PIRE - Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

Scott McKnight, B.A.
Program Director
The Calverton Center
Calverton, Maryland

Phone: (301) 755-2735
Fax: (301) 755-2799
Email: mcknight@pire.org

Scott McKnight has worked in the field of transportation safety research for over 35 years. In this time, he has participated in studies of vehicle operators including motorcycle operators, commercial vehicle operators, recreational boaters, novice drivers, distracted drivers, aggressive drivers and elderly drivers. He has worked on numerous drinking-and-driving-related projects, including studies of the use of vehicle-related sanctions for drinking drivers, intensive supervision programs for drinking drivers, local DUI task forces, high-visibility DWI enforcement, issues surrounding delayed reinstatement of suspended drivers, State alcohol ignition interlock programs, youth and motorcyclist peer-intervention programs, responsible beverage service programs, use of passive breath-testing and transdermal alcohol monitoring devices, and the creation and evaluation of standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs), including alternative tests for use in a marine environment and for detection of alcohol impairment at low BAC levels.

Mr McKnight's motorcycle safety research experience dates to the 1970s, when he participated in research that led to the development of motorcycle safety training programs, manuals, knowledge tests, off-road skill tests and on-road tests of safe riding practices. He is currently PI of a NHTSA study involving evaluation of high-visibility impaired riding enforcement programs. This project involves collection of qualitative and quantitative data from States and local jurisdictions, as well as supervising field data collection teams in collecting motorcycle-related data.He was recently PI of the NHTSA project “Examine Washington State’s Vehicle Impoundment Law for Motorcycle Endorsements” and was involved in a NHTSA study of a motorcycle safety law in Puerto Rico. His past NHTSA motorcycle safety research experience also includes the development and evaluation of a drinking-and-riding peer-intervention program, conducting drinking-and-riding focus groups, an investigation of potential methodologies for measuring alcohol impairment of motorcycle operation, a study of the feasibility of alcohol ignityion interlocks for motorcycles, and a study on the effects of helmets on hearing and vision. He was the PI for a study of the validity of motorcycle knowledge and skill tests for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

He has studied the use of emerging technologies for purposes such as drug recognition evaluation, police accident reporting, safety training of private boat operators, administration of a risk assessment screening measure for adolescents, automated assessment of psychophysical abilities related to driving, and the use of magnetic-striped drivers licenses in preventing alcohol sales to minors. Mr. McKnight has experience in the use of instrumented vehicles, video cameras, still and film cameras, computers, simulators, accelerometers, and other equipment for recording of data related to human behavior. He has produced, or been involved in the production of, numerous media presentations in videotape and CD-ROM formats. Mr. McKnight is a member of the Transportation Research Boards Committee on Motorcycles and Mopeds, and served as its secretary from 1995 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2012.

Last Modified: 5/9/2013

Published Literature

Transdermal alcohol monitoring: Case studies, (2012). Author(s): McKnight, A. S.; Fell, J. C.; and Auld-Owens, A.

An Evaluation of Intensive Supervision Programs for Serious DWI Offenders (2011). Author(s): Tippetts, S.; Fell, J.; McKnight, S.; and Wiliszowski, C.

Field and laboratory alcohol detection with 2 types of transdermal devices, Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research (2009). Author(s): Marques, P. R.; and McKnight, A. S.

Warning drivers about potential congestion as a means to reduce frustration-driven aggressive driving, Traffic Injury Prevention (2009). Author(s): Johnson, M. B.; and McKnight, S.

Impaired motorcycle operation, final report, volume I: Riders helping riders evaluation (2008). Author(s): Tippetts, A. Scott; Becker, Les R.; and McKnight, A. Scott

A national survey of vehicle sanction laws for alcohol-related eriving offenses in the United States: Preliminary findings, in Proceedings of the T2007 Joint International Meeting of TIAFT/ICADTS/IIS, August 26-30 (2007). Author(s): Fell, James C.; Voas, Robert; McKnight, A. Scott; and Levy, Marvin

Evaluating transdermal alcohol measuring devices (2007). Author(s): McKnight, A.S.; and Marques, P.R.

Human error in recreational boating, Accident; Analysis and Prevention (2007). Author(s): McKnight, A. James; McKnight, A. Scott; Becker, Wayne W.; and Pettit, Anthony J.

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PIRE Projects

Evaluation of an Impaired Riding Crackdown, NHTSA (9/9/2011 - 3/8/2014)

Examine Washington State's Vehicle Impoundment Law for Motorcycle Endorsement, NHTSA (9/18/2009 - 12/30/2011)

License Testing Research, NFED (1/1/2009 - 9/30/2009)

DRE Data Collection and Tracking Program, NHTSA (12/8/2007 - 9/30/2009)

NHTSA: Riders Helping Riders, NHTSA (9/5/2007 - 12/17/2007)

Use of Personal Data Assistant in Data Recognition Expert, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (9/16/2005 - 8/31/2008)

Data Entry of DRE Records for the IACP Drug Evaluation and Classificaiton Program, The International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc. (10/1/2004 - 8/31/2005)

Evaluation and Expansion of Drug Evaluation and Classification Management, Drug Recognition Expert Data Collection and Tracking Program, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (8/7/2003 - 12/7/2007)

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