A Berkshire research and consultancy organisation, founded in 1933, that studies road safety, vehicles and future transport, including automated driving.
TRL, which stands for Transport Research Laboratory, is a UK organisation of scientists, engineers and specialists that works on transport. Its own description is a team that works with clients and partners to 'shape the future of transport', with the aim of making transport safer, cleaner and more efficient. It does research into roads, vehicles and human behaviour, makes software for traffic management, road design and managing road assets, and carries out field work such as investigating incidents and surveying structures. It also runs the Smart Mobility Living Lab in London, a place where companies can try new transport products on real public roads.
TRL began in 1933 as the Road Research Laboratory, run by a government department. It was renamed the Transport and Road Research Laboratory in 1972 and the Transport Research Laboratory in 1992, when it became an executive agency, and it was privatised in 1996. Its past work includes research in the Second World War, and the mini-roundabout was developed by one of its scientists, Frank Blackmore. Today it is owned by the Transport Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation overseen by about 80 members from the transport industry, and profits go back into research rather than to shareholders.
TRL's headquarters is in Wokingham, Berkshire, although Wikipedia places it in Crowthorne, in the same area, and lists extra offices in Edinburgh and Birmingham. It also has the London testbed, a virtual test track and a sister business in India that supports its software. Wikipedia puts the staff at about 320. This is an older figure and the other sources do not give a recent total. Its work reaches well beyond the UK, with projects around the world on road safety and infrastructure.
The pages we read did not describe its culture or values, so we cannot say. The fact that it is owned by a foundation rather than shareholders, with a stated purpose of improving transport, is a clue to the sort of mission-led place it is. Interim chief executive David Sharratt was named in a Wikipedia entry, so check for current leadership.
A research organisation like TRL employs a wide range of people: scientists and engineers in vehicles and infrastructure, road safety researchers, data analysts, software developers, behavioural and human factors specialists who study how drivers and pedestrians act, field engineers and surveyors, and project managers and business teams. Maths, engineering, physics, psychology and computing all lead into this work. Visit the TRL website for current roles.
Website: www.trl.co.uk
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