Peter Savolainen
MSU Foundation Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Peter Savolainen’s research examines the fundamental nature of road user behavior.
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Biography
Peter Savolainen is an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During the course of his academic career, Savolainen has served as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $17 million of externally funded research through competitive grant awards from agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and various state departments of transportation.
Savolainen’s research examines the fundamental nature of road user behavior, particularly how traffic safety and operations are influenced by behavior in consideration of roadway and traffic characteristics. His work in this area has provided important information as to how road user behavior changes in response to such roadway features as maximum speed limits, centerline/shoulder rumble strips, and red-light-running cameras at signalized intersections. His research has also advanced fundamental knowledge as to how roadway design, environmental factors, and in-vehicle distractions affect the risk of traffic crashes.
This research has led to the publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and research reports, highlighted by a series of contributions in the areas of naturalistic driving research, countermeasure evaluation, and crash-injury severity analysis. Savolainen currently serves on the editorial advisory boards of Accident Analysis and Prevention and Analytic Methods in Accident Research, as well as on the Transportation Research Board Standing Committees on Statistical Methods and Motorcycles and Mopeds. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Michigan.
Areas of Expertise (7)
Traffic Safety
Traffic Management
Infrastructure Design
Transportation Economics
Transportation Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Infrastructure Planning
Accomplishments (5)
Best Paper, Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (professional)
2024 Standing Committee on Transportation Safety Management Systems (ACS10)
Innovation in Education Award, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) (professional)
2022 Transportation Education Council
Young First Author Best Paper, Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (professional)
2022 Standing Committee on Traffic Control Devices (AHB50)
Fellow, Institute of Transportation Engineers (professional)
2020
Edmund R. Ricker Awards, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Transportation Safety Council (professional)
2020 For outstanding contributions to the field of traffic safety
Education (3)
Purdue University: Ph.D., Civil Engineering 2006
Purdue University: M.S., Civil Engineering 2004
Michigan Technological University: B.S., Civil Engineering 2002
Links (3)
News (4)
How MSU's research powers Michigan's economy and future
MSU College of Engineering online
2024-11-11
His research into rumble strips, high-tension cable barriers and roundabouts helps agencies like the Michigan Department of Transportation take thoughtful action to improve roadway safety and lower the nearly 300,000 traffic crashes that occur on Michigan roadways each year. “Ultimately, this research is about creating a better, safer Michigan,” says Savolainen, a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Raising speed limits can cause more ‘spillover effect’ crashes, AAA finds
MLive.com online
2024-05-14
Peter Savolainen, a professor and the interim chair of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan State University, said traffic data isn’t as readily available for local roads as it is for state highways.
Pedestrian's risks and solutions for walking safety
The State News online
2023-11-23
Dr. Peter Savolainen, MSU professor in the Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, said that the more cars being driven in the recent past are bigger, with an increase in SUVs and trucks, creating a more fatal result during a collision with pedestrians and cars.
E-Scooters Have Taken Over Many College Campuses. Now Scholars Are Studying the Phenomenon.
The Chronicle of Higher Education online
2019-09-20
Peter T. Savolainen, a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering, studies road-user behavior and traffic safety. He hopes to apply for funding to examine why and how e-scooters crash.
Event Appearances (1)
“Relating Available Stopping Sight Distance to Crash Risks: Insights from NCHRP 15-75”
August 2024 | Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering of NTUA Athens, Greece
Research Focus (1)
Road User Behavior
How traffic safety and operations are influenced by behavior in consideration of roadway and traffic characteristics
Dr. Savolainen’s research examines the fundamental nature of road user behavior, particularly how traffic safety and operations are influenced by behavior in consideration of roadway and traffic characteristics. His work in this area has provided important information as to how road user behavior changes in response to such roadway features as maximum speed limits, centerline/shoulder rumble strips, and red-light-running cameras at signalized intersections. His research has also advanced fundamental knowledge as to how roadway design, environmental factors, and in-vehicle distractions affect the risk of traffic crashes.
