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Workload Managers—The Future of Telematics ...5

Child Passenger Safety .........7

Conferences & Events .........10

Did You Know? ..................12

Check out the DealershipsOF THE FUTURE!on page1

• UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE • APRIL–JUNE 2001 • VOLUME 32, NUMBER 2 •

U M T R I

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• UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE • APRIL–JUNE 2001 • VOLUME 32, NUMBER 2 •

U M T R I

UMTRI News BriefsIn addition to the feature articles inside, here are staff news highlights.

Kathleen Weber RetiresKathleen Weber, founder of the Child Passenger Protection

Research Program, retired from the University this summer after overthirty years of service. She will continue to be active in the field, serv-ing on panels and editorial boards, and offering advice to industry,research, and advocacy groups. UMTRI senior research associateMiriam Manary will be taking over many of Weber’s roles. [For a related story, see the article on page 7.]

UMTRI 2001 Best Publication AwardsThis summer, several UMTRI researchers were honored for their

work. The Best Paper citation went to coauthors from UMTRI’sEngineering Research Division: Bob Ervin, department head; Scott Bogard, senior engineer in research; and Paul Fancher, seniorresearch scientist emeritus for their report “Considering RadarDetection of Vehicles in a String for Gaining Situation Awareness of aPropagating Conflict.”

In addition, Research Incentive Awards were presented to:• Pat Hammet, assistant research scientist; Shannon M. Wahl,

student research assistant; and Jay S. Baron, manager of manufacturingsystems, all from UMTRI’s Office for the Study of AutomotiveTransportation, for “Using Flexible Criteria to Improve ManufacturingValidation During Product Development”

• Lidia Kostyniuk, associate research scientist; Jean Shope, de-partment head; and Lisa Molnar, senior research associate, all of UMTRI’sSocial and Behavioral Analysis Division, for “Driving Reduction/Cessation Among Older Drivers: Toward a Behavioral Framework”

• Mark Spicknall, assistant research scientist in UMTRI’s MarineSystems Division; Matt Williamson of Project Solutions; and RichardStorch of the University of Washington’s Industrial EngineeringProgram for “Technology Value Analysis”

You can access these papers online at http://www.umtri.umich.edu/library/reports.html. RRRR

Dealerships around the countryare taking advantage of e-commerce tools such as the

Internet and information technology(IT) to help build andimprove their customer com-munications and to integratevarious standalone systemswithin their dealerships. (E-commerce is a catch-allphrase meaning to conductbusiness communications and transac-tions by using computers and bothInternet and IT software tools.)

Automotive dealerships are in theprocess of deciding how to invest in e-commerce tools to better run theirbusinesses and improve their bottom

line. Bruce Belzowski, a sen-ior research associate atUMTRI, says, “Althoughdealers face specializedissues, like franchise regula-tions, when it comes toapplying e-commerce solu-

tions to their means of doing business,they are very similar to other businesses.Dealers make these decisions based on

issues such as cost, skill level, knowl-edge, and return on investment. Otherdecision factors include evaluatingexisting applications, integrating themwith the Internet, and connectingdealerships to the manufacturers’ infor-mation systems.”

In a project funded by Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, Belzowski and hiscolleagues—Michael Flynn, researchscientist, Kara Alkire, social scienceresearch associate, and Gina Kang,research assistant of UMTRI, as well asNeal Elgersma and Mark Rahrig ofHewlett-Packard and Paul Hebeler andJay Houghton of Oracle—selected andinterviewed representatives from twenty-six leading dealers, representing fiveurban U.S. regions (Los Angeles, SanFrancisco, Florida, New York/NewJersey, and Detroit/Chicago). All dealerships selected are technicallysophisticated with a fairly high comfortlevel in technology, have money tospend on resources, and have taken thelead in using the Internet to communi-cate with current and potential customers.

Belzowski explains, “Our studyfocused on where dealerships want togo from here, how they’d like to use e-commerce, and how they envisionthe dealership of the future.”

