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
![Teen driver study](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-03/TeenDriver-screenshot-half.png?h=fbe3bb49&itok=-rMf6Vdb)
Teens at the wheel
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
When parents are in the vehicle with their teenage driver, crash rates are low. However, as soon as teens are by themselves, the crash rates skyrocket. Can new-driver training programs be used to effectively lower those rates?
![2020 Annual Report cover](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-01/2020%20NADS%20Annual%20Report_final-cover-wide.jpg?h=d07dec50&itok=bV1LFkAF)
Highlights from 2020
Monday, January 11, 2021
Learn more about our major accomplishments from FY20, including ADS for Rural America, cannabis and driving, teens at the wheel, human factors, connected simulation, Parkinson's disease, new options on miniSim, and more
![Springfield custom tile for Florida State University](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-02/Springfield-custom-tile-development-FloridaStateU.png?h=65c3ad96&itok=xd0o0MVQ)
![Iowa Magazine: The Road to the Future Runs Through Iowa](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-01/IowaMag-screenshot.png?h=83b156c8&itok=_Z-_8-9S)
The Road to the Future Runs Through Iowa
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
University of Iowa researchers at the National Advanced Driving Simulator pave the way for the automated vehicles of tomorrow. But how soon before self-driving cars get here? Iowa's rural roads could hold the key.
![A research assistant demonstrates how vaporized cannabis is inhaled using heated air in place of cannabis.](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-01/2017_03_02-National%20Advanced%20Driving%20Simulator-jatorner-0842-2000.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=sPieMDfw)
Drugged driving research: Major findings 2010–2020
Monday, December 14, 2020
A quick summary of our major drugged driving research findings from the past 10 years.
![Ford Transit shuttle bus at AutonomouStuff](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-01/AutonomouStuff-P1010816-2000.jpg?h=84071268&itok=kZODSRnY)
ADS project update: Our vehicle is now becoming automated
Friday, December 4, 2020
Our Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America project vehicle, a Ford Transit, is being outfitted with technologies that will give it automated capabilities. Soon, the transit will arrive at the University of Iowa and our demonstration project and testing will begin.
KGAN: New driving behavior a concern heading into winter
Friday, November 20, 2020
Changing driver behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic in combination with dangerous winter conditions raises concern for many driving safety officials in the state of Iowa. Driving Safety Research Institute director, Daniel McGehee discusses the dangers of speed and the changes in driver behavior due to the pandemic.
University of Iowa researchers focus on the transition from self-driving to manual modes in vehicles
Monday, October 26, 2020
![Inside the NADS-1 simulator](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__1024_x_576/public/2021-01/2016_08_09-NADS%20Commercial%20Shoot-jatorner-0031-2000.jpg?h=4997dc06&itok=dn0l7mLW)
NADS pulls in nearly $1.5M to further study transition of control in automated vehicles
Thursday, October 15, 2020
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) recently granted the University of Iowa National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) a $1.45 million award to further study transition of control in automated vehicles in a simulation environment.
Pagination
![Automated shuttle bus on rural Iowa road](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/square__1024_x_1024/public/2021-06/2021_06_02-NADS%20-%20ADS%20Automated%20Shuttle%20Bus%20jatorner%20-0077-md.jpg?h=02fc9e1e&itok=jj9-RINS)
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](/sites/dsri.uiowa.edu/files/styles/square__1024_x_1024/public/2021-02/Bay-2-GLOBE-crop-sm.jpg?h=3cd06fc8&itok=VxLBf3mR)
Tour our tech
Take a 360 degree virtual tour of our facility, and learn more about our technology and expertise.