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Tech & Innovation

ATSSA is dedicated to being a reliable and accurate source of innovative technology information for all members of the transportation infrastructure industry. The Association is equally committed to establishing a national dialogue on new technologies that are being developed and how they will be standardized. Open communication between members of the roadway safety infrastructure industry and transportation community as a whole will allow all individuals to learn from best practices and lessons learned as we move to an automated and more technologically advanced future.


Innovation

INNOVATION
The transportation industry is in the early stages of a significant and impactful change. The continued emergence of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) and other Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is affecting our culture and the way we look to the future.

Guardrail

GUARDRAIL AND BARRIERS

Roadway departure (RwD) crashes account for over 50 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities. Different engineering countermeasures have been proposed, implemented, and tested by various state and local agencies to mitigate RwD crashes. Improving median or roadside barrier design is one of the most effective countermeasures available to reduce RwD fatal crashes.



High Friction Surface Treatment

HIGH FRICTION SURFACE TREATMENT

Crashes on U.S. roadways continue to be one of the leading causes of fatalities and major injuries. Roughly half of all fatal crashes occur at horizontal curves and intersections. Vehicle speeds and curve geometry can create a "friction demand" higher than what can be countered with standard pavement surfaces. Intersection crashes often occur when driver error creates an unexpected need for increased friction demand to dramatically reduce vehicle speeds.


Pavement Markings

PAVEMENT MARKING

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) will provide transformative safety and mobility benefits, but these benefits also will come with a set of safety and infrastructure challenges for policymakers. Many experts in automation and infrastructure assert that consistent and proper maintenance of the roadway system is of the upmost importance for conventional and AV motorists—especially when it comes to pavement markings.



Signs

SIGNS
Roadway signs provide an important means of communicating information to road users and they need to be visible in terms of retroreflectivity, location, orientation to be effective. In the U.S., roadway signs use symbols to convey important information to motorists and are easily recognizable by shape and color. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) contains standards and regulations for sign design and guidelines for the application of signs. Additionally, the Standard Highway Signs book contains specifications and dimension illustrations for signs.



Temporary Traffic Control

TEMPORARY TRAFFIC CONTROL

Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) is an area of the highway where road user conditions are (temporarily) changed because of a work zone, an incident zone, or a planned special event through the use of traffic control devices, uniformed uniformed officers, or other authorized personnel. The primary function of a work zone is provide for the reasonably safe and effective movement of roadway users through or around TTC zones while reasonably protecting road users, workers, responders to traffic accidents, and equipment.It is important for TTC devices to be uniform in their design, application, and location. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) provides guidance on how TTC devices should be designed, applied, located, and regulated.