From Tried and True toSomething New

Although many of the decisionfactors involved in applying e-commercesolutions to improve business are universal, dealers do face a unique circumstance in that they have tradi-tionally relied on proprietary dealershipsystems, available from only two ven-dors. These closed systems do not easily integrate with other softwareproducts or with Web technology.Despite dealers’ large financial in-vestment in these systems, they generally only use a fraction of their

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continued…

E-COMMERCEAND THE DEALERSHIP

OF THE FUTUREBetter Customer Communication Through Technology

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capability—basically as a storehouse forkey information. Yet dealers werehappy with this level of functionality,as they, by and large, were not awareof the software’s full potential.

One surveyrespondent explainshow technologyhas been used indealerships, “Otherindustries pave theway for dealer-ships—otherindustries areeighteen monthsahead of us, con-tinuously, and wewill come in whenthe technology isproven. We waitas other industriesprogress. TheInternet is sevenyears old. Datamining is twenty-five years old.Business-to-busi-ness commerceallows everyone tobe more efficient.But it’s all new to us.”

In the last fewyears, however,more options havebecome availableand dealers arenow bombardedwith softwarechoices—includ-ing competingproducts as well astools made available through theInternet—and with thinking about dif-ferent ways in which to run their dealerships. On average, over the lastthree years, these dealerships have amedian investment of about $200,000in Internet systems and a median

investment of about $800,000 in IT systems.

Software providers are also begin-ning to create open architecture systems that more easily integrate with

other software systems, and customerrelationship management (CRM) toolsthat will integrate easily with dealermanagement systems.

Caution:New Challenges Ahead

The study found that the twobiggest challenges facing automotiveretailers over the next five years areadapting the Internet into their busi-ness and adapting to a changing customer and sales process. Additionalchallenges include competition fromdot coms and third party sales, ITintegration within the dealership, andpossible OEM attempts to sell directlyto customers.

The Internet is a consumer com-munication channel, providing theability to research, transact, and sched-ule with as little or as much humancontact as the customer chooses.There has been a major change in theway automotive business is conductedsince customers began accessing infor-mation online. How auto retailers dealwith informed consumers, and howmuch customer information they cangather, will also greatly determine theirsuccess. Dealers who embrace thesechanges proactively, and incorporatethem into their own businesses, willgain market share.

The main way in which dealersthink that the Internet will help themrespond to these challenges is byallowing them to provide new servicesfor customers, and by helping them tostreamline target marketing and CRMactivities. They also plan to use ITsolutions to better distribute informa-tion inside the dealership; integrate,upgrade, or phase out their legacy pro-grams; and export data from their proprietary dealer information systems.

Dealers feel that the Internet willhelp them develop relationships withcustomers and deliver less expensivetraining to dealership employees. On the other hand, dealers cite thedisadvantages of adopting new technol-ogy as lower profit on sales, growingpains in using the new tools, and the

The Dealershipo f t h e F u t u r eBelzowski summarizes what the respondents envision for the future of their dealerships:• Free flow of information throughout the

dealership—sales, management, and service—and between stores

• Free flow of information from manufacturers to dealers

• Coordinated communication from manufacturers anddealers to consumers (on recalls, rebates, incentiveprograms, etc.)

• Internet connectivity to current/potential customers(e.g., quick responses on vehicle availability, pricing,incentives, and loans; and online services such asscheduling service appointments, checking on repairprogress, paying for service, getting service re-minders, etc.)

