Areas of Expertise
Ground Transportation
The human element is repeatedly cited as a major cause of highway death and injury. Dunlap applies its human factors expertise to problem identification studies and the development of innovative and effective crash countermeasures. Our team members can either provide expert guidance on the development side or conduct the necessary research to gather the information you need on an existing system to help you make informed decisions.
Ongoing Projects
Telematics and Distracted Driving
A project that looks to explore the reliability of telematic technologies to document and monitor distracted driving behaviors for younger and middle-aged drivers. The team will analyze driving data from traditional DAS and telematics technology for over 125 participants.
Older Novice Driver Naturalistic Study
A project that involves a large-scale naturalistic driving study. The study investigates the evolution of younger and older novice driver performance and behavior during the first 12 months of independent (unsupervised) driving.
Past Projects
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A recently completed NHTSA project with the objective of enhancing EMS operations related to motor vehicle crashes by synthesizing existing literature on key factors that contribute to effective EMS responses, exploring the entire EMS process from the initial crash event to patient outcomes and personnel safety. The project developed a comprehensive EMS Program Guide detailing effective programs and best practices.
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A project that identified a wide range of countermeasures that had the potential to improve the safety of roadside service personnel. The project involved a field study to assess the effectiveness of one or more countermeasures to enhance the safety of roadside service and incident response personnel.
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A project that examined motor vehicle and bicyclist crash types to determine which crashes could potentially be impacted by increased law enforcement of motor vehicle driver behaviors. The second phase of the study included a full evaluation of an enforcement effort focused on the selected behaviors and crash types. Riders were outfitted with devices to measure passing distances before and after high visibility enforcement took place.
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A retrospective study identifying factors that may have contributed to deaths and injuries sustained in ground ambulance crashes. Researchers analyzed ground ambulance crash data using NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis databases and Special Crash Investigations reports. Findings were presented in a summary report.
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A study focused on identifying opportunities to decrease vehicle occupant fatalities by comparing selected States with observed seat belt use rates above and below the 2013 national average of 87% as well as low and high percentages of statewide fatalities where the fatally injured occupant was unbuckled. The goal was to determine if the higher seat belt use States implemented policies, procedures, enforcement types or intensities, management practices, or any other approach that could be suggested for use in the States with lower seat belt use to improve their performance.
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A study that was an extension of the earlier Heed the Speed study conducted by Dunlap and Associates. Part II focused on determining if the education, enforcement and engineering countermeasures could reduce the incidence of pedestrian-automobile collisions in neighborhoods. The study involved the implementation of a neighborhood speed reduction program in coordination with the city’s police department and streets department. Evaluation efforts included a large-scale survey at driver licensing offices and analyses of crash and citation data.
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An effort that provided technical support to FMCSA and States implementing Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks programs. Support included consulting on research design (e.g., how to conduct observations of driver behaviors), grants process review, and program implementation.