Annuaire des organisations 549

White Paper on Transportation Safety. This is an annual English translation of the White Paper which is commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office. It presents the national administration’s performance in the area of land, sea, and air transporta- tion and safety.

Statistics of Road Traffic Accidents in Japan. The National Police Agency consigns the annual English translating and editing of the Japanese parent work to IATSS.

Other publications - Reports on research and training grants and aid, and the tu l l proceedings of the international symposiums - are also published on a regular basis.

5. A ward and grants (A wards and Grants Department)

The International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences A ward. The IATSS Award is presented once a year to the author of an outstanding research paper and to an individual who has contributed significantly to the field of traffic and safety science. The Dissertation Award is conferred upon the author of the finest paper ap- pearing in the preceding year. The Achievement Award goes to the individual who has made the most useful contribution to (a) the promotion of policy or education measures leading lo advances in traffic and safety, or (b) the development and con- struction of safe traffic control devices and facilities. There are two standards of qualification for the Achievement Award. The accomplishment must be one highly appreciated by community residents or transportation users, and i t also must be of the highest academic and scholarly standard.

Research grants. With the purpose of supporting research and aiding researchers engaged in traffic and safety related matters, IATSS has a number of programmes, including the Research Grants-in-Aid, Foreign Studies Scholarship for Japanese Scholars, and Invitational Grants to Foreign Scholars. Through these programmes, it is hoped that there will be greater and more meaningful exchange and cooperation with the outside world, and that IATSS horizons and activities will grow. Grants and awards presented as of 1978 included 33 Research Grants-in-Aid, 14 Foreign Studies Scholarships for Japanese Scholars and six Invitational Grants to Foreign Scholars. For further information contact: International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, 6-20, 2-chome, Yaesu, Chuoku, Tokyo 104, Japan.

The University of Michigan Highway Safety Research Institute, US

James E Haney

Purpose and Scope

The Institute, established in 1966, is a multidisciplinary research organization con-

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cerned with studies designed to make transportation systems more safe, energy- efficient, economical, convenient, and protective of the environment. The roughly 90 current research programs at HSRI are sponsored by 25 different government agen- cies or private organizations and are conducted by some 200 University of Michigan faculty and staff members representing about 30 academic disciplines. Total annual research expenditures are in the region of $6 million.

Organization

As one of the larger research institutes of the University of Michigan, HSRI in- teracts with several other units through joint appointments and cooperative graduate student programmes - notably with the School of Public Health, Medical School, College of Engineering, Law School, and Institute for Social Research. At HSRI the research programmes are organized within and among five groups: Acci- dent Data and Systems, Injury Protection, Policy Analysis, Vehicles and Roadways, and Human Factors. All groups are located in the HSRI Building, a 68,000 square foot complex of offices and laboratories constructed in 1969 on the University’s North Campus in Ann Arbor.

Activities

The Accident Data and Systems group at HSRI conducts studies concerned with (1) mathematical modeling and the design of data systems; (2) design of methods for assuring the quality of data collected; (3) design and use of methods of storing, analyzing, and interpreting accident data; and (4) development of improved means of assisting government and industry policymakers in their efforts to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation systems.

Injury Protection studies at HSRI are using the procedures of experimental and analytic biomechanics and biomedical engineering to establish better understanding of the types and levels of impacts various parts of the human body can withstand without serious injury. The research results are used in developing improved crash dummies, restraint systems, and occupant compartments.

Policy Analysis studies at HSRI are concerned with four programme areas: Future Studies, Policy Formulation, Policy Implementation, and Information Utilization. Various research projects are concerned with the role of alcohol in crash causation, the role of drugs other than alcohol, and the role of unsafe driving ac- tions. Other projects evaluate particular federal, state, or local countermeasure pro- grammes.

Vehicle and Roadway studies at HSRI are concerned with the physics of vehicle- tire-roadway systems of passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicles. Research projects involving computer simulations and full-scale testing are designed to evaluate and improve the braking and handling performances of vehicles, and to assess applicable federal safety standards.

Human Factors studies at HSRI are concerned with the perceptions and perfor- mance of humans acting as control elements in transportation systems. Research projects are conducted in five programme areas: vehicle head- and tail-lighting systems; vehicle conspicuity studies; legibility and perception of highway signing; the effects of alcohol on driving-related skills; and optimization of variables relating to effective rear vision of vehicle operators.