• Increased speed and efficiency in accessing and utilizing information throughout the dealership

• Integration of various internal business systems

• Improved sales process and lower cost per sale

2 April–June 2001

possibility of consumers gatheringinaccurate information from variousonline sources. One dealer puts it succinctly, “The business has funda-mentally changed. The mainprofit center has changedfrom new sales to used salesand fixed operations (service,etc.). The Internet haschanged the industry. It hasopened it up throughspreading information tocustomers so dealers can’t profit fromselling new cars. We must make thedeal advantageous to the customer sowe have to settle on a low price. Butwe still have to make money for thedealership. Then the dealer needs tofinance the deal so we can have thepossibility of the up-sale and after-salebenefits. The IT piece fits in herethrough data mining and personalpages (personal/customer websites). If the dealer can’t make a net profitfrom the sale, we must rely on a prof-itable relationship compared to the one-shot model of ten years ago. Theprofit up-front may be smaller, but the channel of contact and relationshipcan still be profitable through datamining and email using demographicsand psychographics.”

In general, dealers feel the prosoutweigh the cons, even as they sail onuncharted waters. Belzowski says, “It’sa big experiment—an evolutionarychange from how dealers and manufac-turers have traditionally done business.”

E-Commerce to the RescueDealers find the main advantages

of e-commerce solutions are cost effectiveness, increased business oppor-tunities, and better communicationwith customers. The main goals dealer-ships would like to meet with their e-commerce systems include integra-tion of different systems, specific taskcapabilities (e.g., viewing customer

history, handling excess inventory, running financial analyses, and trackingparts), easier customer communication,and faster, more stable systems.

In two years, dealers ex-pect to see e-commerce toolsimproving their after salesprocess, new vehicle sales pro-cess, and internal dealershipprocesses (such as overallproductivity in running thebusiness). Yet they also see

competition from third-party Internetproviders, and an erosion of trust inthe dealer because of conflicting vehi-cle prices between the dealer and theInternet, as future disadvantages.

Dealers cite their electronic link tocustomers as their current weakest link,but understand the potential for build-ing relationships with customers anddelivering services to them online.Advantages of a closer customer link-ages include creation of an electroniccommunications channel (for conven-ient access to automotive, scheduling,and contact information), plus cost andtime savings.

Dealers rate sharing informationwithin and among stores (many dealershave multiple stores and franchises)and with OEMs as the major advan-tage to being more closely linked electronically. Closer links within thedealership or between stores wouldallow better information sharingamong departments or stores, as well as increased efficiency.Closer links to OEMs wouldprovide better access toinformation, better commu-nication and connectivity to the OEM, and overallincreased efficiency. The ad-vantages of closer links to ancillaryservices, such as insurance companiesand banks, include time savings, a lesscomplicated financing process, andoverall cost reductions.

Dealers also plan to use informa-tion technology in target marketingand CRM activities, as well as for distributing information inside thedealership. Advances in e-commercetechnology will have advantages forboth the dealership and the consumer:

• Dealership Advantages—Itwill be easier to locate vehicleson-site or at another dealer’slot, as well as provide bettercommunication with andamong related dealers. It willalso give dealers transparencyof information across all theirdepartments and dealerships,which should allow them tomake better decisions on vehi-cle orders and marketing plans.

• Consumer Advantages—CRM software will electroni-cally keep track of individuals,and allow them to performtasks online such as schedulinga service appointment, check-ing the status of and payingfor repairs, arranging to talkwith a sales rep, getting pricequotes, and configuring thevehicle of their choice.

The Bottom Line: BetterCustomer Communication

The aspect of e-commerce that willhave the most impact on dealers’ busi-nesses over the next two years is the

enhanced ability to gathercustomer information anduse it to provide better cus-tomer service. Dealers areexcited about the opportuni-ty to know their customersbetter, create meaningful

target markets, and develop one-on-one communications.

As an example of better customertargeting and communication, arespondent explains, “We can use ITand data mining to see each client as

UMTRI Research Review 3

an individual based on their character-istics. This helps you identify purchasecharacteristics and market to their spe-cific needs. For example, you wouldknow when their kids are at the pointof needing transportation. Based on afour-year buying cycle, you wouldknow when people are getting ready torepurchase and you could initiate afour-to-five month marketing strategybefore that time. You would under-stand their four-to-five year cycle of needs. You could amplify existingOEM marketing strategies or programsand optimize the benefits for people.”

