The objective of the SHRP 2 NDS is to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities by preventing collisions or reducing the severity of them. The SHRP 2 NDS is the first large-scale study focused on collision prevention (as opposed to injury prevention once a collision occurs) since the Indiana Tri-Level Study (Tri-Level Study of the Causes of Traffic Accidents: Final Report, DOT HS-805 085, U.S. Department of Transportation, May 1979). Vehicle use was recorded continuously during the SHRP 2 NDS. Information on vehicle travel, or exposure, can be extracted at the same level of detail as for safety-related events, such as crashes and near crashes. Hence, the SHRP 2 NDS is the first large-scale study to support detailed estimates of collision risk. Moreover, crashes are a leading cause of nonrecurring congestion, so collision prevention has added benefits in terms of reduced delay, fuel consumption, and emissions. The NDS provides objective information on the role of driver behavior and performance in traffic collisions and on the interrelationship of the driver with vehicle, roadway, and environmental factors. The SHRP 2 Safety research program was carried out under the guidance of the Safety Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC), which was composed of volunteer experts. The Safety TCC developed and approved all project descriptions and budgets and met semi-annually to review progress and approve any program modifications. The Oversight Committee approved all budget allocations and contract awards. Assistance was provided by expert task groups, which developed requests for proposals, evaluated proposals and recommended contractors, and provided guidance on many issues, such as data access policies and procedures. The decisions and recommendations of the governing committees were implemented by SHRP 2 staff as they carried out day-to-day management of the research projects. This report describes the technical coordination and quality control carried out by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) for the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS). This project encompassed procurement of the data acquisition system (DAS) and all associated installation and driver assessment equipment; coordination of human subjects protections; participant recruitment; training and coordination of the six site contractors that carried out participant enrolment, instrumentation, and data retrieval; data management; data processing; and quality control. From October 2010 through November 2013, the study collected continuous driving information on more than 3,000 light-vehicle drivers, covering about 50 million miles of driving in the six study sites. In this report, potential users of the SHRP 2 NDS data or findings will find a summary of data collection methods and procedures, instrumentation, quality control, and project management. (Author/publisher)
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