The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) board of directors held a meeting in Atlanta on May 4-5 where its Research Advisory Committee (RAC) developed a list of recommended research topics for the coming year. ATRI approved the recommended topics as the 2021 Top Research Priorities.
ATRI’s RAC selected research topics that examine workforce, infrastructure, legal, and operational issues, which align with multiple top concerns identified in ATRI’s annual Top Industry Issues Survey. Additionally, given the heightened attention on electric vehicles, two of the top priority studies will examine specific trucking impacts arising from increased deployment of electric trucks.
The 2021 ATRI Top Research Priorities are:
- Understanding how to best integrate 18-20-year-old professionals into the trucking industry. This research will utilize a case-study approach to document best practices for recruiting, training and retaining younger individuals into trucking careers.
- Charging infrastructure considerations for electric trucks. From examining power demand scenarios to availability of grid connectivity and vehicle charging requirements, this research will be a trucking industry-focused assessment that identifies the electrical infrastructure issues associated with deploying electric trucks.
- Marijuana and other drugs: Impacts of decriminalization on the trucking industry. As more states move to decriminalize marijuana and other drugs, this study would update ATRI’s 2019 report by examining roadway safety and workforce impacts in those states changing their controlled substance laws.
- Quantifying the impacts of driver-facing cameras on fleets and drivers. This analysis will focus on safety, litigation, and workforce impacts from deployment of driver-facing cameras.
- Understanding the environmental impacts of zero-emission trucks. This research will be a comparative environmental impact study of the full lifecycle–manufacturing, operations, and disposal–of electric versus diesel Class 8 trucks.