VTTI's Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety (DHVY) is a respected entity in studying commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses. The Division's objective is to convert research findings into concrete solutions that speak to real-world challenges, with a specific focus on driver assistance and automated bus and truck technological advancements.
Director Rich Hanowski, a longtime VTTI employee, attributes his division's success to being willing to present research that may not always be popular.
“We've been a leader in controversial findings before anyone else found out about them,” said Hanowski. “Our impactful research has been able to shape policy.”
With additional financial resources, Hanowski would invest in tractor trailers, a resource that is critical to many of the projects that his team would like to pursue. Currently, DHVY has one such truck and it is often shared with other divisions whose studies require utilizing a heavy vehicle. Additionally, the Division is assisting with VTTI's “Build Back Better” initiative to propose making I-81 a testing corridor for trucks. Infrastructure would need to be built with the correct connectivity and charging stations for heavy vehicles, a massive financial undertaking to support autonomous trucking.
Hanowski believes that his division and VTTI are primed to lead this effort due to a constant desire to produce successful projects.
“We always want to deliver above and beyond what we have promised to our sponsors,” said Hanowski.
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