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.

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gray and blue screen with white text "surviving bad"

The Science of Distracted Driving

Thursday, June 16, 2022
The Partnership for a Healthy Iowa
The Science of Distracted Driving with Dr. Daniel McGehee – National Advanced Driving Simulator. Professor Daniel McGehee from the National Advanced Driving Simulator at the University of Iowa joins us to talk about the science of distracted driving, multi-tasking, and safety.
Woman stepping out of a grey car

Can CBD Impact Your Driving Ability? What We Know

Thursday, June 2, 2022
Healthline.com
Millions of Americans regularly use CBD but little is known about the impacts of CBD on driving ability. This Healthline article, with comments from Tim Brown, director of drugged driving research at the National Advanced Driving Simulator, gives insight into driving ability and CBD use.
Blue screen with text " You are still the most important part of driving"

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) vs. Automation

Thursday, May 19, 2022
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are becoming more common in everyday vehicles. Watch our quick video to learn about the differences between ADAS and automation and your responsibilities as a driver.
Daniel McGehee, PhD

Congrats to McGehee on his tenure

Monday, May 9, 2022
Congratulations to NADS Director Daniel McGehee, PhD, as he has recently been promoted and tenured as part of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Alumni Spotlight Graphic - Shan Bao

Alumni Spotlight: Shan Bao, PhD

Thursday, April 28, 2022
Alumni spotlight of Shan Bao, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Iowa who researched automotive human factors
cannabis dose

Webinar recording: Cannabis and Driving Safety - What's new and what's next?

Thursday, April 21, 2022
Watch a panel discussion of recent research findings on cannabis and driving, including what research is needed to better understand how cannabis impacts driving performance and safety, as well how improved technology might be able to detect impaired driving.
ADS webinar 1 screenshot

ADS for Rural America webinar 1 recording: Focus on Safety

Sunday, April 3, 2022
ADS for Rural America project website
Watch a recording of our first webinar about our ADS for Rural America project, "Focus on Safety," held on Thursday, April 21.
Vehicle with crash damage

Drug use in crashes higher during COVID-19 pandemic

Tuesday, March 8, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things, including the prevalence of drugged driving. The University of Iowa was selected as one of the collection sites to examine the prevalence of drugged driving among seriously and fatally injured road users
Farm equipment with SaferTrek GPS/video data devices

SaferTrek: Sharing the Road

Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Using devices installed on farm equipment, researchers collected data and video on vehicle interactions with on-road farm equipment.
A Tesla Model S75D with custom data collection capabilities is one of five vehicles in the fleet

Does regenerative braking have safety benefits?

Monday, February 14, 2022
If you’ve driven an electric vehicle, you’ve likely used regenerative braking. But is there a safety benefit to this feature? “You basically get a head start on the braking so that the stopping distance is reduced,” explained Chris Schwarz, PhD.
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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.