Towards a large scale European Naturalistic Driving study: final report of PROLOGUE: deliverable D4.2

Naturalistic Driving (ND) studies represent the state of the art in traffic safety research and can be defined as studies undertaken to provide insight into driver behaviour during every day trips by recording details of the driver, the vehicle and the surroundings through unobtrusive data gathering equipment and without experimental control. Typically, in an ND study passenger cars, preferably the subjects' own cars, are equipped with several small cameras and sensors. For several months to several years, these devices continuously and inconspicuously register vehicle manoeuvres (like speed, acceleration/deceleration, direction), driver behaviour (like eye, head and hand manoeuvres), and external conditions (like road, traffic and weather characteristics). Thus, the ND approach allows us to observe and analyse the interrelationship between driver, vehicle, road and other traffic in normal situations, in conflict situations and in actual crashes. This type of information is not just useful for reducing road transport casualties, but also for reducing the environmental burden of road transport, and for reducing congestion. ND studies are not limited to passenger cars since vans and trucks can also be studied in a naturalistic way. Similarly, motorcycles can be equipped: naturalistic riding. The specific problems of pedestrians and cyclists can be studied based on observations from the vehicle. However for this application, naturalistic site-based observations can be a useful addition

Recommendations for a large-scale European naturalistic driving observation study. PROLOGUE Deliverable D4.1.

Naturalistic driving observation is a relatively new research method using advanced technology for in-vehicle unobtrusive recording of driver (or rider) behaviour during ordinary driving in traffic. This method yields unprecedented knowledge primarily related to road safety, but also to environmentally friendly driving/riding and to traffic management. Distraction, inattention and sleepiness are examples of important safety-related topics where naturalistic driving is expected to provide great added value compared to traditional research methods. In order to exploit the full benefits of the naturalistic driving approach it is recommended to carry out a large-scale European naturalistic driving study. The EU project PROLOGUE has investigated the feasibility and value of carrying out such a study, and the present deliverable summarises recommendations based on the PROLOGUE project

BlenderProc2: A Procedural Pipeline for Photorealistic Rendering

BlenderProc2 is a procedural pipeline that can render realistic images for the training of neural networks. Our pipeline can be employed in various use cases, including segmentation, depth, normal and pose estimation, and many others. A key feature of our Blender extension is the simple-to-use python API, designed to be easily extendable. Furthermore, many public datasets, such as 3D FRONT (Fu et al., 2021) or Shapenet (Chang et al., 2015), are already supported, making it easier to clutter synthetic scenes with additional objects

BlenderProc: Reducing the Reality Gap with Photorealistic Rendering

BlenderProc is an open-source and modular pipeline for rendering photorealistic images of procedurally generated 3D scenes which can be used for training data-hungry deep learning models. The presented results on the tasks of instance segmentation and surface normal estimation suggest that our photorealistic training images reduce the gap between the synthetic training and real test domains, compared to less realistic training images combined with domain randomization. BlenderProc can be used to train models for various computer vision tasks such as semantic segmentation or estimation of depth, optical flow, and object pose. By offering standard modules for parameterizing and sampling materials, objects, cameras and lights, BlenderProc can simulate various real-world scenarios and provide means to systematically investigate the essential factors for sim2real transfer

Standing in cost-benefit analysis of road safety measures: A case of speed enforcement vs. speed change

Elvik (2006) discussed the appropriateness of including the benefits that offenders get when violating traffic laws. While concluding that these benefits could not be given standing, Elvik resorted to argumentation from normative theories outside the schools of economic theory. In this article, we present arguments for omitting violators' benefits, or lost benefits, based on normative stands within economics school of thought. By means of two examples, we illustrate the distinction between a project of increased/improved enforcement of existing speed limits, where violators' time losses should not be included – compatible with Elvik's point of view – and a project of reduced speed limits, where the time loss should be included. This clarification of standing in cost-benefit analysis of road safety measures is based on the economics school of thought, where cost-benefit analysis is regarded as a decision tool operating within social constraints and where speed limits are considered as absolute institutions.acceptedVersio

Standing in cost-benefit analysis of road safety measures: A case of speed enforcement vs. speed change

Elvik (2006) discussed the appropriateness of including the benefits that offenders get when violating traffic laws. While concluding that these benefits could not be given standing, Elvik resorted to argumentation from normative theories outside the schools of economic theory. In this article, we present arguments for omitting violators' benefits, or lost benefits, based on normative stands within economics school of thought. By means of two examples, we illustrate the distinction between a project of increased/improved enforcement of existing speed limits, where violators' time losses should not be included – compatible with Elvik's point of view – and a project of reduced speed limits, where the time loss should be included. This clarification of standing in cost-benefit analysis of road safety measures is based on the economics school of thought, where cost-benefit analysis is regarded as a decision tool operating within social constraints and where speed limits are considered as absolute institutions

