WHAT IS THE NEED?
Caltrans frequently utilizes a shadow truck, equipped with a Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA), during highway maintenance and repair endeavors to shield workers from potential collisions with stray vehicles. Despite enhancing worker safety, the nature of these shadow trucks implies that they will encounter impacts from errant vehicles, posing risks to the safety and well-being of the shadow truck driver. To mitigate these risks, there is a necessity to remove Caltrans' shadow truck drivers from the TMA. This move is anticipated to decrease operator injuries resulting from public vehicle impacts with TMA-equipped vehicles within highway work zones. The Intelligent TMA (ITMA) system, which addresses this concern, has undergone successful evaluation in controlled tests on closed sites, including a segment of State Route 905 (SR905). It has also performed with a safety operator on multiple state routes and I-8 near El Centro. To progress towards implementing the ITMA in regular Caltrans operations, it is imperative to conduct controlled field trials on public roads, without an ITMA safety operator, to assess its efficacy.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
This research project aims to conduct supervised field trials of the ITMA system on California's public roads to validate its practicality. In the standard operation of the ITMA system, the lead vehicle (LV) deposits electronic markers (E-crumb) using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. The steering, throttle, and braking of the follower vehicle (FV) are then controlled by the Kratos system to track the E-crumb trail of the LV and maintain a predetermined distance. Collaborating with Kratos, the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology (AHMCT) Research Center at UC Davis has performed necessary system modifications, formulate a testing strategy, delivered ITMA system training to Caltrans maintenance personnel, overseen field trials, gathered operator feedback via surveys or interviews, and evaluated the system's performance and suitability, including operator acceptance and the identification of any issues.
The initial field trials are being conducted on a secluded Caltrans-operated public road with a safety operator present in the ITMA FV. Following the assessment of these initial trials and agreement on moving forward with the test plan, final field trials will be carried out with the safety operator relocated to the LV, thereby eliminating the operator from the ITMA FV.
WHAT IS OUR GOAL?
The goal of this research project is to validate the safety and efficiency of the Intelligent Truck-Mounted Attenuator (ITMA) under real-world Caltrans operational circumstances and pinpoint any potential issues that might emerge during on-road field trials.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?
This research project offers a chance to conduct controlled field tests of the ITMA in closely supervised rural highway operations. By removing the TMA operator from the vehicle, the ITMA has the potential to substantially decrease operator injuries resulting from collisions between public vehicles and TMA-equipped vehicles.
More info can be found here: https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/research-notes/task4159-rns-02-23-a11y.pdf