the Louisiana State Police. Law enforcement can use the data for more effective deployment of enforcement resources. The main objective is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles.

Dr. Helmut Schneider is the principal investigator. He will be working in collaboration with co-investigator Dr. Supratik Mukhopadhyay from the LSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

“This new grant is one of the biggest grants LSU has received from FMCSA, and it helps to establish CARTS as one of the premier research centers in highways safety analytics,” Schneider said in a news release.

According to its website, the Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety is responsible for collecting, maintaining, integrating, analyzing and distributing crash-related data captured from law enforcement and other agencies throughout the State of Louisiana. Decision makers use tools and publications from the center to identify potential problem areas, create counter measures, set policies and establish programs to improve the safety of Louisiana roadways.