Steven Reed

Is naturalistic driving research possible with highly instrumented cars? Lessons learnt in three research centres

This paper provides an overview of the experiences using Highly Instrumented Cars (HICs) in three research Centres across Europe; Spain, the UK and Greece. The data collection capability of each car is described and an overview presented relating to the relationship between the level of instrumentation and the research possible. A discussion then follows which considers the advantages and disadvantages of using HICs for ND research. This includes the obtrusive nature of the data collection equipment, the cost of equipping the vehicles with sophisticated Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) and the challenges for data storage and analysis particularly with respect to video data. It is concluded that the use of HICs substantially increases the depth of knowledge relating to the drivers behaviour and their interaction with the vehicle and surroundings. With careful study design and integration into larger studies with Low(ly) instrumented Cars (LICs), HICs can contribute significantly and in a relatively naturalistic manner to the driver behaviour research.

The development of a European fatal accident database

A lack of representative European accident data to aid the development of safety policy, regulation and technological advancement is a major obstacle in the European Union. Data are needed to assess the performance of road and vehicle safety and also to support the development of further actions by stakeholders. A recent analysis conducted by the European Transport Safety Council identified that there was no single system in place that could meet all of the needs and that there were major gaps including in-depth crash causation information. This paper describes the process of developing a data collection and analysis system designed to partly fill these gaps. A project team with members from seven countries was set up to devise appropriate variable lists to collect fatal crash data, using retrospective detailed police reports (n = 1300), under the following topic levels: accident, road environment, vehicle and road user. The typical level of detail recorded was a minimum of 150 variables for each accident. The project will enable multidisciplinary information on the circumstances of fatal crashes to be interpreted to provide information on a range of causal factors and events surrounding the collisions. This has major applications in the areas of active safety systems, infrastructure and road safety, as well as for tailoring behavioural interventions.

Characteristics of fatal single-vehicle crashes in Europe

There is a general lack of representative European accident data to aid the development of safety policy, regulation and technological advancement. This is proving to be a major obstacle in the European Union (EU) since data are needed to both assess the performance of road and vehicle safety policies and to support the development of further actions by stakeholders. An analysis conducted by the European Transport Safety Council identified that there was no single reporting system in place that could meet all of the data needs and that there were gaps with regard to in-depth accident data. This study describes the process of developing a data collection and analysis system designed to partly fill these gaps. A project team with members from seven EU countries was set up to devise appropriate variable lists to collect fatal crash data under the following topic levels: accident, road environment, vehicle and road user, using retrospective detailed police reports (n = 1293). The typical level of detail recorded was a minimum of 150 variables for each accident. The study describes some analyses of the data in terms of accident contributory factors, ‘events’ during the accident sequence and occupant details. This approach to data collection and database development has major applications in the areas of active safety systems, infrastructure and road safety developments, as well as for tailoring behavioural and policy interventions at European level.

Fatal and serious collisions involving pedal cyclists and trucks in London between 2007 and 2011

ABSTRACT Objective: Increased numbers of people riding pedal cycles have led to a greater focus on pedal cycle safety. The aim of this article is to explore factors that are associated with fatal and a small number of serious-injury pedal cyclist crashes involving trucks that occurred in London between 2007 and 2011. Methods: Data were collected from police collision files for 53 crashes, 27 of which involved a truck (≥3.5 tonnes) and a pedal cycle. A systematic case review approach was used to identify the infrastructure, vehicle road user, and management factors that contributed to these crashes and injuries and how these factors interacted. Results: Trucks turning left conflicting with pedal cyclists traveling straight ahead was a common crash scenario. Key contributory factors identified included the pedal cyclists not being visible to the truck drivers, road narrowing, and inappropriate positioning of pedal cyclists. Conclusions: Crashes involving trucks and pedal cyclists are complex events that are caused by multiple interacting factors; therefore, multiple measures are required to prevent them from occurring.

Analyzing and Modeling Drivers’ Deceleration Behavior from Normal Driving

Most research in vehicle automation has mainly focused on the safety aspect with only limited studies focusing on occupants’ discomfort. To facilitate their rapid uptake and penetration, autonomous vehicles (AVs) should ensure that occupants are both safe and comfortable. Recent research, however, revealed that people felt uncomfortable when AVs braked. This may be caused by the robotlike braking performance. Existing studies on drivers’ braking behavior investigated data from either controlled experiments or driving simulators. There is a dearth of research on braking behavior in normal driving. The objective of the study was to examine drivers’ braking behaviors by exploiting naturalistic driving data from the Pan-European TeleFOT project (Field Operational Tests of Aftermarket and Nomadic Devices in Vehicles). On a fixed route of 16.5 km, 16 drivers were asked to drive an instrumented vehicle. About 11 million observations were analyzed to identify the profile, value, and duration of deceleration events. Since deceleration events are nested within trips and trips within drivers, multilevel mixed-effects linear models were employed to develop relationships between deceleration value and duration and the factors influencing them. Results indicate that the most-used profile of the deceleration behavior follows a hard braking at the beginning when detecting a danger and then becomes smoother. Furthermore, the results suggest that the speed, reason for braking, and deceleration profile mostly affect the deceleration events. Findings from this study should be considered in examining the braking behavior of AVs.

296 Cyclist deaths in London: implications from a safe systems perspective

Background In 2013 the London Mayor committed to increasing cycling levels by 400% (from 2001) by 2026. Although the numbers of deaths per year are relatively low cycling in London has become highly politicised with significant media focus on every cycle death in the capital. This study was commissioned by Transport for London to explore contributory factors to cyclist deaths and implications for interventions. Methods This study involved an in-depth case review of 53 pedal cycle fatalities in London between 2007–2011. Police fatal reports were used in the analysis. The method involved application of a Haddon matrix approach to data analysis and a case by case review by a multidisciplinary team to explore the multifactorial nature of contributory factors from a safe systems perspective. Results Over half the crashes involved a truck (>3.5 tonnes) as the primary collision partner, most happened during daylight and the commute period, on low speed (30 mph) urban roads and at a junction, particularly at a complex junction. A notable finding was the involvement of trucks in fatalities, particularly for female cyclists, where the truck was turning left. For these crashes contributory factors were identified as poor visibility of the cyclist to the truck driver related to cab design and lack of mirrors, poor positioning by the cyclist and infrastructure issues such as lane narrowing creating a conflict point between cyclist and trucks. Conclusions Potential countermeasures to mitigate risks for cyclists include the design of trucks to create greater visibility of vulnerable road users, training of both drivers and cyclists to raise awareness of visibility and designing infrastructure and managing traffic to reduce the opportunities of conflicts arising in the first place. Few well designed intervention studies were identified. The overrepresentation of female cyclists in collisions with left turning trucks is an issue that warrants further investigation.