Peter Savolainen

Dr. Peter Savolainen is an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During the course of his academic career, Dr. Savolainen has served as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $14 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.

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.

This research has led to the publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and research, highlighted by a series of contributions in the areas of naturalistic driving research, countermeasure evaluation, and crash-injury severity analysis.  Dr. 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.

Academic Interests

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles; Statistical and Econometric Methods; Transportation Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation; Traffic Operations