Tom Dingus, the Newport News-Tenneco Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, received the the James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award from the Governors Highway Safety Association. The award recognizes Dingus’ 41 years of innovation and impact in improving roadway safety.

Dingus M.S. ’85 and Ph.D. ’87 pioneered instrumented vehicle and naturalistic driving research while developing and growing the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI).

The trailblazer award is the highest honor given by the Governors Highway Safety Association, whose members include all 50 states, U.S. territories, and many for-profit and nonprofit entities. Its mission is to move the United States toward zero deaths on the nation’s roadways through leadership, partnerships, and advocacy.

The award honors an individual for sustained outstanding leadership in endeavors that significantly improve roadway safety. In addition, the recipient must have an established track record for implementing programs or notable advancements in either technology or research that have a proven impact on national safety.

“In the dynamic realm of evolving technology, where innovation sets the pace and expertise defines success, Tom stands out as a trailblazer because of his steadfast dedication to saving lives and unwavering commitment to research and innovation, making our highways safer for everyone,” said Zac Doerzaph, director of VTTI.

Highlights from Dingus' career include:

  • Leading research that found that over 70 percent of car crashes were due to driver distraction
  • Testifying before a U.S. congressional subcommittee, the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Academies of Sciences, and the National Council of State Legislatures
  • Being recognized as a White House Champion of Change in 2013
  • Serving as a panelist at the 2009 Distracted Driving Summit at the invitation of then Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. As a direct result of the summit, the White House enacted an executive order banning texting for 4 million federal employees driving government-owned vehicles.

For over 25 years, Dingus served as director of VTTI, where he managed more than $800 million in research funding and infrastructure development, most notably the Virginia Smart Roads test tracks with the Virginia Department of Transportation. The projects under his leadership were designed to enhance transportation safety; improve the efficiency of the transportation system for a range of users, including teen drivers, motorcyclists, and pedestrians; assess driver performance and behavior; and ensure the safe and efficient development and deployment of advanced vehicles, including automated vehicles. 

Dingus was the principal investigator on the first study aimed at evaluating driver fatigue in long-haul trucking, which became known as the Drowsy Driver Study. The study made a national impact, ultimately leading to changes in the Department of Transportation’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial vehicle drivers.

Other research led to a 2018 regulation requiring all new cars to include backup camera systems, reducing the number of crashes and driveway backup deaths of children. In addition, VTTI’s decades-long driver attention and distraction research for the Department of Transportation and automotive equipment manufacturers has driven the development of safer auditory-only and hands-free technology in vehicles as well as hands-free cell phone laws.

Dingus received his bachelor's degree in systems engineering from Wright State University and both his master's and doctoral degrees in industrial engineering and operations research from Virginia Tech. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Academy of Engineering Excellence in 2020.

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