Integrated vehicle-based safety systems (IVBSS) : heavy truck extended pilot test summary report.

Bogard, S.; Funkhouser, D.; Sayer, J. · 2009 · ROSA P / University of Michigan. Transportation Research Institute

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Summary

This report summarizes the findings of an Extended Pilot Test (EPT) for the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program, conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The study aimed to evaluate the performance and driver acceptance of a prototype integrated crash warning system in heavy trucks prior to a larger Field Operational Test (FOT). The system was designed to provide warnings for rear-end collisions, lane changes, and roadway departures. The EPT involved seven commercial drivers from Con-way Freight operating a single instrumented Class 8 tractor over five consecutive days each, totaling 5,300 miles of driving between November and December 2008. The vehicle was equipped with a sensor suite including vision, radar, and inertial sensors, as well as a Data Acquisition System (DAS) that recorded numerical data and video. Drivers completed post-drive questionnaires and interviews to assess subjective acceptance. The test covered both pick-up and delivery (P&D) routes and line-haul routes to capture varied driving conditions. Results indicated that the system operated reliably, but the alert rate was higher than anticipated. Drivers received an average of 21.7 alerts per 100 miles, with 47% of these classified as invalid. Invalid alerts were predominantly Forward Crash Warning (FCW) alerts triggered by stopped objects, such as highway overpasses, which accounted for 42% of all invalid alerts. Lane Departure Warning (LDW) alerts also contributed significantly to invalid warnings, particularly on P&D routes with poorer lane markings. Despite the high frequency of alerts, most drivers reported understanding the warnings and appreciated the increased situational awareness. However, only two of the seven drivers preferred driving with the system installed. The study concluded that the EPT successfully validated the system’s reliability and provided critical data for refinement. The high rate of invalid FCW alerts for stopped objects led to specific software modifications to improve detection logic. These enhancements were implemented in the heavy truck fleet for the subsequent full-scale FOT. The findings highlight the challenges of deploying crash warning systems in naturalistic driving environments, particularly regarding false positives from stationary infrastructure and the variability of driver response to frequent alerts.

Key finding

The integrated crash warning system generated an invalid alert rate of 10.3 per 100 miles, primarily driven by forward crash warnings incorrectly identifying stopped objects, yet drivers generally accepted the system and reported increased awareness.

Methodology

naturalistic

Sample size: 7

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (7 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• truck driver fatigue
• dms validation
• in vehicle coaching

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics, tool software