ARLINGTON, VA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) Board of Directors have approved this year’s research priorities as defined by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.

Many of ATRI’s 2017 top priority studies will focus on improving congestion choke points at America’s top truck bottlenecks as per ATRI’s annual bottleneck listing. In addition, the priority topics will also look at the various impacts of technology on the industry now and into the future.

This year’s top priorities include:

Driven to distraction – ATRI will be looking into the impact of technology deployment inside the truck which may either worsen or reduce truck driver distraction. In addition, this research will also look at the role of car driver distraction on trucking industry crash involvement.

Cumulative economic impact of trucking regulations – this research will examine the potential for developing a standardized methodology for conducting regulatory impact analysis of trucking industry regulations which can be applied across agencies and regulations to determine industry costs.

HOS flexibility: a possible solution to bottlenecks – ATRI will explore opportunities for addressing some of America’s worst congestion bottlenecks through flexibility in the federal Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules, which would allow drivers to wait out the most congested periods of their day.

Truck bottleneck trends: economic changes or infrastructure improvements – ATRI will also examine its annual bottleneck list to determine particular infrastructure improvements that will positively impact congestion.

Impact of E-commerce on Trucking – mapping potential impacts of E-Commerce to the trucking industry’s top issues.

Autonomous truck impacts on the truck driver – there will be a detailed analysis of how autonomous truck technologies will change the operational environment and driving requirements for commercial drivers.