TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released several new reports covering topics relevant to local road transportation professionals, including light detection, the safe system approach, and traffic capacity levels of service.

To fulfill one of its oldest missions, TRB disseminates transportation research results and technology information through an extensive array of publications. These include books and reports assessing the state of the art or practice in specific areas of transportation, presenting the results of transportation research, addressing major national transportation policy issues, and identifying research needs. TRB books and reports span the range of transportation functions, disciplines, and modes.

More specifically, NCHRP reports address common problems faced by state DOTs and other transportation agencies by providing research-based solutions and guidance on various aspects of highway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Below is list of recently published titles.  

Recently Published Reports:

Traffic Capacity Level of Service: Adaptations & Usage

• NCHRP Synthesis 652: The level of service (LOS) concept has been used for over 50 years by state DOTs for policy setting, planning, analysis, and communication efforts, and its Adoption is generally been consistent with the Highway Capacity Manual. This synthesis can assist state DOTs in improving their LOS practices and policies.

The Safe System Approach to Transportation Planning, Design, & Operations

• NCHRP Research Report 1135: The Safe System Approach is a holistic framework for making the U.S. national transportation system safer by building and reinforcing multiple layers of protection to prevent crashes and minimize the harm caused when crashes occur. This report presents information for applying the Safe System Approach by state DOTs and other transportation agencies.

Applying the Safe System Approach

• NCHRP Web-Only Document 413: A central task of U.S. partners in traffic safety is to convey the many benefits associated with creating a safe transportation system for all road users to both the public and policymakers, clearly explain the policies and interventions which can bring us closer to a truly Safe System, and make the changes required to realize increasingly fewer deaths and serious injuries on our roads seem desirable and doable. This report synthesizes the results of research conducted to accomplish these tasks.

Developing Snapshots for Transportation Planning

• NCHRP Research Report 1158: Transportation planning agencies face a rapidly evolving technical, policy, legislative, and procedural environment with challenges that include managing the demand for new transportation technologies and services within the confinements of existing streets, navigating the effects of growing e-commerce on travel patterns, managing resilience and risks, and implementing transportation planning in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. This report documents the process of developing four Snapshots of Planning Practices, each a concise and visually appealing document that reports on current planning practices in use by transportation agencies.

Snapshots of Planning Practices

• NCHRP Web-Only Document 431: This research adds to a body of work in which “snapshots” of practice are developed with a focus on current and emerging topics in transportation planning. The purpose of the Planning snapshots is to create a resource that is easily accessible and relevant to both practitioners and decision-makers. Snapshots serve as a resource for practice development and provide information for realistic practice implementation and program advancement, addressing topics like Complete Streets, Data Sharing for Performance Management, Collaboration on Freight Delivery in Local Communities, and Economic Analysis to Support Decision-Making.
  
  

Find more NCHRP reports at their archive site