Communication Product Updates

Compiled by Zachary Ellis of FHWA's Office of Corporate Research, Technology,and Innovation Management

Below are brief descriptions of communications products recently developed by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. All of the reports are or will soon be available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies of the communications products are available from FHWA's Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center (PDC).

When ordering from NTIS, include the NTIS publication number (PB number) and the publication title. You also may visit the NTIS Web site at www.ntis.gov to order publications online. Call NTIS for current prices. For customers outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the cost is usually double the listed price. Address requests to:

National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-605-6000
Toll-free number: 800-553-NTIS (6847)
Web site: www.ntis.gov

Requests for items available from the R&T Product Distribution Center should be addressed to:

R&T Product Distribution Center
Szanca Solutions/FHWA PDC
13710 Dunnings Highway
Claysburg, PA 16625
Telephone: 814-239-1160
Fax: 814-239-2156
E-mail: report.center@dot.gov

For more information on R&T communications products available from FHWA, visit FHWA's Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov, the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center's Web site at www.tfhrc.gov, the National Transportation Library's Web site at http://ntl.bts.gov, or the OneDOT information network at http://dotlibrary.dot.gov.

Interactive Highway Safety Design Model -- Highway Safety Manual
Predictive Method 2010 Release
(Version 6.0.0, July 15, 2010)

The 2010 release of the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) -- Highway Safety Manual (HSM) Predictive Method (Version 6.0.0, July 15, 2010) is now available for free at www.ihsdm.org. The IHSDM is a suite of software analysis tools for evaluating safety and operational effects of geometric design decisions. The model enables users to check existing or proposed highway designs against relevant design policy values and provides estimates of a design's expected safety and operational performance. The 2010 release replaces all previous IHSDM versions.

The IHSDM 2010 release includes six evaluation modules: crash prediction, policy review, design consistency, intersection review, traffic analysis, and driver/vehicle. The updated Crash Prediction Module (CPM) is an implementation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' HSM Part C: Predictive Methods for two-lane rural highways, multilane rural highways, and urban and suburban arterials. The CPM estimates the frequency of crashes expected on a roadway based on its geometric design and traffic characteristics. The crash prediction algorithms consider the effect of a number of roadway segment and intersection variables.

The IHSDM public software Web site (www.ihsdm.org) also provides access to IHSDM user documentation and information on data requirements, technical support, summaries of selected IHSDM user applications and case studies, and IHSDM-related current events.

Simultaneous Structural and Environmental Loading of a UHPC Component (TechBrief)
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-10-055

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an advanced cementitious composite material developed in recent decades. When compared to more conventional concrete materials, UHPC tends to exhibit superior properties such as exceptional durability, high compressive strength, usable tensile strength, and long-term stability. FHWA studied the post-cracking tensile response of UHPC subjected to simultaneous structural and environmental loading. This TechBrief, a summary of the unpublished FHWA report, Simultaneous Structural and Environmental Loading of an Ultra-High Performance Concrete Component, provides more information on the study's objective, properties of UHPC, durability of cracked UHPC, test program description, and conclusions.

Practical application of concrete in the highway infrastructure frequently subjects cracked sections to simultaneous mechanical and environmental stressors. This experimental investigation focused on the response of a UHPC beam subjected to concurrent inelastic flexural loading and the application of a 15 percent sodium chloride solution. The study concluded that simultaneous application of structural and environmental loading to a UHPC flexural member did not result in any apparent degradation of the member's flexural capacity.

The document is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/10055/index.cfm. Printed copies are available from the PDC. Copies of the full, unpublished report are available from NTIS under PB2010-110331.

Development of a Speeding-Related Crash Typology (Summary Report)
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-10-039

Seeking more effective ways to reduce speeding-related fatalities, injuries, and crashes, the U.S. Department of Transportation instituted the Speed Management Strategic Initiative. In support of this initiative, FHWA examined recent crash data by developing a speeding-related crash typology. This summary report discusses the literature review FHWA conducted, the analysis methodology used, and the results.

The speeding-related crash typology helped define the crash, vehicle, and driver characteristics that result in a higher probability of speeding-related crashes. The goal was to determine the what, where, when, and who descriptors of speeding-related crashes to provide guidance in the development of new treatments and to better target new and existing treatments to subgroups of drivers and types of roadways (such as two-lane rural) or roadway locations (such as curves).

The study used 2005 data from the two major national crash databases: the National Automotive Sampling System's General Estimates System (GES) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Researchers also used data from two States: 2002–2004 data from North Carolina and 2003–2005 data from Ohio. Two analysis methodologies were used: (1) single variable table analysis and (2) classification and regression tree (CART). The single variable analysis examined a series of both crash-related and driver- and vehicle-related variables. CART automatically defined which variables or factors are most critical in speeding-related crashes. The study concludes that the current focus on speeding is both well justified and of critical importance in further reducing the cost to society resulting from vehicle crashes in the United States.

The document is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/10039/index.cfm. Printed copies also are available from the PDC.