At the same time, the work we have done in special studies and in keeping aware of evolving needs, we see future activities in:
- Crash Causation Investigations. Tremendous improvements have been made to vehicle crashworthiness and survivability, due to mandates from NHTSA’s work and findings, the attention of manufacturers, and market forces that prioritize safety features in vehicles. Attention to crash causation is growing: that is, not just the safety in a crash, but the underlying factors that allow the crash to occur. KLD has done such work as part of special studies.
- Additional Vehicle Types and Other Travel Modes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) focuses on truck safety. KLD has participated in such studies, and in mid-size trucks. As trucks automate, the effects on the mixed traffic stream are of special interest. So are other modes that share the right-of-way or are in immediate proximity to it, such as pedestrians on city streets and especially in intersections and such as bicycles in the traffic mix.
- Connected Vehicles and Autonomous Vehicles. This is no longer a vision for the future. There have been tremendous investments in research, in development, and in demonstration. Manufacturers are making major investments. Safety studies will be needed for more vehicle types and for the mix of vehicles that might be involved in a crash. Risk metrics will likely need attention for near-crashes.
- Electric Vehicles. EV’s are a major innovation that has become a national priority, due to energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions mitigation. The map of charging stations throughout the US is already startling. Significant Federal money has been committed. Manufacturers have prioritized EV’s in a competitive market. Some areas are mandating that new gas-powered vehicles cannot be sold after a certain year. Certainly, EV’s must be listed as a new vehicle type. But it goes beyond that: EV’s interacting with other vehicles and with pedestrians and bicycles has to be quantified in terms of crashes and risk.
- Public Alert and Other Apps. KLD has developed apps for data collection and data quality. It developed others, including quantifying task times at a crash investigation site. A firm with which KLD has partnered has designed and implemented apps to inform people of incidents and advisories near power plants. Creating apps while also quantifying the role of “distracting walking” as a contributor to crashes.
Crash Causation Investigations
Additional Vehicle Types and Other Travel Modes
Connected Vehicles and Autonomous Vehicles
Electric Vehicles
Public Alert and Other Apps
KLD has had experience in most of the items on this list, and studies trends and opportunities in these areas. Internal work (IR&D), training or retraining some of its workforce, and strategic hiring will strengthen capabilities when and where appropriate.
KLD has always invested in IR&D and sought out new areas.
Our current areas of focus are:
Crash Reconstruction
Big Data: Management & Analysis
Connected Vehicle & Safety
Ped & Bike Safety
Mobile Apps
KLD has performed analyses of individual motor vehicle crashes and of crash patterns for over 45 years. Our uniquely trained researchers and investigators perform thorough field investigations of individual crashes to reconstruct events, identify causative factors, and evaluate occupant protection and avoidance technologies. To further enhance the scope of our abilities, KLD has added staff with expertise in Total Station, Special Crash Investigations, technical/procedural document development/writing, and training. This development moves KLD into new areas of service to our clients.
The mobile phone has revolutionized the way we interact with devices and ushered in an era of enhanced productivity for transportation professionals in the field. The mobile devices (phones, tablets, computers) have seen explosive growth in computational power and capabilities in terms of sensors on these devices. Leveraging these to support transportation professionals is something we have done successfully in projects such as TPMS. The ability to collect data efficiently with high quality, to monitor the data sets in real time, and to refine the experimental designs on the fly offers improved ROIs on large scale data collection efforts. Also, the need to ensure data security and privacy for both data at rest and in transit, requires special attention as well. We see the need to be involved in the areas of cyber security and transportation, with a special focus on mobile apps to support large scale data collection efforts.