UDRIVE D32.1 Participant recruitment procedures

D32.1 “Participant recruitment procedures” is a public deliverable which describes the recruitment strategy of each Operation Site (OS). Participant recruitment falls within the scope of SP3 “Data collection” under the guidance of ERTICO. The deliverable provides recruitment guidelines and strategies for work in UDRIVE work package (WP) 3.2 “Operation site preparation and adaptation”. This Deliverable addresses the following topics: - Recruitment procedures - Preconditions for recruitment - Recruitment methods - Practical implementation at each OS General pre-requisites for recruitment, guidelines and input from other work packages necessary for recruitment are described. Furthermore, possible channels to reach the target group were specified. However, the focus is on the planned practical implementation at each OS as an important milestone for OS preparation. Finally conclusions are drawn including issues that may arise concerning the next Go/No go decision and further input needed from other work packages

“Buddies” and “rookies” : a new method of education and training for motorcyclists

Economic reasons and urban congestion make the use of powered two-wheelers (PTW) increasingly more attractive. While injuries and fatalities among car users have been decreasing in high-income countries (WHO, 2013), the share of PTW riders among all victims still increases. For this reason and due to the severity of motorcycle accidents, motorcycle novices and motorcyclists that have not been riding for some time (“returning riders”) are the target group of this research. Examples from Sweden, Germany and Austria show that quality and extent of driver training have a significant impact on novice drivers’ risks. Furthermore, a study of the Institute for Road Safety Research in the Netherlands (SWOV) showed that trained riders scored better on safe driving when observing their riding behaviour before and after a one-day advanced rider (risk) training, both in the short and in the long term (De Craen, 2013). Thus, improving the driver training can effectively reduce traffic accidents. However, a training duration of up to two years and training mileage of several thousand kilometres can only be achieved by lay instruction models. Professional training to this extent would not be affordable. So far, no experience exists in applying such a comprehensive, holistic education model for PTW riders. In Austria, the basic driver training is highly formalised, consisting of about 5 hours of theoretical and 12 hours of practical training provided by certified professionals. Therefore, in order to offer the required education in a cost-efficient way, two additional training modules, especially targeting PTW riders, were recently developed by the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV). Both training modules are voluntary and intended for the time after obtaining a driving license in order to foster safer driving behaviour and attitudes of motorcycle novices and returning riders. The two additional training modules for PTW riders are an e-learning tool and a training with a “buddy” thus representing a theoretical and a practical approach. The e-learning tool addresses issues of risk perception and risk management, vehicle safety, protective equipment and related topics. These topics are prepared individually depending on the learning content and the learning target and include practical information and professional advice. The main advantage of an e-learning-based method is flexibility - users can learn according to their individual learning speed and whenever it is convenient for them. In addition, the content of the e-learning tool is customised for the preferences of the users. The main goal of the e-learning tool is to reduce the risk of accidents through a target-oriented intermediation of risk competence by raising awareness concerning specific hazards and bringing about a related change of attitude toward motorcycle riding. The second module consists of hands-on training with a “buddy”. Within this training, motorcycle novices or returning riders (“rookies”) are accompanied and supervised on the road by an experienced rider (“buddy”). The training targets the intensive build-up of driving routine and gathering of driving practice on typical motorcycle tracks. The guided "learning by doing" and the strengthening of defensive driving habits form the core of this module. Important are: the training of higher order skills (i.e. anticipation skills); the improvement of safety behaviour, risk competence and hazard perception; the increased sustainability of the previously learned issues; and the strengthening of realistic perception. The e-learning tool and the training with a “buddy” will be linked together within a matching application in the future to accomplish an autonomous “dating platform” where “buddies” and “rookies” can team up and stay in touch. Thus, motorcycle novices and returning riders get additional theoretical and practical training within one application

On the efficient use of Road Safety Inspections on rural roads

Road safety on the trans-European road network (TERN) is continuously assessed and improved under Directive 2008/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Road Infrastructure Safety Management by means of Road Safety Inspections (RSI), an effective intervention conducted by specifically trained and certified experts, who systematically scan existing roads for potential risks. For Austrian rural roads, a network 40 times the length of the Austrian part of the TERN, there is no such inspection obligation. Yet about 50 % of all road accidents in which people are injured occur on rural roads. Nonetheless, subjecting the complete rural road network to RSIs is neither necessary nor practicable. The objective of this research was therefore to develop and test theoretical methods for detecting and prioritizing sections of the road that would benefit most from such inspections. The findings (high-risk sections, mostly suitable for low-cost-measures) of one method were verified by an RSI and a comparison to low-risk sections