The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the University of Alabama at Birmingham a one-year, $275,000 grant to study ways to help prevent commercial trucking collisions and curb the severity of injuries when they occur.

"There is a pressing need for enhancing trucking safety in the United States, for both truck drivers and the motoring public," said principal investigator Fouad Fouad, chairman of the department of civil and environmental engineering. "We are drawing upon the expertise of several research departments – including engineering, medicine and psychology – to identify factors that contribute to commercial vehicle collisions, assess measures that can help prevent collisions and reduce the severity of collisions when they occur."

The research team will look at five areas of concern:

• Risk-taking behavior among commercial motor vehicle drivers;
• Enhancing safety through the use of technology;
• Tanker truck safety design to minimize injury in case of fire;
• Enhancements to commercial vehicles that would provide increased driver protection and/or lessen fatalities and injuries in the event of a crash; and
• Looking to regional trauma systems with automatic crash notification capabilities.

"The safety of all Americans on our roadways is the priority of this study," Fouad said. "Through our research departments, ongoing research programs and partnerships with other universities, UAB is able to provide a comprehensive research program that will address all aspects of commercial vehicle safety. The project leaders have extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of transportation engineering and safety, and specifically in the particular technical area they are leading."