MRIGlobal Research, Analytics Bring Safer Trucking Operations

MRIGlobal has performed extensive research on truck operations, including truck rollover thresholds, performance of single- and double-trailer trucks, hazardous materials transport, and the role of tires in safety. 

This work has recommended operational guidelines and influenced geometric design and traffic control policies.

 Our Capabilities:

• Analysis of high- and low-speed offtracking in turns
• Truck rollover threshold determinations
• Model for predicting truck speed profiles on steep upgrades and downgrades
• Performance analysis of single- and double-trailer trucks and longer combination vehicles (LCVs)
• Passenger-car equivalents of trucks for operational evaluations
• Geometric design requirements for trucks
• Hazardous materials transportation safety guidelines
• Analysis of the role of truck tires in safety
• Truck considerations in work-zone design

 MRIGlobal’s Truck Operations and Safety Successes:

• Design evaluations: MRIGlobal evaluated the extent of geometric design improvements needed for selected truck networks to accommodate current and potential larger trucks. This research supported the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study.
  
  
• Computer simulations: MRIGlobal modeled truck performance on upgrades in TWOPAS, the state-of-the-art computer simulation model of two-lane highway operations.
  
  
• Reports and Synthesis: MRIGlobal prepared Report 505, Review of Truck Characteristics as Factors in Roadway Design, for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. MRIGlobal prepared a synthesis on highway/heavy vehicle interaction for the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program.