Every time you buckle up, there’s a good chance Michigan State University research is helping keep you safe. With more than 50 faculty across MSU Mobility and the College of Engineering, Spartan researchers are tackling transportation challenges from every angle, including safer roads, stronger vehicles, smarter infrastructure and secure autonomous systems.
Using our campus as a living mobility laboratory, MSU researchers partner with federal agencies and industry to deliver real-world solutions that protect drivers in Michigan, across the nation and around the world.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speed was a factor in 29% of all road deaths in the U.S. for 2023. Peter Savolainen, MSU Research Foundation Professor in the College of Engineering, has been leading efforts to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities by studying ways to encourage drivers to slow down with support from the Federal Highway Administration, as well as subsequent projects from the Michigan, Minnesota and Washington Departments of Transportation.
“We have had a number of projects focused on what factors impact travel speeds,” says Savolainen, “because speeds have the biggest impact on safety both in terms of the average speeds and the variability in speeds. Speeds are a particular concern in urban environments, where we have seen major increases in fatalities, especially those involving pedestrians and bicyclists.”