The US Transportation Collection consists of documents from across all transportation modes with specific focus on research reports from US DOT, state DOTs, and other transportation organizations.
Bookmark this collection: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/collection_ust or https://doi.org/10.21949/1530857.
United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2025-11-01
|
PDF
This edition of Traffic Safety Facts Crash Stats lists the most current data on the nationwide seat belt use rate in 2024 as calculated by probability-based observational surveys conducted by the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. In 2024 seat belt use in the United States ranged from 71.0 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands
...
The leading cause of bridge failure globally is scour. Scour occurs when water flowing beneath a bridge excavates and carries away portions of the streambed. Traditional scour prediction methodologies were designed for course-grained or “cohesionless” materials. Different scour mechanisms exist for course-grained and fine-grained materials. This st
...
This study was completed using finite element (FE) analysis to assess the benefits of using geosynthetic reinforcement in flexible pavements. A comprehensive parametric study was performed to determine the effect of different variables like asphalt layer thickness, base thickness, geosynthetic type and stiffness, and subgrade stiffness for low, med
...
This study presents the results and implementation strategies on the deployment of smart work zone equipment. A smart arrow board in combination with location beacons were tested towards understanding best practices, both informed by the test pilot and through a literature review, on the inclusion of such devices within work zones in Oregon. Furthe
...
The Virginia Department of Transportation utilizes the indirect tensile cracking test (IDT-CT) and the indirect tensile at high temperature (IDT-HT) test as part of its balanced mix design framework to evaluate asphalt mixture performance and support performance-based acceptance decisions. Although these tests are critical tools for assessing perfo
...
For decades, motor fuel taxes have served as the primary source of revenue for surface transportation infrastructure at both the federal and state levels in the United States. However, the reliability of this funding mechanism is challenged by declining fuel consumption, driven by advancements in vehicle engine efficiency and the growing consumer s
...
Bridge scour is a leading cause of hydraulic-related bridge failures, yet current monitoring practices rely on periodic inspections that are insufficient during floods when scour activity accelerates. To address this gap, a low-cost (under $1,000 per unit) remote scour-monitoring system was developed and deployed on two scour critical bridges in Ge
...
The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate scour of un-weathered claystone bedrock in bridge configurations, i.e., around piers and/or constricted flow. This study evaluated the erodibility of un-weathered claystone found in the Colorado Front Range with the SRICOS-EFA (Scour Rate in Cohesive Soils – Erosion Function Apparatus) method
...
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) initiated efforts to implement balanced mix design (BMD) in 2017, using 11 mixtures from a well-documented previous study in a benchmarking effort to select performance-related tests to use within the BMD framework and develop criteria for those tests. When these mixtures were produced and paved in 2
...
What changes to policies and procedures at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) would increase transfers of agency-owned excess land to California Native American Tribes and groups negatively impacted by freeway development? Using case studies on LandBack and reparations and qualitative research with Caltrans staff and community a
...
This Special Crash Investigations report documents the fatal rollover crash of a 2019 Ford E-350 Type III ambulance in North Carolina in 2022. The ambulance was transporting a patient with a heart condition without lights or sirens when it hit a patch of ice, skidded off the road and went down an embankment, and rollover. When the 84-year-old patie
...
Under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, state departments of transportation are required to report travel time reliability and set performance targets for interstate and non-interstate National Highway System facilities. Although several Virginia Transportation Research Council studies have analyzed and predicted travel time re
...
In December 2022, the Virginia Transportation Research Council completed the technical assistance report, Potential for Electrification of the VDOT Vehicle Fleet, which investigated how electric trucks might integrate into the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) fleet. That study was based on daily mileages of a sample of VDOT’s current
...
This report benchmarks Design-Build (DB) and Progressive Design-Build (PDB) practices across 17 U.S. transportation agencies to inform Arizona DOT’s alternative-delivery program. It analyzes statutory provisions, DB manuals, and interviews with project stakeholders to document notable practices in cost control, risk allocation, training, DBE inclus
...
An event data recorder records vehicle data just prior or during a crash (braking, air bag status and deployment, seat belt usage, etc., and then crash events), intended for retrieval after the crash to help crash reconstruction or vehicle safety research. NHTSA established CDR requirements in 49 C.F.R. § 563 in 2012. Since then, crash avoidance an
...
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is evaluating the feasibility of establishing a data management office (DMO) to enhance the accessibility, quality, and coordination of its data assets. As data grows in volume and strategic importance, transportation agencies nationwide have adopted formal structures to improve data governance. This
...
This Special Crash Investigations report documents the on-site investigation of the fatal crash of a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Type III ambulance, a 2017 Toyota RAV4, and a 2009 Infiniti G37X in Pennsylvania in 2022. The ambulance entered a four-way intersection and struck the Toyota, a traffic-control pole, and a tree. After the impact with th
...
United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2025-11-01
|
PDF
NHTSA recently issued a projection report of traffic fatalities and the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for the first half of 2025 (Report No. DOT HS 813 756) that showed an estimated 17,140 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the first half of 2025, a decrease of about 8.2 percent as compared to 18,680 fa
...
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began conducting pavement performance monitoring surveys on mechanistic-empirical designed pavements in 1986. These surveys and analyses provide the necessary data to verify and validate the design procedures and life-cycle cost models used in the pavement selection process. The pavement distress sur
...
This project developed a validated mechanistic model and an Excel-based tool to predict buckling risk in jointed concrete pavements. The three-dimensional finite element model, built in Abaqus, simulates thermal buckling by capturing slab-joint-base-subgrade interactions. Joints were modeled using connector elements, and the slab-base interface use
...
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving a Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS)/National Transportation Library (NTL)
Web-based service.
Thank you for visiting.
You are about to access a non-government link outside of
the U.S. Department of Transportation's National
Transportation Library.
Please note: While links to Web sites outside of DOT are
offered for your convenience, when you exit DOT Web sites,
Federal privacy policy and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act (accessibility requirements) no longer apply. In
addition, DOT does not attest to the accuracy, relevance,
timeliness or completeness of information provided by linked
sites. Linking to a Web site does not constitute an
endorsement by DOT of the sponsors of the site or the
products presented on the site. For more information, please
view DOT's Web site linking policy.
To get back to the page you were previously viewing, click
your Cancel button.