Project: #482 Transforming Transportation Policy and Planning for Safety Progress Report - Reporting Period Ending: April 1, 2025 Principal Investigator: Chris Hendrickson Status: Active Start Date: July 1, 2024 End Date: June 30, 2025 Research Type: None Grant Type: Research Advanced Grant Program: US DOT BIL, Safety21, 2023 - 2028 (4811) Grant Cycle: Safety21 : 24-25 Progress Report (Last Updated: April 2, 2025, 5:17 a.m.) % Project Completed to Date: None % Grant Award Expended: None % Match Expended & Document: None USDOT Requirements Accomplishments The project goal is to influence transport policy to improve safety. We have produced a policy brief with specific recommendations to improve safety for battery electric vehicles. We have also published a journal editorial with specific recommendations for needed research and activity to improve roadway safety. We have continued work on the effectiveness of partial automation in vehicles as well as understanding EV ownership and usage characteristics using the 2022 NHTS. We have presented results at professional meetings and involved five students in our research work. We have also presented at the Pennsylvania Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference 2024, sharing our findings and recommendations with transportation engineers from around the nation. Impacts Our editorial on improving roadway safety and safety research has over 300 downloads in less than two months. Our recommendations to improve battery electric vehicle safety has been disseminated to policy makers. Automakers continue to add partial automation safety features to vehicles sold. Vehicles with partial automation are increasingly entering the vehicle fleet and improving safety performance. We plan to produce a policy brief outlining EV owner usage characteristics and develop policy recommendations to increase overall EV adoption. We have informed the curriculum for the Traffic Incident Training trainings conducted at PennSTART, the closed loop, state-of-the-art testing facility in Westmoreland County. Other None Outcomes New Partners None Issues None