Journal Articles (5)
Evaluating Driver Response to Bridge Deck Warning Systems During Winter Weather Conditions
Transportation Research Record2024 Warning signs are often deployed at bridge overpasses during winter to warn motorists of potentially icy surface conditions on the bridge, although the effectiveness of these signs is questionable. One potential improvement to the standard signage methods is the bridge deck warning system (BDWS), which activates a flashing warning sign border or beacon when conditions warrant based on real-time weather and bridge surface data. However, BDWSs have not been broadly implemented in the United States, and consequently, their effectiveness as a safety countermeasure is not well established. To address this knowledge gap, a series of winter field evaluations were performed along three freeway bridge overpasses in Michigan to assess the effectiveness of various BDWS strategies as a speed reduction countermeasure for motorists approaching a potentially icy bridge.
Examining the Relationship between Connected Vehicle Driving Event Data and Police-Reported Traffic Crash Data at the Segment- and Event Level
Transportation Research Record2024 Police-reported crash data have been the de facto element used by the transportation agencies in developing and implementing traffic safety projects. This approach is reactive in nature and can lead to suboptimal investment decisions owing to inherent challenges in crash data analysis. Because of their large-scale and near real-time availability, connected vehicle (CV) driving event data have emerged as a promising means of addressing these challenges. This study utilized CV event data for three different event types, namely, acceleration, braking, and cornering at three severity levels (easy, normal, and harsh), to examine the viability of using these data in traffic safety analysis. The results showed a strong correlation between crash frequency and CV driving event frequency. CV event data also improved the goodness-of-fit of crash frequency models.
Effects of Speed Feedback Trailer Positioning and Police Enforcement on Vehicular Speeds in Freeway Work Zone Lane Closures
Transportation Research Record2024 This field study sought to evaluate select strategies for improving compliance with work zone speed limits, which included a speed feedback trailer (SFT) and active police enforcement. The initial evaluation included an SFT positioned at the start or end of the taper within a freeway single-lane closure to determine which position provided the most favorable speed reductions. Positioning the SFT near the end of the taper caused the speed reductions to be sustained over a greater distance into the work zone compared with when the SFT was positioned near the start of the taper. With the SFT positioned near end of the taper, the average speed was 1.5 mph lower at the end of the taper and 0.8 mph lower 1,350-ft beyond the end of the taper compared with when the SFT was inactive.
Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Railroad Crossing Signal Masts and Guardrails
Transportation Research Record2019 The installation of “active” warning devices, such as crossing signals and gates, is a principal element of state and federal railroad crossing safety programs, and their effectiveness in preventing vehicle–train collision is well documented. While most active crossings are occupied by trains only a few minutes each day, non-crashworthy items are frequently present at active crossings including crossing signal masts, crossing gate mechanisms, cantilever supports, and signal controller bungalows. Various agencies utilize longitudinal guardrail systems to protect errant motorists from striking non-frangible crossing signal hardware. This study sought to determine whether such guardrails influence the prevalence and severity of motor vehicle strikes involving crossing hardware. A review of 10 years of police crash-report narratives in Iowa, United States (U.S.) indicates an average of 15.6 crashes per year at 1,853 crossings involving signal masts, signal guardrails, or related infrastructure.
Examining Safety on Two-Lane and Multilane Highways in Consideration of Access Spacing
Transportation Research Record2019 Access management strategies, such as the introduction of minimum access point spacing criteria and turning movement restrictions, have been shown to be important elements in optimizing the operational and safety performance of roadway segments. The relationship between safety and these types of access policies is a complex issue, and the impacts of such features on traffic crashes is critical to the development of appropriate access management strategies. The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative evaluation of how crash risk on multilane and two-lane highways varies with respect to access spacing in support of the development of a revised access management policy. Data were obtained for approximately 1,247 and 5,795 mi of segments across multilane and two-lane highways, respectively. Crash data were obtained for a five-year period from 2012 to 2016 and a series of random effect negative binomial regression models were estimated for each facility to examine the association between crash frequency, access point spacing, and traffic volume.
