Government Contract | District of Columbia
A Guide to Enhancing the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users in a CAV Future

Specifications include, but are not limited to: The objective of this research is to develop a guide to assist state DOTs and local agencies with the implementation of existing and near-term on-vehicle and on-street technologies designed to enhance the safety of VRUs sharing the road with CAVs. Technologies may include, but not be limited to: Detection technologies (e.g., LIDAR and machine vision);Communication methods (e.g., methods that enhance awareness of and provide information to VRUs; methods that replicate current human-to-human communication on the road; auditory or visual cues originating from the vehicle; etc.);Education aimed at VRUs to help them understand and more safely interact with CAVs; andInfrastructure technologies (e.g., enhanced traffic signal or other roadside device technologies).Task descriptions are intended to provide a framework for conducting the research. The NCHRP is seeking the insights of proposers on how best to achieve the research objective. Proposers are expected to describe research plans that can realistically be accomplished within the constraints of available funds and contract time. Proposals must present the proposers current thinking in enough detail to demonstrate their understanding of the problem and the soundness of their approach to accomplishing the project objective.Accomplishment of the project objective will require the following tasks. PHASE IPlanningTask 1. Conduct a literature review of existing and near-term technologies to enhance the safety of VRUs sharing the road with CAVs.Task 2. Develop and implement a plan to engage with a representative sample of key stakeholders (e.g., infrastructure owner-operators, researchers, associations, CAV industry stakeholders, etc.) to obtain focused perspectives and insights into existing and near-term technologies designed to enhance the safety of VRUs sharing the road with CAVs.Note: The proposal shall describe a detailed approach to identifying and engaging stakeholders, including the expected number of stakeholders by category type.Task 3. Synthesize results of the literature review and stakeholder engagements. Summarize identified existing and near-term, state-of-the-art methods and technologies being deployed and/or developed to address VRU safety, with an emphasis on factors within the control of a DOT. Task 4. Propose a methodology to achieve the research objective, to be fully developed in Phase II. At a minimum, the methodology shall address how to analyze the identified technologies to determine the following:1. Feasibility;2. Likely effectiveness in prevention of VRU injury and death;