The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) said it’s partnering with the Transportation Research Board on a series of new research projects aimed at providing strategies for reducing traffic accident deaths, injuries and costs.

The research will focus on finding solutions tied to changes in driver behavior. GHSA will decide which projects to pursue, and the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) will conduct the research. GHSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) jointly manage BTSCRP.

The Transportation Research Board, which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, will help oversee the program and assemble a panel of experts for each research project. Funding will come from NHTSA.

“The vast majority of traffic crashes result from human error, so a research program that focuses on human behavior is critical,” said Neil Pedersen, executive director of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). “We look forward to working closely with GHSA and NHTSA in finding new ways to reduce crashes related to behavioral issues.” 

The research project panels will include professionals from law enforcement, prosecution, substance abuse treatment and other fields.

“We are benefiting not only by the collaboration of TRB, but also by the widening circle of experts that will become active participants in highway safety research,” said Thomas Glass, GHSA Research Committee chair.