Abstract

Automated vehicles can potentially transform the world’s road transportation system. Direct impacts include traffic safety, transport network efficiency, energy/emissions and personal mobility. Second order indirect impacts, such as the possibility of increased travel leading to more congestion and emissions, are of significant concern. This chapter discusses the direct and indirect impacts by applying systems thinking to the impacts of automated vehicles, presenting two case studies related to different aspects of automation: low speed shared shuttle and truck platooning.

Abstract

ITS Applications have in recent years assisted in reducing the number of fatalities in Europe. However, Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) have not benefited as much as vehicle users. The EU-sponsored VRUITS project assesses the safety and mobility impacts of ITS applications for VRUs, assesses the impacts of current and upcoming ITS applications on the safety and mobility of VRUs, identifies how the usability and efficiency of ITS applications can be improved, and recommends which actions have to be taken at a policy level to improve ITS safety and mobility. This paper describes the results of the first phase of the project, in which the critical scenarios for VRUs are identified starting from accident data analysis, and following a user needs based on focus groups and expert interviews. From this basis, the most promising ITS applications for VRUs are selected according to their potential to address the specific needs of VRUs.

Abstract

Motorcyclists and moped drivers are road users with a particularly high accident risk since motorcycle accidents are severe in nature, due to the relative minor protection of motorcyclists. Furthermore, today the field of driver assistance systems is mostly dedicated to the passenger vehicle and heavy goods vehicle sector. Driver assistance systems for Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs), which rely on onboard vehicle sensors, have not been not considered so far. In this paper we present first results of the European funded Marie Curie research project MYMOSA and especially the Integrated Safety work within its work plan. The objective of the Integrated Safety work package is the development of an integrated safety system capable to detect impending dangerous situations and accident scenarios. As a consequence of the proposed activities in these projects a long-term reduction of at least 20% of injuries and fatalities of motorcyclists is foreseen.