A primary function of the Center will be to sustain a vigorous research program encompassing basic and applied projects related to improving safety and mobility for young people and older adults. The Center’s research program will be focused upon three broad, societal thrusts:

• Understanding and addressing the changing perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities of older drivers to help them maintain safe driving;
• Understanding and addressing the transportation needs of young people and older adults when they are unable or choose not to drive themselves;
• Understanding and addressing the elevated crash risk of young drivers.

Research Excellence Program: Competitive proposals will be requested by the Center that address pressing transportation problems within one or more of the three thrust areas. Specific research topics selected will take into account national transportation needs by addressing high priority areas identified by DOT. Proposals will be required to provide some matching funds for the project cost. Respondents will be required to build a “quad-team” for research projects that consists of faculty members from at least two different U-M units, students, and government/industrial/community representatives. The quad approach will ensure multidisciplinary research, student involvement in projects, and the translation of research results into practical transportation solutions.

New research projects awarded
M-CASTL is pleased to announce the awarding of three research projects for the first year of our research initiative. Click on the project titles below to read the abstracts.

Youth, Age, and Transportation Accessibility: An Intermetropolitan Comparison
Principal Investigator: Jonathan Levine (U-M Urban and Regional Planning Program)
Co-Investigators: Joe Grengs (U-M Urban and Regional Planning Program), Lidia Kostyniuk (UMTRI), and Laurie Wargelin (Abt-SRBI, Inc)

A Behavioral Model of Driving Reduction and Cessation
Principal Investigator: Lidia Kostyniuk (UMTRI)
Co-Investigators: Cathleen Connell (U-M Public Health) and Patricia Carrow (Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning)

A New Approach to Assessing Self-Regulation by Older Drivers: Development and Testing of a Questionnaire Instrument
Principal Investigator: David Eby (UMTRI)
Co-Investigators: Lisa Molnar (UMTRI), J. Scott Roberts (U-M Public Health), and Gary Bubar (AAA Michigan)
Consultants: Jim Langford (Monash University Accident Research Centre) and Shawn Marshall (University of Ottawa)

New request for proposals (RFP) coming soon
On May 23, M-CASTL will be issuing a new request for proposals (RFP) for the second year of research funding. This funding opportunity will be available to U-M faculty, and M-CASTL expects to award three projects. The maximum award for any individual project will be $100,000 and all proposals must follow a quad-team approach, with each proposal involving researchers from at least two U-M departments, an industry representative, and one or more students. The research projects must address M-CASTL’s theme and specific priority research topics, which will be identified by the M-CASTL Executive Committee with input from other Center stakeholders. UMTRI will provide a training session on May 30th related to the required cost-sharing/cost-matching for projects.