Browsing by Author "Chowdhury, Tanveer"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Development of a Web Based Pavement Management Reporting System to Enhance the Virginia Department of Transportation Pavement Performance Monitoring Program
    Gerber, Aaron; Kanaan, Ahmad; Perrone, Eric; Chowdhury, Tanveer; Shekharan, Raja A. (2015-06-04)
    The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the third largest state-maintained highway system in the nation. With such a significant taxpayer investment in road infrastructure, VDOT has embarked on a comprehensive pavement management process that includes the use of state of the art optimization analysis software to determine appropriate funding allocation of the pavement network. Since VDOT uses the results of the optimization analysis in determining their paving targets and for determining their funding allocations for the Districts, and because the final project selection is usually done at the District level, it is necessary to track how the scheduled Maintenance & Rehabilitation (M&R) projects being performed in the field align to the targets produced by the optimization analysis and it is also important to track the difference between the targeted, planned and actual performance of the network. This is not a simple process; this also requires an extensive coordination between the Central Office Pavement Management and the Districts. In this paper, the development of the VDOT Pavement Performance Monitoring Program is described. This Performance Monitoring Program consists of a set of programmed reports that link the VDOT PMS system and database with VDOT contracting system which gives the CO decision makers the ability to efficiently determine whether the funding allocations and performance targets are being met with the Districts project selection. This integration of the network level PMS analysis results with the Districts project selection allows VDOT to close the loop between project and network level pavement management.
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    Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: Display Channels
    Kantowitz, Barry H.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Garness, Sheila A. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 1999-12)
    Three experiments were conducted in a driving simulator to evaluate effects of in-vehicle message modality and message format on comprehension and memory for younger and older drivers. Visual icons and text messages were effective in terms of high comprehension and high memory retention over a 50-sec delay period for both older and younger drivers. Auditory icons (earcons) were unsuitable for older drivers, although younger drivers performed well using symbolic and speech in-vehicle messages. For visual only, auditory only, and auditory plus visual messages both textual and symbolic message formats were equally effective. No adverse effects of in-vehicle message presentation were found for lateral and longitudinal vehicle control. Implications of these findings for development of ATIS guidelines were discussed.
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    Enhanced Camera/Video Imaging Systems (E-C/VISs) for Heavy Vehicles
    Wierwille, Walter W.; Bowman, Darrell Scott; Alden, Andrew S.; Gibbons, Ronald B.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Blanco, Myra; Leeson, B.; Hickman, Jeffrey S. (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011-06)
    Tests were performed to determine the feasibility of developing an Enhanced Camera/Video Imaging System (Enhanced C/VIS or E-C/VIS) to provide heavy-vehicle drivers with better situation awareness to the sides and rear of their vehicles. It is well known that large blind spots currently exist in these areas and that sideswipe crashes can occur as a result. An additional goal was to extend the operating envelope of conventional video to nighttime and to inclement weather. A three-channel system was envisioned in which there would be a camera at each (front) fender of the tractor looking backward along the sides of the rig. The third channel would be aimed rearward from the back of the trailer. The current document describes the project results. Indoor tests involved selection of components having the best capabilities, while early outdoor tests used the selected components in a single-channel side mounted system. Subjects evaluated rain and dark conditions. Results were satisfactory. Once developed, the three-channel system was tested and found to work well in the nighttime and inclement weather environments. Street lighting was also included in the testing.
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    Enhanced Night Visibility Series, Volume IV: Phase II - Study 2: Visual Performance During Nighttime Driving in Rain
    Blanco, Myra; Hankey, Jonathan M.; Dingus, Thomas A. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 2005-12)
    Phase II, Study 2 (rainy weather) was performed following the same procedures used for Study 1 (clear weather). Study 2 helped expand the knowledge of how current vision enhancement systems can affect detection and recognition of different types of objects while driving during adverse weather, specifically during rain conditions. The empirical testing for this study was performed on the Virginia Smart Road; the rain was controlled by weather making equipment. Thirty participants were involved in the study. A 12 by 7 by 3 mixed factorial design was used to investigate the effects of different types of vision enhancement systems, different types of objects on the roadway, and driver's age on detection and recognition distances; subjective evaluations also were obtained for the different vision enhancement systems. The results of the empirical testing suggest that vision enhancement systems that include halogen headlamps as their main component (i.e., halogen alone or halogen with ultraviolet A) consistently allow drivers the best detections during rain conditions. In fact, the halogen headlamp (low-beam configuration) provides the longest detection and recognition distances overall; in the few trials where other systems allow farther detection distances, these differences did not represent meaningful improvements. Even drivers using the infrared thermal imaging system, which resulted in farther detection distances for pedestrians and cyclists under clear conditions, perform no differently in the rain than when only the low beams of the vehicle were used.
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    Ten Years of Pavement Distress Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) in Virginia
    Frith, Douglas J.; Shekharan, Raja A.; Morian, Dennis A.; Chowdhury, Tanveer (2015-06-04)
    High quality data is essential in a pavement management process for achieving the objective of accurately reporting the existing network conditions, recommending maintenance and rehabilitation activities, developing performance models, and predicting the future network condition. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has required an independent verification and validation (IV&V) of the automated distress data collection process since the early 2000s. The IV&V process includes both quality control and quality assurance activities. The process of IV&V has been effective in identifying systematic errors, correcting those, and in taking steps to prevent further recurrence of such errors. At the same time, it insures that random errors are kept to a minimum. At this time the process has been applied to 10 data collection cycles using pavement monitoring information collected by a single vendor using automated data collection equipment and a semi-automated rating process. Results of this process are presented in this paper. Two pavement distress indices used by VDOT, the Load Distress Rating and the Non-Load Distress Rating have been closely controlled for each data collection cycle. As shown in the paper, there is an indication of data quality enhancement over time as well as a stabilization of the variability in the data from one year to the next. The paper also includes a summary of several significant issues that should be considered in any data quality effort.
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    Use of VDOT's Pavement Management System to Proactively Plan and Monitor Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation Activities to Meet the Agency's Performance Target
    Hosten, Akyiaa; Chowdhury, Tanveer; Shekharan, Raja A.; Ayotte, Matthew; Coggins, Eddie (2015-06-04)
    The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has an established Pavement Management Program that includes data collection, needs assessment, performance targets, and performance-based budgeting. As a part of data collection and needs assessment, an annual survey of pavement condition is used to estimate the current and project the future pavement maintenance and rehabilitation needs. Pavement condition targets are established, and are used to monitor and assess the effectiveness of maintenance and rehabilitation activities, as well as prioritize the use of limited funds. A performance based budgeting process establishes budget allocations based on scenarios showing the expected system performance that can be achieved at different levels of investment. To achieve these goals of the Program, VDOT has relied on the Pavement Management System (PMS) to store, report and analyze the annual pavement condition data, estimate pavement maintenance and rehabilitation needs through multi-constraint optimization and predict future performance. To meet the established performance targets, various treatment types are recommended by the PMS for the entire pavement network. The current approach has focused on using the PMS to provide information for needs assessment, budgeting, and program development. However, there is a need to provide traceability between the treatments selected by the PMS through optimization, which provides the basis for budgeting and the work actually planned and performed in the field. A process is established that helps track the planned projects and assess the impacts of changes in budget throughout the year allowing pavement professionals to take proactive steps to make the most effective decisions.