Research

DOT-Sponsored Research Activities

SafeTrip-21

The SafeTrip-21 (Safe and Efficient Travel through Innovation and Partnerships for the 21st Century) Initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) IntelliDrive^SM Program. SafeTrip-21 partners are conducting operational tests and demonstrations with the goal of accelerating the deployment of near-market-ready technologies that have the potential to deliver safety and mobility benefits.

Currently, two SafeTrip-21 Test Beds are active: The California Connected Traveler Field Test; and the I-95 Corridor Coalition Field Test.

California Connected Traveler Field Test Bed

The California Connected Traveler Field Test is a $14.6 million public-private effort that was launched in April of 2008 by DOT, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and private sector partners. The field test is being conducted in the San Francisco Bay area, and has five elements:

• Networked Traveler is a system envisioned to provide alerts regarding Safety, Trip Planning, Traffic Congestion, and Transit Conditions to travelers via GPS-enabled cellular phones through downloadable applications and user-specified preferences.
• Mobile Millennium will test the ability of GPS-equipped cellular phones to generate robust, quality probe data throughout the Bay Area. Up to 10,000 voluntary users will carry the phones and generate real-time traffic information on highway and arterial roadway conditions. Data will be transmitted from the vehicles to area traffic management centers, which will use state-of-the art processing models to translate the data into reliable transportation information that will help all Bay Area commuters to make intelligent travel choices, and allow transportation agencies to monitor roadways without traditional roadside infrastructure.
• The Smart Parking project will provide real-time transit and highway travel times to travelers en route to San Francisco on Highway 101, in combination with parking availability at key transit stations, via changeable message signs (CMS) and GPS-enabled cell phones (similar to Networked Traveler). The goal of Smart Parking is to provide useful information to travelers that will encourage them to shift from their vehicles to transit.
• Work Zone Management field operational tests will include an innovative high-tech work-zone-monitoring device built into traffic cones or barrels known as iConeTM. The portable, solar-powered device monitors traffic and wirelessly relays speed and queuing information to a web server. Real-time information about work zone traffic conditions will be used by Caltrans staff to see whether restrictions on road work can be relaxed based on actual traffic conditions, versus historical traffic statistics. Real-time traffic monitoring also will be used to facilitate Caltrans efforts to suspend road work when excessive traffic delays occur due to road repair activities.
• Internet-based Signalized Intersection Delay Monitoring has the potential to generate real-time information for travelers along signalized streets, as well as to provide delay data to system operators for signal retiming purposes. The information collected by the system also can be used to inform dynamic route guidance applications if deployed throughout a street network. This SafeTrip-21 test element will apply wireless traffic delay telemetry to two traffic signals on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, CA.

I-95 Corridor Coalition Field Test Bed

The I-95 Corridor Field Test is a $6.4 million public-private effort that was launched in November of 2008 in an agreement between the DOT and the I-95 Corridor Coalition and its partners. The field test is located on the I-95 Corridor between North Carolina and New Jersey. It has four major elements:

• The Intercity Trip Planner is a web-based trip planner system that builds upon the existing I-95 website to provide cross-jurisdictional, real-time information between key destinations along the I-95 corridor to users of the public website. The test will evaluate long-distance trip planning capabilities using commercially available, real-time traffic data derived from “probe vehicles” to understand the benefits of providing Interstate traveler information, and its influence on travel choices.
• Airport Ground Transport Travel Information will provide travelers at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport with real-time information on the status of ground transportation options to and from the airport. Kiosks will contain information on highway travel times, public transportation options, taxis, shuttle vans, and airport bus services. Information will also be available on the airport website and via wireless devices. This test will be conducted in cooperation with the airport authority.
• Public Traffic Map Displays are large flat-panel displays to be installed at Tyson’s Corner Mall and two Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) welcome centers, with displays of real-time nearby roadway traffic information.
• The Work Zone Management test will include an innovative high-tech work-zone-monitoring device built into traffic cones or barrels, known as iConeTM . When deployed at a work zone, the portable solar-powered device monitors traffic and relays traffic information wirelessly. The iCone will send information to highway traffic operations managers about traffic volume and travel times through the work zone. These operating agencies can then distribute this information to travelers through traveler information systems to encourage travelers to seek less congested routes to avoid delays.