Data Innovations to Reduce High-Risk Driving for CMVs on Rural Roadways in Texas

Project Overview:

The objective of Data Innovations to Reduce High-Risk Driving for CMVs on Rural Roadways in Texas is to prevent crashes and reduce crash severity for events involving large truck commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) by reducing high-risk driving behaviors. This objective is addressed by capitalizing on data sources beyond solely using crash data to better understand the magnitude and locations where high-risk driving behaviors occur.

Key Takeaways:

• When the average truck operating speed is higher than the posted speed limit, the crash rate steadily increases.
• Similarly, speeding over the limit is strongly associated with fatal and suspected serious injury CMV-related crashes.
• View our interactive Texas map that profiles truck driving behaviors and crashes.

Our Approach:

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) used four distinct data sources for this project to perform associative and statistical analyses involving crashes, citations and driving behavior attributes:

• Large truck crashes on state-maintained roadways (spanning from 2017 to 2019 and 2021; excluding 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Truck telematics/in-vehicle monitoring system data from six oil and gas companies, with a focus on key Texas oil and gas hubs.
• Roadway inventory data.
• Citation data from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Findings:

Findings from the data analyses were applied to improve employer and truck driver knowledge of high-risk behaviors and associated roadway characteristics. Additionally, information resources were provided to law enforcement officers aiding them in more targeted enforcement efforts to prevent risky behaviors among CMV drivers and the surrounding passenger vehicles.

Resources:

• Fleet Operators/Truck Drivers
  • Statewide CMV Profile Map
    • Map User Guide
    • Instructional video
    • Choose Your Safest Route: CMV Safety Map factsheet
  • Social Media Toolkit for CMV Drivers
• Law Enforcement Officers
  • Statewide CMV Profile Map
    • Map user guide
  • Data in the Driver’s Seat: A Look Into CMV Driver Behaviors on Texas Roadways (factsheet)

For more information on this project, please contact:

Eva M. Shipp, PhD 
TTI Senior Research Scientist

Project Title: Data Innovations to Reduce High-Risk Driving for CMVs on Rural Roadways in Texas
Project Start and End Dates: October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2023
Author List: Eva Shipp, Lingtao Wu, Dennis Perkinson, Emily Martin
Sponsor/Funding Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration