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To help drivers monitor the road and to reduce blind spots, Camera/Video Imaging Systems (C/VISs) display live video from cameras mounted on the truck's exterior to drivers using displays inside the truck cabin. This study investigated drivers' performance with C/VISs in a real-world trucking operation. Twelve commercial drivers' performance with and without a C/VIS was continuously recorded while they each drove for four months. Half of the drivers used a commercially available C/VIS that had a side-view camera on each fender. The other drivers used an advanced C/VIS (A-C/VIS) that had side-view cameras, a rear-view camera, and night-vision capabilities. This paper presents the study's final results and expands on the preliminary results that were previously reported. Detailed analyses of drivers' involvement in Safety-Critical Events (SCEs), their lane change performance, and their opinions of the C/VISs are presented.

On-board Camera/Video Imaging Systems (C/VISs) for heavy vehicles display live images to the driver of selected areas to the sides, and in back of the truck's exterior using displays inside the truck cabin. They provide a countermeasure to blind-spot related crashes by allowing drivers to see objects not ordinarily visible by a typical mirror configuration, and to better judge the clearance between the trailer and an adjacent vehicle when changing lanes. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute is currently investigating commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver performance with C/VISs through a technology field demonstration sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Data collection, which consists of recording twelve CMV drivers performing their daily employment duties with and without a C/VIS for four months, is currently underway.

This study evaluated the performance of heavy vehicle crash avoidance systems (CASs) by collecting naturalistic driving data from 150 truck tractors equipped with Meritor WABCO OnGuardTM or Bendix® Wingman® AdvancedTM products. These CASs provide drivers with audio-visual alerts of potential conflicts, and can apply automatic braking to mitigate or prevent a potential collision. Each truck tractor participated for up to one year between 2013 and 2015. Videos of the forward roadway and drivers’ faces were collected along with vehicle network data while drivers performed their normal duties on revenue-producing routes. The study evaluated the performance of CAS activations by classifying them into three categories based on whether a valid object was being tracked and whether drivers needed to react immediately.