Our Mission

We aim to make roads safer by researching the connection between humans and vehicles. We are home to the National Advanced Driving Simulator, and we now have a new name for our broader institute: the Driving Safety Research Institute.

News

Webinar 3 screenshot

Recording available for webinar 3: Rider and safety driver experience

Friday, February 3, 2023
A recording is now available of our third webinar on our ADS for Rural America project, which included video interviews of past riders, results of rider surveys (including their anxiety levels and perceptions of the technology), as well as safety driver experience and perceptions.
A bioptic telescope (pictured) is used by drivers in some states to read road signs.

Navigating with a visual impairment

Monday, January 30, 2023
The study is examining how drivers with and without visual impairments navigate while driving in an unfamiliar area, with the ultimate goal of finding safer alternatives to the use of a bioptic telescope.
Camry cab inside the NADS-1 simulator

Taking control in Level 3 Automation

Thursday, January 26, 2023
This article summarizes findings from two recent studies that our researchers have worked on with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) examining the various aspects of transition of control (TOC) between human drivers and periods of automated driving.
NBC News screenshot

NBC National News: Are car touchscreens distracting drivers?

Tuesday, January 17, 2023
We were recently featured in an NBC National News segment about vehicle touchscreens and distracted driving. Watch and find out how distracting touchscreens and cell phones are to drivers.
Tim Brown on KCRG

Univ. of Iowa researchers study drugged driving outcomes

Friday, December 30, 2022
Death and injury among road-users is up to an alarming rate according to a recent study by NHTSA and local researchers. They found that 55.8% of people seriously injured or killed in road crashes tested positive for one or more drugs.
driver in car

New report finds nearly half of Iowa drivers involved in serious crashes tested positive for drugs

Thursday, December 29, 2022
New data from a NHSTA study, in partnership with the University of Iowa, show 45.3% of seriously injured drivers reporting to the Emergency Department tested positive for at least one drug. The top two were alcohol and cannabinoids.
Automated shuttle bus on rural Iowa road

ADS for Rural America

Learn more about our Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America project, which drove a partially-automated shuttle bus through Iowa City, Hills, Riverside, and Kalona, Iowa. 

NADS-1 bay, 3D globe image

Tour our tech

Take a 360 degree virtual tour of our facility, and learn more about our technology and expertise.