Dealers also see the Internet as away to provide new services to, andbuild relationships with, customers.For example, customers could viewnew and used vehicle inventory, checkon repair status, purchase vehicles, payfor services, view dealer and vehiclecosts, and buy parts and insurance—all online. Based on service or salesactivity, dealers could create promo-tions that are well aimed and quick to market.

Accordingly, dealers see theInternet as providing them a betterway to use customer data. One dealerenvisioned these benefits, “We couldknow more about customers’ habits

and have automated systems to promptus about the customer’s information—like when you call for pizza and theyhave a record of your last order andyour topping preferences. We couldtrack service records and remind cus-tomers to schedule an appointment,knowing ahead of time what time of day they prefer and whether theywant to wait for the service or drop offthe vehicle.”

Dealers are quite enthusiasticabout the advantages that e-commerce tools can provide theirbusinesses, while realistic about theprocess of implementing these tools.How much these changes will affectdealers and buyers will be played outin dealerships throughout the countryover the next few years.

4 April–June 2001

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WorkloadManagers—The Future ofTelematics

Cars equipped with cellularphones, navigation systems,video players, and Internet

access offer drivers more informationthan ever before, making driving moreconvenient and automobiles morefunctional—and fun. But such systemscan also distract drivers enough to behazardous. Setting safety standards andregulations is one way of protectingmotorists, but there may be a bettersolution, says Paul Green, a seniorresearch scientist who also heads theUMTRI Driver Interface Group.

Green, who regularly speaks atconferences, is championing the devel-opment of “workload managers”—computer systems that assess drivingdemands and driver capabilities on amoment-by-moment basis and adjustthe flow of information to the driveraccordingly. For example, during com-plex maneuvers such as merging onto ahighway, drivers would be presentedwith very little data. But during “downtime” like waiting at a traffic light orrailway crossing, they could be givenextra information.

Drivers are accustomed to oper-ating some devices while driving—headlights and windshield wipers, forexample. But the products known astelematics—navigation, entertainment,communications, safety, security, andother computer- and communication-based systems and services—can bemuch more distracting for drivers touse, says Green.

Much of the evidence comes fromJapan, where police have kept track ofaccidents caused by the use of naviga-

tion systems or cellular phones. Sincethe end of 1999, when Japan bannedthe use of handheld phones while driv-ing, cell phone-related crashes haveplummeted by 75 percent. It is unclearhow much of the decline reflects anactual reduction in crash rate and howmuch is due to underreporting of phone-related crashes (since the use of phoneswhile driving is now illegal). But police

reports of accidents prior to the banclearly indicate that cell phone use playeda significant role in causing crashes.

Using a hands-free phone doesn’tnecessarily reduce risk, Green adds.“Requiring the use of hands-freephones may reduce the risk associatedwith retrieving and holding the phone,but the main problem is that the act ofanswering the phone can happen at an

UMTRI Research Review 5

on/off

Vehicle Systems Demand Sources

navigationsystem

roadgeometry

lane width

radius ofcurvature

intersectionsand exits

adaptivecruise

control(ACC)

trafficdistance

bearing

rate ofclosure to

traffic ahead

tractionand

stabilitycontrol

systems

traction andvehicle

dynamics

coefficientof friction

frontdriver-side

tire

frontpassenger-

side tire

reardriver-side

tire

rearpassenger-

side tire

wiperson/off

visibility andlighting

clockday/night

headlightson/off

Workload Level

visual

auditory

cognitive

psychomotor

IndividualDifferences

(especially age)

Factors

An Architecture for aVehicle Workload Computation

Workload managers assess information from vehicle systems and demand sourcesto decide the workload level—and what information to display when.

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inopportune time—in heavy traffic, forexample,” he says. What’s more, talk-ing on the phone isn’t the same astalking to a passenger while driving.Passengers usually keep an eye on theroad, often pointing out traffic prob-lems before the driver notices them. Ina phone conversation, the person onthe other end of the linechatters away, oblivious towhat’s happening on theroad. Hands-on or hands-off, the risk of a crash isabout four times greaterwhen a driver is talking onthe phone than when thephone is not in use, onestudy showed.

