Project Objective
The objective of Project S07A is to carry out data collection for the in-vehicle driving behavior field study at the Bloomington IN site with 150 Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) as per the schedule in Table 1. It is anticipated that separate contracts will be awarded for data collection in a total of six sites for the overall S07 program. The field study data collection contractors will be responsible for scheduling participant drivers for installation and assessment, collecting data, addressing problems encountered during the study, investigating crashes, data transmission, carrying out quality control procedures and preparing periodic reports documenting the field study activities. The organization and management of all activities will be conducted under procedures defined by the study design (S05) contractor, VTTI, and under the day-to-day oversight of the quality control (S06) contractor, VTTI. The combined goal is to collect about 3900 vehicle-years of data in a 28-month period.
Participant recruitment and screening for all sites will be conducted by a single national call center. The call center will support the site contractors. To provide a more representative group of participants, the call center will recruit drivers from randomly selected listed samples of households located in the study sites. After participants have been screened by the call center and have agreed to participate, their contact information will be forwarded to the appropriate S07 site contractor for scheduling. As recruitment activities progress, they may have to be targeted on age/gender cells that are not filled. Traditional recruitment activities such as advertisements and presentations, using prepared recruitment materials provided by the S06 contractor, will be conducted by the S07 site contractors. The recruitment activities conducted by the S07 site contractors will direct volunteers to a single toll-free number answered at the call center.
The Bloomington, IN site will be responsible for maintaining 150 DAS units. The DAS installations must be completed in 4 months in order to achieve a full 24 months of data collection for each DAS within the 28-month data collection period. Three months are allocated for start-up and training, one month for approval to begin data collection, one month for close-out at the end and one month for final report review. Each site will include both one-year and two-year volunteer drivers. Table 1, indicates the number of DAS units and volunteer drivers by age and gender based on the overall sample design for the Bloomington IN site.
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TABLE 1
Sample Design (with Target Cell Values)
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Gender:
Age Range
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Age Range Description
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One
Year
|
Two
Years
|
DAS
units
|
Primary Participants
|
Data-Years
|
|
M 16-17
|
Teen
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 18-20
|
Adult Teen
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 21-25
|
Young Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 26-35
|
Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 36-50
|
Middle Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 51-65
|
Mature Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 66-75
|
Younger Older Driver
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
M 76+
|
Older Older Driver
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 16-17
|
Teen
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 18-20
|
Adult Teen
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 21-25
|
Young Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 26-35
|
Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 36-50
|
Middle Adult
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 51-65
|
Younger Older Driver
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 66-75
|
Middle Older Driver
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
F 76+
|
Older Older Driver
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
16
|
|
Any
|
Advanced Vehicle Technology
|
|
22
|
22
|
22
|
44
|
|
Totals:
|
|
96
|
54
|
150
|
244
|
300
|
Tasks
Task 1: Institutional Review Board Approval. The objective of this task is to obtain approval for this project from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) governing the site Contractors in close coordination with the IRB of the Technical Coordination and Quality Control Project (S06) Contractor and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) IRB.
Task 2: Finalize Study Site. The objective of this task is to finalize the definition and boundaries of the study site, possibly incorporating suggestions from the proposal evaluation committee.
Task 3: Preparations for Study. The objective of this task is to prepare staff and facilities for the project, including training, equipment and materials.
Task 4: Participant Management. The objective of this task is to manage the flow of participants through the study including scheduling, driver assessment, DAS installations, participant tracking and relations, payments to participants, monitoring of incidents and field problems and participant close-out and DAS removal. This task includes the driver assessment. DAS installation and other data collection activities are addressed in subsequent tasks.
Task 5: Vehicle Instrumentation. The objective of this task is to install the data acquisition system (DAS) in the participant vehicles, respond to any instrumentation problems and remove the DAS at the end of data collection, restoring the vehicle to its original condition.
Task 6: Collision Investigation. The objective of this task is to conduct follow-up crash investigations upon notification by the S06 contractor.
Respondents must demonstrate the capability to investigate certain crashes that occur during the
Task 7: Monitor Data Quality. The objective of this task is to carry out the quality control activities specified by the technical coordination and quality assurance project S06.
Task 8: Data Management and DAS Maintenance in the Field. The objective of this task is to transfer data from DAS to the S06 contractor and perform any necessary field maintenance.
Task 9: Project Management and Reporting. The objective of this task is to develop and monitor the management plan, prepare progress reports as called for and a final report at the end of the project.
Project Reviews
Two project reviews are scheduled during the data collection: the first is at the end of the first four-month installation period (scheduled at month 8) and the second is 12 months later at the end of the first-year changeover (schedule at month 20). Adherence to schedule and protocol are paramount in this project. If progress is not satisfactory, the National Academies may alter the scope or terminate the project. Review will be conducted by SHRP 2 staff in consultation with the S06 contractor.
Deliverables
1. Amplified Work Plan and Revised Management Plan—within 3 months of contract start
2. IRB Approval—within 3 months of contract start
3. Monthly Progress Reports—15 days after month end
4. Quarterly Progress Reports—30 days after quarter end
5. Draft Final Report—1 month before project end date
4. Project Final Report—project end date
