FMCSA’s Office of Research: Keeping Roadways Safe Through Data and Research
FMCSA Office of Research advances the safety and efficiency of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations through deepening scientific understanding and fostering innovative solutions to promote safer roads and a more sustainable future for CMV operations and the broader transportation ecosystem. Its mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of CMV crashes by conducting comprehensive studies, analyzing data, and disseminating insightful statistics.
Guided by the mandate from 49 USC 31108, which empowers FMCSA to spearhead motor carrier research and technology programs, the agency prioritizes the identification, testing, and support of cutting-edge technologies designed to enhance CMV safety and operational efficiency. Through strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts, the Office of Research helps facilitate the transfer of these technologies into real-world applications, ensuring their effective deployment across the industry.
Find FMCSA at the Transportation Research Board’s 2025 Annual Meeting at booth #545.
Analysis Division
The Analysis Division focuses on the collection, compilation, distribution and analysis of CMV safety data. It provides industry-focused statistical and analytical support, integrating data analysis into FMCSA’s policy and program development decision-making processes.
Key Initiatives
- Data Quality: The Analysis Division is dedicated to enhancing the quality of state-reported crash and inspection data through strategic partnerships and initiatives. It administers High Priority Grants to states and other entities, fostering improvement in data quality. The State Safety Data Quality (SSDQ) program evaluates each state’s data performance and offers assistance through data quality specialists at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Additionally, it conducts joint training sessions for States with the FMCSA Office of Information Technology and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), and manages the DataQs system to facilitate data review requests.
- Data Dissemination: The Analysis Division operates the Data, Analysis, and Reports Team (DART), responsible for addressing over 1,000 requests annually from FMCSA, state partners, and other governmental agencies. The Analysis and Information Online (A&I) website provides public access to modules on registration, crash, and enforcement data, with additional resources available to credentialed users through the FMCSA portal account. It also publishes the quarterly Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report.
- Data Analysis: The Data Analysis team develops reports and conducts analytical projects and ad-hoc studies aligned with Administrator and Office priorities. Annual reports, such as the Carrier Intervention Effectiveness Model (CIEM) and the Drug & Alcohol Survey Analysis publication, provide valuable insights into carrier and driver testing rates, contributing to informed decision-making within the FMCSA.
Crash Data Analytics Division
The Crash Data Analytics Division conducts CMV crash data collection and analysis, and follow-on investigations into medium-duty truck and bus crashes. It analyzes CMV crash data from sources like the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to inform safety policies and interventions aimed at reducing CMV crashes, injuries and fatalities. The division produces reports, statistical compilations, presentations and other materials derived from crash data analyses to inform stakeholders, policymakers and the public about CMV safety trends and issues. Significant publications include the annual Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts and Pocket Guide to Large Bus and Truck Statistics.
Key Initiatives
The major initiative of the Crash Data Analytics Division is the Crash Causal Factors Program (CCFP). CCFP is a detailed crash data collection and analysis effort intended to:
- Identify key factors that contribute to crashes involving CMVs;
- Inform countermeasures to prevent these crashes from happening; and
- Establish a foundation for continued data collection, sharing, and analysis.
Through a series of robust studies, CCFP pursues a nuanced understanding of crashes involving CMVs so that policymakers, law enforcement agencies, regulators and other interested parties can implement effective crash prevention strategies and programs. The CCFP plans to update and enhance its understanding of crash causal factors, building on lessons learned from the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS).
Applied Research Division
The Applied Research Division conducts basic and applied research studies directed toward fuller scientific discovery, knowledge and understanding of CMV safety. The Division ensures that research findings are directly applicable to strategic objectives and operational needs.
Research projects span several areas, including:
- Commercial driver’s licensing (CDL) programs and enforcement
- Evaluation of current medical qualification programs and their effectiveness
- Assessment of proposed regulatory changes and their potential impacts
- Enhancing data sharing and transparency initiatives
- Human factors related to driver behavior and safety performance
- Driver fatigue, and health and wellness
- Motor carrier operations and crash prevention strategies
The division also participates in USDOT’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which encourages small businesses to develop high-tech, innovative transportation solutions that could be scaled and commercialized, leading to entrepreneurial growth and economic stimulation. The division administers its own SBIR projects through the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) as well.
The division collaborates with stakeholders on key initiatives, including a joint effort with Transport Canada to maintain, enhance and promote outreach for the North American Fatigue Management Program (NAFMP). Additionally, the division oversees FMCSA’s sponsorship of the National Surface Transportation Safety Center of Excellence (NSTSCE). Guided and financially supported by a diverse group of stakeholders from industry, insurance, academia, and government sectors, NSTSCE focuses on developing and disseminating advanced transportation safety techniques and innovations across both rural and urban communities.
