T3 Webinar Overview

Impacts on Roads from Automated Driving Systems (ADS)

Date: Thursday May 19, 2022
Time: 1:00 P.M. – 2:30 P.M. ET
Cost: All T3 webinars are free of charge.
PDH: 1.5 | View PDH Policy

T3 and T3e Webinars are brought to you by the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO). References in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the USDOT.

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Background

The recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) calls for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to conduct a study on the impacts of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) to transportation infrastructure, mobility, the environment, and safety. This study discusses both existing and future impacts of ADS on a range of areas, including but not limited to the existing transportation infrastructure, traffic operations, congestion, the environment, and personal mobility. This webinar will provide an overview of this study and highlight various automation-related activities across the FHWA.

Target Audience

The target audience includes transportation professionals, students, and interested members of the general public.

Learning Objectives

The objectives of this webinar are that participants will gain an understanding about:

• Current FHWA efforts related to Automated Driving Systems (ADS); and
• Potential impacts of ADS to infrastructure, mobility, the environment, and safety.

Host and Presenter

John Harding, USDOT/FHWA Office of Transportation Management, Connected/Automated Vehicles and Emerging Technologies Team Leader
Mr. Harding leads automated vehicle initiatives for FHWA that support the safe and effective integration of automated vehicles into the U.S. roadway system. Mr. Harding has expertise in all aspects of connected and automated travel, including vehicle connectivity, infrastructure, operations, institutional, policy, testing and evaluation, and regulations. Mr. Harding has worked on both the roadway and vehicle aspects of connected vehicle and automated vehicle issues. Mr. Harding holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University.

Presentation: Overview of FHWA Automation Activities
FHWA provides leadership in the safe development, testing, and deployment of automated vehicle (AV) technology, including connected and automated vehicle (CAV) research and cooperative driving automation (CDA). Mr. Harding’s presentation will discuss the process FHWA is using to conduct the study of ADS impacts and will cover FHWA’s current automation activities and approach.

Presenters

Morgan Kessler, Research Civil Engineer, FHWA Office of Research, Development and Technology Infrastructure Analysis and Construction Team
Mr. Kessler is a research civil engineer at FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA, and specializes in highway infrastructure maintenance, preservation, and asset management. Mr. Kessler also specializes in Building Information Modeling/Management (BIM), focusing on the rapidly developing field of BIM for Infrastructure as it relates to asset management. A Northern California native, Mr. Kessler’s pre-FHWA career experience comes from several West Coast cities, having served in positions such as City Engineer, Deputy Public Works Director, and Utilities Engineer. Mr. Kessler is a licensed civil engineer in the State of California and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from Humboldt State University.

Presentation: AV Impacts to Highway Infrastructure
Mr. Kessler’s presentation will recap the research project “AV Impacts to Highway Infrastructure,” conducted by FHWA’s Office of Research, Development, and Technology in 2020. The presenter will cover the effort’s goals and methodology, plus highlight key findings and stakeholder feedback.

Scott Smith, Senior Operations Research Analyst, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe), USDOT
Dr. Smith is a Senior Operations Research Analyst with more than 25 years of experience in applying technology to improve transportation operations and safety across all modes. Dr. Smith’s work has included impact assessment for automation and support to FHWA on advanced travel modeling. He is U.S. co-chair of the Impact Assessment subgroup of the Trilateral (EU-US-JPN) Automation in Road Transportation Working Group. Before joining Volpe, Dr. Smith worked in private industry developing decision support tools to assist motor carriers and railroads with operations, and shippers with transportation procurement. He holds a doctorate in civil engineering from MIT.

Presentation: Framework for Automated Driving System Impact Assessment
Automated Driving Systems do not require a human driver, and thus may have potentially far-reaching impacts on the transportation system, both on the supply side (e.g., road capacity, new business models for providing transportation) and on the demand side (e.g., new travel opportunities for non-drivers). Dr. Smith’s presentation describes a framework for analyzing those impacts.

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