ADS Transit shuttle bus on gravel road

Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America

ADS for Rural America is a project that is testing the use of automated driving technologies on high-speed, rural roadways to examine and understand the unique needs of rural environments, while working toward solutions that improve safety and mobility.

Goals

1. Improve safety on our nation’s roadways with the integration of Automated Driving Systems (ADS). ADS technologies show promise of greater safety on our roadways by preventing crashes.

2. Represent rural roadways in AV research. Rural roads present unique challenges:

  • Sharp curves and grades
  • Limited sight distances
  • Gravel, unpaved roads without lane markings
  • Slow-moving vehicles on the road, such as farm equipment
  • Animals on the road
  • Extreme weather conditions

Due to the complexity of rural environments, most AV testing and mapping has been focused on urban, clearly‐marked roads. We're doing rural testing for rural solutions.

3. Broaden mobility: Show how automated vehicles can provide transportation options for those not able to drive, such as aging populations and those with disabilities. We aim to connect those people in rural areas to the services they need. Since public transportation is often scarce or non-existent in rural areas, mobility means independence and can significantly improve quality of life.

While 19% of Americans live in rural areas, nearly 50% of traffic fatalities occur on rural roads.

Video overview

News

Automated Transit on gravel road

Working to safely bring automated driving to rural roads

Researchers at the Driving Safety Research Institute at the University of Iowa have completed more than three years of testing to learn the challenges automated vehicles encounter when operating on rural roads.
Webinar 5 screenshot

Webinar #5 overview and recording: 9 Things to Know When Testing AVs on Rural Roads

Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Watch the recording of our fifth webinar to learn about our top nine challenges and successes from testing a highly automated vehicle on rural Iowa roads, including driving under automation on gravel, in winter weather, using high speeds (65 mph), and more.
TR News article screenshot

TR News article published: 'Automated vehicles in rural America: What’s the holdup?'

Thursday, October 19, 2023
TR News recently published an article with two of our Iowa team authors titled 'Automated vehicles in rural America: What’s the holdup?'
ADS for Rural America

This $7 million project is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and is spearheaded by researchers at the Driving Safety Research Institute at the University of Iowa.