Getting There Safely

05/08/2018

Research targets truck transportation to improve safety.

Technology today allows trucking companies to track a variety information as they haul their freights cross country.

Steve Rigdon, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics at Saint Louis University's College for Public Health and Social Justice, is helping to sort through this data with the goal to boost safety procedures and increase the likelihood that drivers and other vehicles make it to their destinations without an accident.

Rigdon, whose father drove a 18-wheel truck for a living, is collaborating with Auburn University and Miami University of Ohio on the project that could have an impact on hauling safety on roadways.

Through funding from the National Science Foundation, the researchers are using information collected from the trucks at locations along their routes for the study.

For the project, data, pulled from GPS on the fleets, are tracked and accumulated. Then, along with other data such as weather conditions, researchers can do analyses.

“We aren’t just looking at one or two things,” Rigdon says. “We are making real inquiries and asking many questions.”

Rigdon is also looking at other traffic data to chart patterns where congestion might be that could help determine trends and how to best avoid accidents.

“One piece gathered is critical events such as accidents. But we are also looking at hard brakes and other things like lane departures that will give a signal when data deviates,” Rigdon says. “We keep track of things that are unsafe and our goal is to determine what factors lead to accidents.”

Researchers at Miami and Auburn are doing most of the data management with help from the SLU team that is doing most of the analysis.

“We will be looking for patterns and trying to see what hard brakes and lane departure trends are more or less likely to cause accidents,” Rigdon says.

About the College for Public Health and Social Justice

The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities.

It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, applied behavior analysis,  criminology and criminal justice, and urban planning and development.