Active Projects
Impact of CMV Driver Detention Time on Safety and Operations
The goal of this study is to quantify the frequency and severity of detention time to better understand any relationship with CMV safety to develop a more complete understanding of these issues and facilitate private sector decisions that lead to reductions in detention time and improvements in safety and supply chain efficiency. The 12-month quantitative data collection began September 2024 with two small carriers, and one medium size carrier participating. More interest from industry, particularly large carriers, would facilitate data collection. The contract period of performance will likely be extended beyond July 2025 to ensure a full 12-month data collection period for a sufficient number of carriers.
Detention time refers to the extra time CMV operators wait at shipping and receiving facilities due to delays usually associated with the loading and unloading of cargo. Drivers are often not paid for this time. Although there is currently no standard definition, the general understanding is that detention time occurs when the total amount of time spent at a facility exceeds two hours.
Detention time in the CMV industry is a longstanding issue and is consistently ranked as one of the top problems CMV operators face, affecting about two-thirds of all drivers.[1],[2] Eliminating inefficiencies in loading and unloading could gain U.S. carriers an estimated $3.1 billion annually, with society as a whole gaining $6.6 billion annually.[3]
In addition, detention time affects CMV drivers’ ability to meet hours-of-service (HOS) requirements by reducing their available driving time. They may be more inclined to drive faster to reach their destinations within the HOS limits or to operate beyond HOS limits and improperly log their driving and duty time to make deliveries on time. A 2018 study from the Office of the Inspector General concluded that each one-minute reduction in average detention time nationwide could potentially prevent 400 crashes a year.[4] A reduction in driver detention time would also reduce the time trucks spend idling, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Crash Risk by CMV Driver Schedule
FMCSA needs additional data to answer questions related to driver schedules and how these factors impact overall driver performance and fatigue. This project will collect additional information to improve decision making regarding various aspects of the HOS provisions, how HOS provisions are being used, and the impact of driver schedules on crash risk. The preamble of FMCSA’s 2011 Final HOS Rule states, “FMCSA is committed to an analysis of the relative crash risk by driving hour, the impact of the changes in the HOS provisions, and examine difference in crash risk after restarts that include two nights and those that do not.”
The goal of the study is to collect electronic logging device (ELD) and crash data from property-carrying and passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) carriers to assess risks posed by alternative schedules.
Advanced Technology Division
The Advanced Technology Division identifies, develops, tests and deploys innovative roadside and onboard technology solutions and practices that reduce truck and bus-involved crashes and enhance the safety, security, and productivity of state enforcement agencies and motor carriers.
The division manages and supports the deployment of technology projects in the following programs:
- Automated CMV Evaluation (ACE) Program: Addressing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving Systems (ADS).
- TechCelerate Now: Accelerating the voluntary deployment of advanced driver assistance systems in partnership with the motor carrier industry.
- CMV Roadside Technology Corridor (CMVRTC): Focusing on testing and evaluating roadside technologies.
- Innovative Technology Deployment (ITD) grants: Facilitating the deployment of innovative roadside and online technologies in the CMV industry by state agency partners.
The Division also frequently collaborates with external partners, like state agencies, and internal partners, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS-JPO), to ensure alignment with broader transportation goals and objectives.
Active Projects
Automated Driving Systems (ADS) Safety Metrics Research
Building upon a feasibility study recently conducted by NHTSA, FMCSA is researching the capability to evaluate the on-road driving performance of ADS-equipped medium and heavy duty CMVs — with an emphasis on automated, objective and practical methods. The research team is currently collecting and analyzing field operational data from revenue-generating fleets using state-of-the-art technology to attempt to characterize driver behaviors as a benchmark for comparison for ADS heavy trucks.
Safety Impacts of Human-ADS Team Driving Applications
FMCSA plans to generate data to support policy decisions on HOS relief requests under 49 C.F.R. §381. The safety benefits and disbenefits of human-ADS teaming scenarios will be evaluated. Human-ADS driving team issues such as fatigue, alertness, distraction, and driver re-engagement after ADS disengagement or remote assistant/driver control will be investigated. This is a simulator-based study augmented with vehicle demonstrations in a controlled environment.
CMV Tire and Vehicle Stability Research
An analysis has been conducted utilizing AI and MCMIS data to identify trends in tire failures by position. A project to evaluate the static weight distribution is underway to evaluate claims from states that the weight carried by CMVs is not distributed equally across the tires of the vehicle. Another project has just been awarded to evaluate real-time dynamic weight distribution utilizing intelligent tire sensors. Finally, an SBIR project is underway to create a low-cost trailer stability sensor that will notify the driver and fleet when a trailer’s stability is in question because of tire, load, or maintenance issues.
Engage with the Office of Research
The Office of Research hosts its annual Safety Research Forum in March-April each year to showcase the work being performed by each division, with staff members presenting short summaries of some of their most interesting and important projects. Additionally, FMCSA will be at the Transportation Research Board’s 2025 Annual Meeting at booth #545.
[1] https://www.dat.com/blog/detention-is-killing-us-say-carriers
[2] https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-198