Experiments also haveshown that the greater a dri-ver’s workload (a measure that takesinto account everything a driver needsto look at, listen to, think about, andremember and how immediate thedemands are), the greater the potentialfor telematics to interfere with driving.But while a number of organizationsand agencies are hashing out safetystandards for more concrete and measurable factors such as fuel efficien-cy or airbags, it is difficult to makestandards flexible enough to factor in workload.

That’s where workload managerscould shine, says Green. “For example,incoming cell phone calls might beautomatically routed to an answeringmachine in heavy traffic, but permittedto go through on a straight road withno traffic.” The concept may soundfuturistic, but most of the sensors andother equipment needed to inform aworkload manager are already avail-able, or soon will be, in luxury vehicles.Navigation systems know where thevehicle is and can compute the de-mands of driving related to twists and

turns in the road. Adaptive cruise control can sense nearby vehicles andprovide information on traffic. Inputfrom the clock and headlight andwiper switches gives hints about visibil-ity. The traction control system providesdata on the condition of the road sur-face, and the speedometer knows how

fast the vehicle is moving. And it’s notjust the vehicle that can be monitored—steering wheel and throttle sensors,along with a “driver personality mod-ule” in the ignition key, can offerinformation about the driver’s age anddriving habits.

All that’s lacking are the instruc-tions telling the workload managerhow to put all the information togetherand how to react in various situations.And that, Green says, is a void that willnot be filled quickly or easily. “Manyyears of research will need to be com-pleted before such software could bedeveloped, and unfortunately theresearch needed for that purpose is notbeing conducted,” he says. “There areno signs that the funding necessary—an order of magnitude increase overcurrent funding—will become avail-able, and this should be a significantconcern to organizations that see afuture in telematics.”

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Stop byhttp://www.umich.edu/~driving

for information on theUMTRI Driver Interface Group.

ChildPassengerSafetyUMTRI Researcher Involved with Local SAFE KIDS Campaign

The SAFE KIDS Campaign is anational organization dedicat-ed to preventing unintentional

childhood injury, chaired by formerU.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.SAFE KIDS has about 300 local chapters that implement the nationalorganization’s programs at the com-munity level by creating educationalopportunities, leading advocacy pro-grams, and providing safety servicesand resources.

Miriam Manary, a senior researchassociate in UMTRI’s BiosciencesDivision and principal investigator ofthe Child Passenger Safety ResearchProgram, has been involved with herlocal Washtenaw County SAFE KIDS Coalition for about two years. Manary conducts research on child protectionsystems and is a certified instructor forNHTSA’s thirty-two-hour child pas-senger safety curriculum. She givespresentations on the topic to numerous professional, public, and private groups.

Manary says, “SAFE KIDS is con-cerned with preventing many kinds ofchildhood injuries and since motorvehicle collisions are a leading cause ofdeath for kids, child passenger safety isone of the major focus areas.” Un-restrained or improperly restrainedchildren are far more likely to beinjured, to suffer more severe injuries,or to die in the event of a car crash.Lori Brinkey, a physical therapist at the

University of Michigan C.S. MottChildren’s Hospital and co-coordina-tor of the Washtenaw SAFE KIDSCoalition, says, “Motor vehicle crashesare the leading cause of unintentionalinjury-related death in children agefourteen and under. Therefore, it’svery important for families to selectthe correct car seat for their children,and to learn how to use it appropriate-ly.” Proper child restraint selection and

usage involves considering many vari-ables including the child’s age, weightand maturity, vehicle interior character-istics, various types of seatbelt systems,correct use of all the child restraint features, etc.

