Laura Fraade-Blanar

Associate Policy Researcher

Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in health services: evaluation sciences and occupational health, University of Washington; M.P.H. in international health: health systems, Johns Hopkins University; B.A. in public health, Johns Hopkins University; Postdoctoral Fellow in aging, RAND Corportation

One Page Bio

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Laura Fraade-Blanar is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her work sits at the intersection of health, technology, and transportation. She focuses on safety, applying her background in public health and injury epidemiology to questions around measuring risk and uncertainty. Around traditional transit, she has focused on older driver safety, notably in relation to driving choices, access issues and payment models, and cognition and Alzheimer’s disease. Around emerging transit, her work focuses on measuring risk and uncertainty of new transportation modes including automated vehicles and Mobility-on-Demand/Mobility-as-a-Service. Specifically, she worked with colleagues to generate a framework for measuring (RR-2662) and creating benchmarks for automated vehicle safety (RR-A569). Other projects involve providing methodological support around measuring abstract concepts in public health and beyond.

Fraade-Blanar holds a Ph.D. in evaluation sciences and occupational health from the University of Washington, School of Public Health. Prior to her doctoral work she was a research scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a consultant at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). She received an M.P.H. in international health and a B.A. in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Data Analyst, Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) Center at Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC), 2013-2016; Research Scientist, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 2007-2010; Contractor, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO), 2007-2008

Recent Projects

Measuring Automated Vehicle Safety
The Road to Zero A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050
Rideshare and Non Emergency Medical Transportation
Autonomous Vehicles and Federal Safety Standards
Alzheimer's Disease and Driving Safety Among Older Drivers

Selected Publications

Blumenthal MS, Fraade-Blanar L, Best R, Irwin J L, Safe enough: approaches to assessing acceptable safety for automated vehicles, RAND (RR-A569), 2020

Fraade-Blanar L, Blumenthal M, Anderson, J, Kalra N. , Measuring Autonomous Vehicle Safety: Forging a Framework. , RAND Corporation (RR-2662), 2018

Fraade-Blanar L and Smith JP, "Cognitive change and driving behavior among older drivers," Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2018 (forthcoming)

Fraade-Blanar L, Ebel BE, Larson, EB, Sears JM, Thompson HJ, Chan KC, Crane PK. , "Cognitive decline and older driver crash risk," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(6), 2018

Fraade-Blanar L, Hansen RN, Chan KC, Sears JM, Thompson HJ, Crane PK, Ebel, BE, "Diagnosed dementia and the risk of motor vehicle crash among older drivers," Accident Analysis and Prevention, 113, 2018

Ecola L, Popper SW, Silberglitt R, and Fraade-Blanar L, The Road to Zero A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050, (RR-2333), 2018

Fraade-Blanar L and Kalra N, Autonomous vehicles and federal safety standards: an exemption to the rule, (PE-258-RC), 2017

Nevin P, Blanar L, Maeser J, Kirk AP, Kaufman R, Cramer G, Freedheim A, Hitchcock L, Ebel BE. , "'I wasn't texting; I was just reading an email …': a qualitative study of distracted driving enforcement in Washington State," Injury Prevention, 23(3), 2017

Commentary

Micromobility: How Will We Know When It's Working?
Micromobility was positioned as a solution for every urban problem from traffic congestion to air pollution to transit deserts and inequality. Is there a way to know if micromobility can fulfill these ambitious goals?
May 18, 2021 The RAND Blog
If You Build Automated Vehicles, Will Older Adults Come?
Whether older adults benefit from autonomous vehicles may hinge on taking explicit steps. Lessons can be learned from experiences with other technologies.
Apr 28, 2021 Inside Sources
How State and Local Governments Might Consider Approaching Operational Design Domains for Automated Vehicles
An operational design domain (ODD) is a description of the conditions in which an autonomous vehicle is designed to operate safely. No nationwide ODD policy exists, but because ODD is partly about the characteristics of a specific location, state and local policies could be useful.
Aug 20, 2020 The RAND Blog
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in the Time of COVID-19
More widespread availability of rideshare for non-emergency medical transport may save lives, reserve emergency resources for those who need them, and provide safe pathways to primary care for the chronically ill. It could also save livelihoods, providing employment in a time of economic hardship.
May 5, 2020 The RAND Blog
AVs Could Improve Transportation Access in 'Transit Deserts'
More large U.S. cities are seeing their outer reaches turn into transit deserts, where demand for transportation vastly exceeds supply. Connecting public transit systems with automated vehicles, whether in ride-sharing or shuttle services, could be a solution.
May 31, 2019 Axios
How to Make Roads Safer for Autonomous Vehicles
Roadways and vehicle design could be modified to better accommodate both human error and the shortcomings of autonomous vehicle systems.
Feb 6, 2019 Axios
How AVs Could Provide Independence for Older Drivers
Giving up driving has been linked to depression and isolation in older adults, as well as early entry into nursing home facilities. Autonomous vehicles could help improve the well-being of older adults by allowing them to maintain independence while still giving up their car keys.
Sep 21, 2018 Axios

Publications

Report
Measuring Strategic Readiness: Identifying Metrics for Core Dimensions
The authors explore a more expansive approach to readiness assessments that goes beyond the narrow lens of operational readiness and considers a broader set of dimensions that could affect readiness outcomes.
Jun 14, 2021
Journal Article
The Societal Benefits of Vehicle Connectivity
This scenario analysis suggests that actions focused on enhancing equity in any push towards vehicle connectivity represent a low-regrets option for public, private, and civil society actors.
Mar 18, 2021
Journal Article
Older Adults, New Mobility, and Automated Vehicles
New technologies for mobility could improve access for older Americans or pass them by. Research and action are needed to promote benefits for older and other Americans.
Feb 18, 2021
Report
Safe Enough: Approaches to Assessing Acceptable Safety for Automated Vehicles
RAND researchers analyzed three approaches to assessing the safety of automated vehicles (AVs)—measurements, processes, and thresholds—and how they interact. Researchers also explored the elements of effective communications regarding AV safety.
Oct 29, 2020
Report
Measuring Automated Vehicle Safety: Forging a Framework
This report presents a framework for measuring safety in automated vehicles (AVs): how to define safety for AVs, how to measure safety for AVs, and how to communicate what is learned or understood about AVs.
Oct 11, 2018
Report
The Road to Zero: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050
Imagine that, in 2050, not a single person in the United States dies in a traffic crash. This report describes how changes in policy, technology, and social norms can substantially improve road safety, leading to zero roadway deaths by 2050.
Apr 19, 2018
Report
The Road to Zero: Executive Summary: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050
Imagine that, in 2050, not a single person in the United States dies in a traffic crash. This executive summary to The Road to Zero: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050 describes how that might be possible.
Apr 19, 2018
Report
Autonomous Vehicles and Federal Safety Standards: An Exemption to the Rule?
In this Perspective, we examine changes being considered to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard exemption process that are aimed at facilitating deployment of autonomous vehicles.
Sep 18, 2017