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Application of Autonomous Collision Avoidance Technology to Transit Buses to Reduce
Claims, Injuries and Fatalities
In the three year period 2011 to 2013, New
Jersey Transit reported paying out $43
million in bus casualty and liability
expenses. During that period, NJ TRANSIT
buses were involved in 258 collisions,
caused 937 injuries, and 10 fatalities.
automated collision avoidance technology
to reduce claims, injuries, and fatalities. The
proposal team included leading experts in
transit technology, the American Public
Transportation Association, the Greater
Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and
the Washington State Transit Insurance
Pool. Attached to the proposal were letters
of support from transit insurance pools
representing 75 transit agencies in four
states.
Recent NJ TRANSIT settlements:
$10 million: Angelique Marlene Delaney
Baker vs. Jean Dalme and NJ Transit
Angelique Marlene Delaney Baker fell
underneath the bus, which crushed her
arm, legs and pelvis. She suffered serious
injuries that require ongoing care.
The proposed project included four phases
spanning three years and budgeted at $6.2
million, with $5 million sought in FTA
funding and $1.2 from local match. FTA did
not select the proposal for funding last
year, due to budget limitations, but has
indicated that the proposal is strong and
has gained support in the agency and the
industry.
$6.5 million: Elba Galeno vs. NJ Transit, et
al. Elba Galeno was struck by a bus in a
crosswalk, which then backed up and
trapped her. She claimed she suffered
serious injuries to both legs, and eventually
her right leg was amputated from the knee
down.
Congressional support is needed to
advance this life-saving technology.
$4.5 million: June Layne vs. NJ Transit, et al.
June Layne was trapped under the bus' rear
wheels and suffered extensive leg injuries.
She was hospitalized for three months and
convalesced another two months at a
nursing facility. She suffered permanent
injuries and will need ongoing care.
Key contacts for the proposal team are:
Dr. Alain L. Kornhauser, Professor of
Operations Research and Financial
Engineering, Princeton University,
alaink@princeton.edu
Dr. Jerome M. Lutin, Senior Director,
Statewide and Regional Planning, NJ
TRANSIT (Retired) jerome.lutin@verizon.net
In 2013, nationwide, the transit bus
industry reported 4,075 collisions, 15,351
injuries, 119 fatalities, and $499 million in
casualty and liability expenses. We can
prevent many of these injuries and
fatalities and reduce claims expenses
Mr. Louis F. Sanders, Director, Technical
Services, American Public Transportation
Association lsanders@apta.com
Princeton University has submitted a
proposal to the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) that would apply
Mr. Jerry Spears, Deputy Director,
Washington State Transit Insurance Pool
jerry@wstip.org
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Summary of Proposed Research
instrumentation and an autonomous
collision avoidance simulator and will
provide technician assistance, garage space,
and participate in testing.
Phase 1 will establish an effective project
management structure and create an
industry-wide stakeholder group including
representatives of transit agencies, risk
management and insurance providers,
consultants, vehicle manufacturers, systems
developers, standards organizations,
vendors, motor vehicle regulators, and
USDOT officials. Volunteers from the
stakeholder group will be asked to
participate in expert technical working
groups (ETWG’s) to assist in the
development and balloting of consensus
standards for autonomous collision
avoidance technology for transit buses.
These standards will make it possible to
install life-saving advanced technology on
new transit buses and to retrofit exiting
buses.
Urgency
Each month, approximately ten people die,
more than 1,200 are injured in bus crashes
and over $41 million in casualty and liability
expenses are reported. Under FTA rules,
buses acquired with Federal funds are
expected to last 12 years, although buses
can typically remain in service for 15 to 18
years. Action is needed now to insure that
life-saving technology will be available to
the industry.
Return on Investment
The entire research plan is designed to
develop products that will allow new
technology, autonomous collision
avoidance systems for buses, to be
developed quickly and safely in an
environment that will encourage
competition and innovation. It will develop
functional requirements, standards and
specifications that will meet the needs of
transit operators. The project will then
develop test protocols, a simulator, data
logger, and on-board test bed that will be
used to allow vendors to have their
products tested and certified.
In Phase 2 the project team will conduct a
research assessment of why casualty and
liability claims are increasing. The team will
then determine the potential for automated
collision avoidance systems to reduce
fatalities, injuries, and claims.
Phase 3 will develop functional
requirements and standards to allow
installation of collision avoidance and driver
assist technology on new transit buses and
retrofit of existing buses.
The proposal team has already documented
that bus collisions have contributed to a
$4.1 billion drain on the transit industry for
casualty and liability claims over a ten year
period. The total budget for this project, at
$6.3 million, represents less than five daysworth, or 1.2% of the $499 million in
casualty and liability claims that the
industry reported in 2013 alone. It is a small
price to pay for a project that has such an
enormous target potential.
Phase 4 will develop a prototype test bed
that would allow developers of innovative
collision avoidance and driver assist
technologies to work with transit agencies
and researchers to expedite development
and deployment. Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will host
development of the prototype testbed. GCRTA will provide two buses that
would be retrofitted to allow installation of
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