AUTRI receives $1.9 million to study smart tire technology for highway safety
AUTRI receives $1.9 million to study smart tire technology for highway safety
https://eng.auburn.edu/news/2026/02/autri-smart-tire-tech
Publish Date: 2026-02-23 14:52:00
Source Domain: eng.auburn.edu
Heavy commercial trucks are involved in about 13% of all fatal crashes on U.S. roads, according to federal safety data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. And here’s the surprising part: they make up only about 5% of all registered vehicles. In other words, their share of deadly crashes is far higher than you’d expect based on how many are on the road.
One visible and persistent contributor to that risk is tire failure. Anyone who drives regularly on interstates has seen the evidence: large chunks of shredded tire lining road shoulders and medians. While not all tire failures result in crashes, federal studies have identified tire-related problems as contributing to roughly 6% of truck crashes involving critical vehicle failures. Tire blowouts can also scatter debris across travel lanes, increasing the risk of secondary crashes, increasing the probability of damage to other vehicles using the roadway, and creating significant cleanup costs for states.
Auburn University’s Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) has received $1.9 million from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to explore whether new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can help spot dangerous tire conditions before a blowout happens. Over the next two years, AUTRI researchers will test small, battery‑free sensors embedded in commercial truck tires to determine whether they can reliably detect unsafe conditions early enough to prevent failure.
FMCSA funded the project through its High Priority–Commercial Motor Vehicle program, which focuses on reducing crashes involving large trucks and buses.
Laurence Rilett, director of AUTRI and the project’s principal investigator, said the work addresses a practical safety question.
“When a truck tire fails at highway speed, it can create a dangerous situation not just for the driver, but for everyone nearby,” Rilett said. “FMCSA is asking whether there’s a reliable, low-cost way for…
