SaferTrek: Sharing the Road

In a multi-year project nearing completion, SaferTrek GPS/video data devices—shown above—were installed on Iowa farm equipment that collected data and recorded vehicles as they approached, followed, and began to pass farm equipment. Data were collected for three fall harvest seasons and one spring/summer season.

The project’s aims were 1) to measure farm equipment exposure to the roadway (e.g., miles traveled, location) and frequency with which cars approached the equipment, and 2) to identify behavior of vehicle drivers as they approached farm equipment from behind. Behaviors examined included speed, deceleration while approaching, following distance, number of passing attempts, and passing.

The four data collections—which comprised more than 3,100 farm vehicle days—yielded more than 2,000 video recordings of vehicle interactions and an estimated 13,500 candidate trips where the farm equipment was traveling more than 8 mph. Processing of the trip data and vehicle recordings are in progress.

Other related projects in final review

Development of a crash data dictionary to better understand what really happened during a crash. What do the coded numbers from crash reports really mean?

What are the impacts of road conversions from four- to three-lane street configurations on businesses and emergency response in Iowa communities?