Warning Beacons for Front Line Service Worker Safety

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Proposed is a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Pennsylvania State University to systematically improve the visual information from warning beacons used by front line service workers (FLSWs), who make up 13% of the U.S. workforce but are involved in 36% of workplace fatalities, with vehicle incidents the most common cause of fatalities, according to the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). [This is inherently understood by the example of "Move Over" legislation now being enacted in 49 of 50 states in the U.S., several of which include maintenance and utility vehicles in addition to police and emergency vehicles. However, the high proportion of crashes involving FLSWs suggests that drivers do not have the visual information required to make the best driving maneuvers needed to comply with "Move Over" laws.] To address crashes involving FLSWs, several integrated, multidisciplinary studies are proposed leading to performance specifications for new-generation warning beacons using the latest sensor and light source technologies. Visibility of warning beacons will be characterized in these studies through psychophysical measures including response times, closure detection performance, correct identification of location, electroencephalographic (EEG) measures, and self-reports of visibility and glare. Both scale model laboratory experiments and full-scale closed-track studies are proposed. Also proposed are optical simulation studies to ensure that the psychophysical findings from the laboratory and closed-track experiments can be implemented practically using available lighting, control and sensor technologies. The studies will address the following specific aims: Aim 1: To identify the luminous intensity distributions of warning beacons needed to provide visible signals without creating glare under different ambient conditions to support the safety of FLSWs. Aim 2: To identify the temporal and chromatic requirements of warning beacons to convey information about the relative speed and orientation of vehicles around which FLSWs are located. Aim 3: To establish whether synchronizing the frequency and phase of multiple warning beacons would help drivers more quickly and accurately make appropriate decisions to reduce risk exposure of FLSWs. Aim 4: To confirm the findings from Aims 1 through 3 in closed-track field studies. RPI and PSU have successfully collaborated previously, and have an established track record of working together. It is anticipated that the results of the proposed collaborative research activities under this R01 application will lead to innovative and practical performance characteristics of warning beacons that will provide drivers with the visual information needed to quickly and confidently perform necessary driving maneuvers for improved worker safety, thus addressing an important research need identified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in its National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).