Increasing vehicle safety

Transport is a necessary component of daily human life for people as well as for the exchange of goods. Yet, road safety and environmental factors are some of the negative consequences related to transport. The number of road crashes as well as vehicle emissions need to be reduced to meet EU targets. In order to achieve such goals, an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of road users is required.

In light of this, the EU-funded project 'European naturalistic driving and riding for infrastructure &vehicle safety and environment' (UDRIVE) is building on a previous feasibility study along with various field operational tests (FOTs) to develop in-depth knowledge via the first large-scale European ND study.

Describing road-user behaviour has been a main project objective thus far. It is being manifested in numerous ways, some of which involve road network characteristics, traffic conditions, driver safety, high-risk groups and driving style. Identifying new approaches is another key project objective. This includes defining measurable safety and environmental performance indicators, improving current models of driver behaviour, and looking at driver support systems and targeted training.

Considering the link between design and data analysis, UDRIVE's methodology included data management, analysis and collection as well as impact. Due to budget constraints, the team decided it was more feasible to use waves of participants driving and riding for nearly two years rather than waves of vehicles for one year.

Technical specifications of the data acquisition system (DAS) have been prepared. A request for proposal was issued on the website at the end of May 2013, and 5 to 10 potential suppliers were directly informed. A lot of interest has been shown thus far.

One of the main results to follow to the end of the project is finalising DAS development. Once all steps are final, the work will have a positive impact on road safety and environmental hazards.