ABSTRACT
In the United States, driving is commonplace, due in part to robust infrastructure ranging from local gravel roads to massive interstate highways. On these roadways, regular commuters share the roads with a variety of commercial and industrial traffic, and rarely is there a day that a daily commuter does not encounter a vehicle carrying a set of labels indicating hazardous materials (HAZMAT) are being transported. Research on the transportation of HAZMAT is focused on inventory control and providing information to first responders if an incident occurs in relation to what a particular vehicle is carrying. There seems to be little effort to obtain and use data to prevent or mitigate incidents with transporting HAZMAT. There have been incidents, either through intentional actions or through accidental incidents, where HAZMAT has been released from a container or stolen en route to a destination. Between 1971 and 2013, 589 people were killed in relation to the transportation of HAZMAT on United States highways.
