Integration of analysis methods and development of analysis plan.

The objective of the SHRP 2 NDS is to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities by preventing or reducing the severity of collisions. Every 1% reduction in crashes will prevent 330 deaths and about $2 billion in annual medical expenses and other losses from these crashes. Moreover, crashes are a leading cause of nonrecurring congestion. Collision prevention can reduce delay, fuel consumption, and emissions. The focus of the NDS is to provide objective information on the role of driver behaviour and performance in traffic collisions and the interrelationship of the driver with vehicle, roadway, and environmental factors. This project began with a review of the four S01 projects, Development of Analysis Methods Using Recent Data, and Safety Project S05, Design of the In-Vehicle Driving Behaviour and Crash Risk Study. The initial focus was on the fundamental challenges facing researchers wanting to use this relatively new source of safety information, the SHRP 2 NDS. These challenges include the size and complexity of the database; the continuous nature of the data; sampling, defining, and finding events of interest; developing an exposure reference; reduction of video data; linking video data with roadway data; the use of collision surrogates; and many others. The five top research questions identified in this report are based on the decision criteria developed in Phase I. Summaries of Phase I of the project are included as appendices. More than 400 research issues are listed. These questions were articulated and accumulated throughout the development of the SHRP 2 Safety program from committees, the annual SHRP 2 Safety Symposia, and the early SHRP 2 projects. The Phase I work describes the process for combining these issues into global research questions and establishing priorities. The report also provides a summary of Phase II of the project and the resulting five sample work plans to illustrate the application of these critical elements in the analysis plans for the top-priority research questions. (Author/publisher)