The coalition’s biggest project, theSAFE KIDS Buckle Up campaign,addresses this problem. Its main goal is educating parents and caregivers about

the proper type and use of child carseats, both online (http://www.safekids.org/buckleup) and throughchild seat safety clinics throughout the country. Several times a year,Washtenaw County SAFE KIDS pro-vides a one-day NHTSA training program on proper child seat installa-tion for firefighters, police officers,nurses, and other child passenger safety advocates. In addition, the full

NHTSA thirty-two-hourchild passenger safety curricu-lum has been taught twice inthe past calendar year.

An eight-hour trainingevent occurred in February,at the Ann Arbor Fire Depart-ment, as part of NationalChild Passenger SafetyWeek, and Manary served asone of the instructors. Shesays, “The public viewshealth care professionals,firefighters, EMS personnel,and police officers as safetyleaders in the communityand they are also regularlyinvolved in transporting chil-dren. They need to knowhow to safely transport kidsas part of their job as well asto educate the public.” Also,police officers can use childpassenger safety informationto facilitate enforcement of Michigan Public Act 29,which requires child restraintuse for children under fouryears old.

These programs also train attendeesto participate in car seat checks in theirlocal communities. The course includesthe basics of injury prevention, vehiclecrash dynamics, and hands-on exercis-es. Participants have to be able to iden-tify vehicle restraints and understandhow a child’s age, size, and physicallimitations affect car seat use, as well as actually install each major type of

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Miriam Manary properly secures an infant crashdummy into a child seat before performing a sledimpact test.

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restraint into a variety of vehicles. Afterthe participant demonstrates theseskills, he or she is better prepared tohelp with community car seat checkprograms. At a car seat check-up event,each participant is teamed with anexpert to learn about communicationskills, the types of questions most frequently asked, and the proper re-sponses to these queries. Manary saysnew trainees’ first instincts may be toinstall the child restraints themselves,but they learn that it important toeducate parents or caregivers to do it on their own. The sessions empha-size the attitude of education andteamwork with parents, letting themfeel empowered and secure in theirabilities to install the car seats properlyand independently.

Manary helps with many car seatcheck-up events in Washtenaw Countyand the greater southeastern Michiganarea. The events take place primarilyon evenings and weekends during thespring, summer, and fall and allowpeople to get free car seat check-ups,child passenger safety information, andfree or low-cost child seats, if needed.

Manary also recently organized“Child Passenger Safety University” atUMTRI, which was hosted by the

Washtenaw County and Metro DetroitSAFE KIDS coalitions. Other UMTRIparticipants and presenters includedDavid Eby, an associate research scien-tist in UMTRI’s Social and BehavioralAnalysis division, who presented statis-tics on misuse patterns of child restraintsystems; Larry Schneider, head of

UMTRI’s Biosciences division, andJoel MacWilliams, coordinator of acci-dent investigations in the Biosciencesdivision, both of whom presentedinformation on car crash investigation;and Kathleen D. Klinich, a researchassistant in the Biosciences division,who discussed data on seat belt usage

of pregnant drivers. Experts from auto-motive companies in the Detroit metropolitan area also presented theirfindings from studies on side-impact airbags.

Manary says that UMTRI datasuggests that in Michigan, as many as80 percent of children are restrainedimproperly in motor vehicles, and 51percent of kids who are injured orkilled in crashes are completely unre-strained. Data on improper childrestraint usage also comes from the carseat check-up clinics—instances whereparents already have demonstrated ahigh level of safety concern by attend-ing—and yet these events commonlyrecord misuse rates of over 90 percent.Manary used sled impact test data toillustrate common misuse modes andtheir possible outcomes for a session atthe recent International ChildPassenger Safety Technical Conferencein Indianapolis. The presentation em-phasized that there are different levelsof misuse—some render the childrestraint virtually useless, while othersmay only reduce its effectiveness.Common misuse modes includeinstalling restraints or occupant har-nesses too loosely, incorrectly routingthe vehicle belt through the child

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Michigan Public Act 29Under the new law, drivers and front seatpassengers are required to be buckled up,or face a citation that could lead to a fineof $25 plus court costs. The new law alsorequires all children under the age of fourto be placed in child restraint seats in allseating positions. All other passengersunder sixteen must be buckled up, regard-less of seating position.