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The Human Factors group, directed by Dr Paul L. Olson, currently has nine pro- jects in process, conducted by six full-time researchers, six part-time graduate students, and three part-time undergraduate students. Most of the work is spon- so:ed by the US Department of Transportation. Facilities and equipment include automobile and motorcycle headlighting test vehicles, rearlighting test vehicles, computer programs for simulating the night performance of headlighting systems, a rearlighting simulator, and an eye-mark recorder for studying how drivers use their eyes during driving.

To illustrate the scope of Human Factors research at HSRI, six recent or current projects are briefly described here. One, entitled ‘Citizen Participation to Improve Highway Safety’, investigated the potential ways in which participation by citizens can help to reduce or eliminate some kinds of highway safety problems. For exam- ple, delays in communications concerning an accident occurrence or stranded motorists might be effectively reduced through functions performed by community agencies that would encourage citizen participation. The study tasks included analyz- ing current problem areas in terms of their potential for citizen participation, analyzing current practices, developing a research plan involving establishment of an experimental road safety action centre, and evaluating the effectiveness of the cen- tre. The research results provided valuable information concerning the potential for citizen participation and the efficacy of at least certain forms of road safety action centres.

A second study has concerned evaluation of the feasibility of a single-beam headlighting system. Its objective was to evaluate the beam pattern parameters necessary for developing an optimal single-beam system, and compare them with the conventional dual-beam system. A single-beam system has some obvious benefits, including simplication of the headlighting electrical system and lower headlighting costs. However, a study was needed to assess the feasibility of a single beam that would be as effective as a dual beam at various vehicle speeds and with various road- way geometries in terms of equal illumination distances along with no increased glare for oncoming drivers. The study results will be presenting findings and recom- mendations concerning the utility of a single-beam system.

A third study, sponsored by the 3M Company, has been examining the glare, legibility, and detectability of highway signs and vehicle licence plates. This has in- cluded investigating the effects of environmental glare, the effects of sign luminance on the visibility of other objects in the road environment, and the validity of a com- puter simulation of night-time retroreflective material luminance under automotive headlighting. For safety reasons it is important to determine whether there is a desirable upper limit to sign luminance. The study results are being incorporated in- to the computer simulation model so that glare effects can be considered along with other variables in sign design. The results are expected to contribute to improved sign designs.

A fourth example of HSRI work in human factors is a project designed to ex- amine signal lighting system requirements for emergency, school bus, and service vehicles. The objective is to analyze vehicle-to-vehicle communication requirements so that effective signalling systems can be specified to provide nationwide uniform systems. This will result in more adequate communication to drivers of other vehicles, and should reduce the disproportionate number of accidents involving special vehicles. Adequate and consistent school bus signalling systems must also be coupled with standardized operational procedures to protect pedestrians. The study

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results will be used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in modi- fying applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.

A fifth example is a project designed to develop and evaluate techniques for in- creasing the conspicuity of motorcycles and motorcycle drivers. Several research studies have shown that a high percentage of multi-vehicle traffic accidents involv- ing a motorcycle have resulted partly from the failure of the car or truck driver to see the motorcycle and perceive it immediately as a vehicle capable of speeds equal to any four-wheeled vehicle. The study tasks include identification and selection of at least six treatments or techniques suited for evaluation, the design and conduct of experimental field tests, assessment of the results, and development of recommenda- tions concerning treatments found to be most effective and feasible in terms of costs and benefits.

The final example here of human factors studies is a project sponsored by the Rehabilitation Service Administration, Health, Education and Welfare, to conduct human-performance studies of handicapped persons as part of a University of Michigan programme to develop a wheelchair/vehicle system that permits handicap- ped persons to be self-sufficient drivers. The project, coordinated by the University’s Rehabilitation Engineering Centre, entails collaborative research with other units, including the Department of Physical Medicine, Medical School, and Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial and Operations Engineer- ing, College of Engineering. Research at HSRI has been concerned with eye- movement patterns and perceptual limitations of handicapped persons, along with implications of those limitations for design of the wheelchair/vehicle-controls inter- face.

For further information contact: James E. Haney, Program Representative, University of Michigan Highway Safety Research Institute, Huron Parkway and Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 USA.