Distracting or informative? Examining signage for cyclists using eye-tracking

Aasvik, O., & Fyhri, A. (2022). Distracting or informative? Examining signage for cyclists using eye-tracking. Traffic Safety Research, 2, 000013.There is great political motivation to improve conditions for cyclists to help solving the transport needs of the future. We used eye-tracking to collect data and analysed it using a novel machine learning approach. 40 cyclists in total were tasked with navigating a set route through the Oslo city centre. One group before the new infrastructure was in place and one group after. The analysis focused on developing a method that could be used to investigate how a new signage strategy impacted cyclists in Oslo. Improving signage could create safer traffic conditions for cyclists, while avoiding adding distracting elements. The algorithms developed were able to detect and categorize a variety of important objects. The signage system itself seemed to result in some route change among cyclists, but not all followed the suggested route. Qualitative analyses suggests that those who deviated cycled faster and looked less at signs, than those who chose the suggested route. The paper discusses strengths and weaknesses involved in this approach. While useful, one should be careful to conclude that gaze behaviour reflects the true inner consciousness of cyclists.publishedVersio

Road safety investigation of the interaction between driver and cyclist

With growing global concern to reduce CO2 emissions, the transportation modal shift from car to bicycle is an encouraging alternative, which is getting more popular in Europe and North America, thanks to very low impact on the environment. On the other hand, the infrastructure for cyclist should be improved, since cyclists are vulnerable road users and with an increase in the number of cyclists the concern for their safety also gets increased. In this thesis, the analysis of accidents in which cyclists have been involved and understanding the reason for these accidents have been discussed, then the necessary requirements to design and implement a safe bicycle network is introduced. The study focuses on the drivers’ behavior in terms of interaction with cyclists when there is a presence of a cyclist crossing. Therefore the road safety investigation on cyclist infrastructure was made with observing drivers’interaction with cyclists. Then the time-based surrogacy measures used to investigate the safety level of the cylist, in particular PET (Post Encroachment Time) and TTC (Time to Collision) between driver and bicyclist were determing keeping in mind the right-angle collision. Furthermore we tried to find the reaction time of the drivers especially on signals and also with the presence of cyclist on the crossing to understand the time which is needed for the driver to stop the car. All of this data could be later useful for the reconstruction of the accidents. Understanding the instants at which driver applies the brakes was made possible by installing a V-Box device inside our test vehicle which also used to determine measures such as speed, distance and other important. Finally using mobile eye tracker the driver visual behavior when arriving the crossing point where observed and results showed that at number of situations driver’s gaze was distracted and only cyclist became an important focus only when he was at a considerable length from the crossing

Bikesharing and Bicycle Safety

The growth of bikesharing in the United States has had a transformative impact on urban transportation. Major cities have established large bikesharing systems, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, New York City, Salt Lake City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington DC, and others. These systems began operating as early as 2010, and no fatalities have occurred within the US as of this writing. However, three have happened in North America—two in Canada and one in Mexico. Bikesharing has some qualities that appear inherently unsafe for bicyclists. Most prominently, helmet usage is documented to be quite low in most regions. Bikesharing is also used by irregular bicyclists who are less familiar with the local terrain. In this study, researchers take a closer look at bikesharing safety from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Through a series of four focus groups, they discussed bikesharing usage and safety with bikesharing members and nonmembers in the Bay Area. They further engaged experts nationwide from a variety of fields to evaluate their opinions and perspectives on bikesharing and safety. Finally, researchers conducted an analysis of bicycle and bikesharing activity data, as well as bicycle and bikesharing collisions to evaluate injury rates associated with bikesharing when compared with benchmarks of personal bicycling. The data analysis found that collision and injury rates for bikesharing are lower than previously computed rates for personal bicycling. Experts and focus group participants independently pointed to bikesharing rider behavior and bikesharing bicycle design as possible factors. In particular, bikesharing bicycles are generally designed in ways that promote stability and limited speeds, which mitigate the conditions that contribute to collisions. Data analysis also explored whether there was evidence of a “safety in numbers benefit” that resulted from bikesharing activity. However, no significant impact from bikesharing activity on broader bicycle collisions could be found within the regions in which they operate. Discussion and recommendations are presented in the conclusion

Promoting Bicycle Commuter Safety, Research Report 11-08

We present an overview of the risks associated with cycling to emphasize the need for safety. We focus on the application of frameworks from social psychology to education, one of the 5 Es—engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. We use the structure of the 5 Es to organize information with particular attention to engineering and education in the literature review. Engineering is essential because the infrastructure is vital to protecting cyclists. Education is emphasized since the central focus of the report is safety

Understanding interactions between autonomous vehicles and other road users: A literature review

This review draws on literature relating to the interactions of vehicles with other vehicles, interactions between vehicles and infrastructure, and interactions between autonomous vehicles and cyclists and autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. The available literature relating to autonomous vehicles interactions is currently limited and hence the review has considered issues which will be relevant to autonomous vehicles from reading and evaluating a broader but still relevant literature.The project is concerned primarily with autonomous vehicles within the urban environment and hence the greatest consideration has been given to interactions on typical urban roads, with specific consideration also being given to shared space. The central questions in relation to autonomous vehicles and other road users revolve around gap acceptance, overtaking behaviour, behaviour at road narrowings, the ability to detect and avoid cyclists taking paths through a junction which conflict with the autonomous vehicle’s path, and the ability of autonomous vehicles to sense and respond to human gestures. A long list of potential research questions has been developed, many of which are not realistically answerable by the Venturer project. However, the important research questions which might potentially be answered by the current project are offered as the basis for the more detailed consideration of the conduct of the interaction trial

