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.

About Us

News

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
NBC News
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
KCRG TV9 News
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
Iowa Public Radio
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.
2022 NADS Annual Report cover

2022 Annual Report now available

Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Our 2022 annual report is here! We have spent the past year researching automated vehicles, traffic safety, drugged driving, and much more. Plus, read about our upcoming name change to "Driving Safety Research Institute" on page 3.
miniSim

miniSim: A year in review

Wednesday, December 21, 2022
FY22 resulted in a number of system upgrades and custom development for the miniSim team.
Tim Brown, PhD and Rose Schmitt collaborate on testing a driving scenario for an impairment study.

Detecting impairment from cannabis

Wednesday, December 7, 2022
The theme this past year with much of our drugged-driving research has revolved around various methods of detecting driving impairment from cannabis use.
Mormon Trek Blvd in Iowa City

Impact of 'road diets'

Wednesday, November 30, 2022
For more than two decades, the Iowa DOT has been encouraging Iowa communities to consider converting certain four-lane streets to three lanes (also known as a “road diet”) with the aim to improve safety and reduce crashes. 
Roe (pictured) is shown driving the NADS Ford Transit and is also safety lead for our ADS for Rural America demonstration project

Roe takes on new responsibility with Iowa ATC

Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Spearheaded by the Iowa DOT, the Iowa Advisory Council on Automated Transportation (ATC) is setting the course for the future of automated transportation in Iowa.
Students Tommy Rogers and Marcus Miller worked on the robotics platform this past summer, along with and Kyle Chi (not pictured)

Advancing high school robotics

Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Three high school students spent this past summer making enhancements to a robot car.
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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.