The buckle is too low. To help keep theharness straps on the shoulders, the harness clip should be positioned atarmpit height.

The car seat is too loose. When properlyinstalled, there should be only one inchof side-to-side movement of the childrestraints, relative to the vehicle.

The harness is too loose. In order to pre-vent ejection, the harness should betightened snugly on the child’s body.

Buckle Up “D N’Ts”�

restraint, turning infants forward fac-ing too soon, routing the harnessthrough the lower unreinforced slotsof a convertible child restraint, andtransferring children to an adult vehi-cle belt before it fits the child.

Brinkey says she often hears fromparents who are confused and frustratedabout which kind of restraint devicesto use as their children grow, how toinstall the equipment in their cars, vansand SUVs, and how to position andkeep their children in the restraints.

“It’s very difficult to install the seats attimes because there’s a wide variety ofthem out there, plus vehicles them-selves have a variety of seat shapes andseat belt designs,” Brinkey acknowledges.“On top of that, manufacturers’instructions can be missing or difficultfor parents to understand.”

Manary says she enjoys workingwith the SAFE KIDS programbecause, “You can see the research weperform at UMTRI have a positiveeffect in the real world. It brings a

personal element to the work whenyou see the benefits of reducing childinjuries in your local community.”

For more information about the National SAFE KIDSCampaign, stop by http://www.safekids.org. To check childpassenger safety ratings by state, go to http://www.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=183&content_item_id=835.

UMTRI Research Review 9

Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 213—Child Restraint Systems Law MandateFMVSS 213 became effective in 1971 andwas amended in 1981 and 1996. This stan-dard specifies requirements for childrestraint systems (e.g., infant seats, forward-facing child safety seats, and booster seats)as they are used in motor vehicles. Its pur-pose is to reduce the number of childrenkilled or injured in motor vehicles crashes.FMVSS 213 governs the performance stan-dards for child restraint systems for childrenup to 50 pounds, including:• the crashworthiness of the seats• the labeling on the seats including air

bag warnings• the instructions that come with the seat• the flammability of the cloth material

that comes with the seat.

Infants should not face forward.Children should ride facing the rear ofthe vehicle, at least until they havereached one year and 20 pounds.

Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of an active airbag. The safest place for children twelve and under is in theback seat.

Do read the instructions! On most con-vertible child restraints, the harnessmust be routed through the top harnessslots (not the lower slots as shown) forforward-facing use.

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Airbag injury: Don’t place your infant in the front seat!

Conferences &

Events

10 April–June 2001

Transportation Research Board 28th Annual Summer Ports, Waterways,Freight & International Trade ConferenceJune 24–27, Galveston, Texashttp://www4.trb.org/trb/calendar.nsf

31st International Conference onEnvironmental Systems (ICES)July 9–12, Orlando, Floridahttp://www.sae.org/calendar/ice/index.htm

Advanced Topics in Seat Suspension Designand Human Body Vibration ControlJuly 17–18, Chicago, Illinoishttp://www.sae.org/contedu/

National Symposia on Transportation:Enabling Technologies and Transportation InnovationAugust 7–8, U.S. DOT Volpe Center,Cambridge, Massachusettshttp://www.volpe.dot.gov/outreach/

symposia01/three.html

Driving Assessment 2001: InternationalDriving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle DesignAugust 14–17, Aspen, Coloradohttp://www.driving-symposium.org

2001: A Transportation Odyssey—Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Annual Meeting and ExhibitAugust 19–21, Chicago, Illinoishttp://www.ite.org/annualmeeting/

sixdays.asp

International Future TransportationTechnology ConferenceAugust 20–22, Costa Mesa, Californiahttp://www.sae.org/calendar/ftt/index.htm

Braking Performance of Heavy Commercial VehiclesSept. 10–11, Troy, MIhttp://www.sae.org/contedu