MACHINE LEARNING AND LANDSCAPE QUALITY. REPRESENTING VISUAL INFORMATION USING DEEP LEARNING-BASED IMAGE SEGMENTATION FROM STREET VIEW PHOTOS

The study is centered on the value of visual perception in the measurement of landscape quality. The research aims to define a digital methodological process and criterion for assessing the quality of a landscape, using along a road georeferenced image as open source big data. Artificial intelligence system, trained to recognize and quantify the elements present, processes these images associating area data, therefore converted them into values according to specific criteria. In each image, it evaluates positive or negative characteristics of the path, and the sum of all big data values generates an index (L-value). This approach is tested in different case studies, validating AI results with Collective Intelligence, using anonymous questionnaires. The proposed process transforms the perceptual data inherent in the photographs into information, from which it extrapolates a knowledge path synthesized in map, representation of perceived qualities of the landscape

Road Signs: Geosemiotics and Human Mobility

How' do' people'make' sense' of' traffic' signs' in' urban' settings,' and' how' can' this' knowledge' be' utilized' to' inform' the' creation' of' better' design' policies' and' manuals?'These'questions'relate'to'the'theoretical'and'empirical'evidence'of'road' signs'as'traffic'guides'as'well'as'to'how'a'person'moves'around'in'an'environment.' Different'types'of'road'signs'exist'in'this'world.'Most'road'signs'are'uniform'signs' that' are' standard' for' worldwide' application,' based' on' the' Vienna' Convention' (United'Nations'Economic'Commission'for'Europe,'1968).'Many'research'studies'in' the' urban' environment' and' traffic' engineering' fields' focus' on' human' behaviour' and'traffic'sign'system'recognition.'In'order'to'provide'an'overview'of'the'stateRofR theRart'developments,'this'thesis'presents'a'theoretical'lens'that'is'used'to'anchor' the'subjects'of'the'studies'in'‘built'environment’,'‘people’'and'‘road'signs’'through' the'theories'of'mobility'and'geosemiotics.' 'The' fields' of'mobility' and'geosemiotics' are' important' aspects' of' this' research.' They' provide' another' theoretical' challenge' in' the' form' of' merging' these' two' disciplines' in' the' analysis' in' order' to' enhance' a' dialogue' between' the' fields' of' urban'design'and'visual'communication'practices.'Thus,'the'interrelation'between' the' two' theories' will' help' to' answer' the' question' of' whether' road' signs' have' significant'impact'on'human'behaviour'when'moving'in'urban'settings.'In'order'to' understand' the' importance' of' visual' understanding' among' people,' focus' group' interviews,' design' manual' intervention' field' observations' and' were' conducted' during' the' research' process.' The' methods' were' conducted' within' controlled' settings' as' well' as' urban' settings' that' emphasised' the' interaction' between' the' participants'and' the'visual' representations' of' road' signs.'The'key' contribution' of' the' findings' in' this' research' project' is' the' methodological' triangulations' of' qualitative' data' used' in' the' focus' group' interviews,' the' visual' documentation' of' design' manual,' and' field' observations' which' were' inspired'by 'mobility' and 'geosemiotics' theories. 'This'thesis'aims'to'be'used'as'a'guideline'for' the'urban'planning'of'Malaysian'road'traffic'sign'system'in'the'future.

Understanding visual behaviour within the urban environment to optimise lighting

A review of the literature suggests that current guidelines for road lighting lack a clear empirical basis. Where there is evidence, this tends to be based on motorists or pedestrians: there is little, if any, consideration given to the needs of cyclists. This thesis presents an investigation of lighting for cycling after dark within an urban environment. Three empirical investigations were conducted. A field survey was conducted to investigate the influence of the ambient light level on the tendency to cycle. Mobile eye-tracking was used to investigate the gaze behaviour of cyclists in natural settings, using two parallel measurements to reveal the critical of these fixations: performance on an audio dual-task and skin conductance response (SCR), and by that improved the ecological validity of previous similar research. A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate obstacle detection under variations in the type, location, and level of lighting. The field study revealed that cycling increases when the ambient light level is higher. This suggests that road lighting might be a tool to encourage more cycling. The eye-tracking study suggested that observing the path ahead is a critical task, reflecting a tendency to search for possible obstacles on the road. Post hoc analysis of the eye-tracking data also suggested an influence of ambient light level on gaze towards aesthetic elements (architectural features) of the environment with such elements are suggested by the literature to be associated with positive cycling experience: this suggests that appropriate road lighting motivates the choice to cycle. The detection experiment revealed two significant effects: first; that road lighting and bicycle lighting may conflict. In other words, using bicycle lighting on a lit road may impair detection performance, not improve it. Second; that detection is improved when the front bicycle lamp is located on the wheel hub rather than the handlebar