Specialty Vehicle Platform Results for Intelligent Vehicle Initiative: Minnesota Field Operational Test

Abstract

In November 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a major Intelligent Vehicle Initiative grant to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). Minnesota’s project was a 3-year Generation 0 Specialty Vehicle field operational test for technology that gives lateral guidance and collision avoidance warnings to drivers in low-visibility conditions. Along with Mn/DOT and FHWA, other public and private partners participated in the project. Active operational testing was conducted over the winter of 2001–2002. The purposes of the project were to identify the technology’s safety and operational impacts, to guide future decisions on the technology’s installation on specialized vehicles, and to encourage the development and appropriate deployment of such systems on all vehicle platforms. The technologies were tested in four snowplows, a Minnesota State Patrol squad car, and an ambulance on a 50-mi rural highway. A key aspect of the project was optimizing driver interfaces from the perspective of study of the human factors involved. An overview of the project, including technologies, evaluation, and findings, is presented.