Transportation Association of Canada’sAnnual Conference and ExhibitionSept. 16–19, Halifax, Canadahttp://tac-atc.ca/events.htm

Traffic Safety on Three Continents: 12th International ConferenceSept. 19–21, Moscow, Russiahttp://www.vti.se/

Vehicle Dynamics for Passenger Cars andLight TrucksSept. 19–21, Troy, Michiganhttp://www.sae.org/calendar/semdyn.

htm#dynamics

International Conference on Ecology and TransportationSept. 24–28, Keystone, COwww.itre.ncsu.edu/cte/icoet2001.html

Fundamentals of Sensor Design forAutomotive Air Bag SystemsSept. 25, Detroit, Michiganhttp://www.sae.org/contedu/

2001 PAL: Fourth International Symposiumon Progress in Automobile LightingSept. 25–26, Darmstadt, Germanyhttp://fgltweb.lt.e-technik.

tu-darmstadt.de/PAL_info.htm

International Fuels & Lubricants Meeting & ExhibitionSept. 24–27, San Antonio, Texashttp://www.sae.org

8th World Congress on Intelligent Transport SystemsSept. 30–Oct. 4, Sydney, Australiahttp://www.itsworldcongress.org

The Automotive & TransportationTechnology Congress & ExhibitionOctober 1–4, Barcelona, Spainhttp://www.attce.com/

7th International Congress: Driver ImprovementOctober 8–10, Salzburg, Austriahttp://www.kfv.at/DI2001/eng/index.php3

Southern Automotive ManufacturingConference and ExhibitionOctober 8–10, Greenville, South Carolinahttp://www.sae.org/calendar/sam/

45th Annual Meeting of the Human Factorsand Ergonomics SocietyOctober 8–12, Minneapolis, Minnesotahttp://hfes.org/meetings/am-2001.html

International Body Engineering Conference & Exhibition (co-located with Digital Car Conference)October 16–18, Detroit, Michiganhttp://www.sae.org/calendar/ibe/

Digital Car Conference & ExhibitionOctober 16–18, Detroit, Michiganhttp://www.digitalcar.sae.org/digitalcar/

19th Annual Brake Colloquium & ExhibitionOctober 28–31, New Orleans, Louisianahttp://www.sae.org/calendar/bce00/

UMTRI Research Review 11

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Conferences &

Events

12 April–June 2001

TransportationTidbits• In 1899, Mrs. JohnPhillips of Chicago was thefirst woman in the U.S. toreceive a driver’s license.

• In 1909, Colliers maga-zine called the automobilethe greatest social force in America, greater thanrural free mail delivery orthe telephone.

• In 1915, placing the sparetire in the trunk was intro-duced by the AmericanFranklin car.

• The first pedestrian cross-ing was designated inEngland at ParliamentSquare, London, in 1926.The London TrafficAdvisory Committee paint-ed two parallel white linesacross the road and erecteda square white sign on apost that read “Please cross here.”

• The first car antifreezewas introduced in 1926 byUnion Carbide and CarboCompany. It was calledPrestone, consisted of ethyl-ene glycol, and sold for $5 a gallon.

• Electric fuel gauges weredeveloped in 1929 to deter-mine how much gas was leftin the vehicle’s fuel tank.

• In 1936, the Cord Model810 offered the first pop-up headlights.

• In 1938, the first automo-bile air conditioning systemwas offered by Nash Motors.

• In 1963, the BritishTriumph is the first car tooffer windshield washers.

• The first automobileairbag patent was registeredby John Hetrick ofPennsylvania in 1953.

• In 1964, seatbelts were made standard equip-ment on cars produced by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation.

• The first car to have aheadlight windshield-wipersystem was the Saab 99, inSweden in 1971.

• In 1990, General Motorsintroduced an electrically-powered test car, theImpact. It accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in eightseconds and traveled 120miles before needing to be recharged.

Source: On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportationby Leonard C. Bruno.

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