VRUITS - Vulnerable Road Users Intelligent Transport Systems

EU support for research on vulnerable road users.

With new Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), accidents have decreased across the EU mainly due to safer infrastructure and modern vehicle safety equipment. However, for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, accident risks remain unchanged.

In European urban areas, pedestrian fatalities represent more than 35% of all fatal accidents. Motorcyclists and moped riders account for 16% of fatalities, which is very high in relation to the number of motorcycles on the road. Together, pedestrians, motorcyclists, moped riders and cyclists account for 68% of fatalities in urban areas. A common type of accident is intersection accidents where vehicle drivers have not detected the pedestrian, cyclist, moped rider or motorcyclist in time.

What is LTU going to investigate in this project?

- It is road users' accessibility and comfort we will study, and what effects we get in society if more ITS is introduced in the traffic environment. What is meant is behavioural changes in different groups of vulnerable road users e.g. Number of trips, Number of kilometers traveled, Travel time, and Number of road users of specific mode of transport. The types of systems studied are e.g. sensors in vehicles that warn the driver of a collision with a pedestrian and cyclist, or systems used by cyclists to warn of nearby vehicles, says Charlotta Johansson.

What methods will you use?

- "Since these are studies of ITS systems that are not yet in use and systems that exist but are not yet common in society, it is about estimating the effect of future systems, or the future use of these systems. What we then use are expert assessments of future systems, and users' estimates of the effect of these systems.

How long does it usually take before research results of this kind can be implemented in our traffic environment?

- The study includes studying the effect of the introduction of ITS in the urban traffic environment in 2020 and 2030 on the safety, security and accessibility of pedestrians, cyclists, moped riders and motorcyclists. But this is based on the fact that ITS is becoming more common in society and the trend is also there," concludes Charlotta Johansson.

Unprotected road users in rural areas

Previously, LTU has researched the situation of vulnerable road users in rural areas but then on behalf of the Swedish Transport Administration.

VRUITS = Improving safety and mobility of Vulnerable Road Users through ITS applications