PROLOGUE

Promoting real life Observations for Gaining Understanding of road behaviour in Europe

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The number of road fatalities in Member States is decreasing too slowly to meet the EU-targets. A new generation of measures is needed, underpinned by a new generation of research methods. Recent technology developments allow for this: naturalistic observations. This means that road user behaviour is observed unobtrusively in a natural setting for a longer period of time. This technique allows for analysing the interrelationship between road user, vehicle, road and other traffic in normal situations, in conflict situations and in actual collisions. Results will lead to a better understanding of road safety and help to realise an intrinsically safe road transport system, including in-car technology, self-explaining roads, driver training, etc. The main objective of PROLOGUE is to prove the feasibility and usefulness of a large-scale European naturalistic observation study. The project aims at road safety researchers and other stakeholders including car industry, insurance companies, driver training and certification organisations, road authorities, and governments. Whereas road safety is the main motive, the project will also look at the relevance for environmental issues, e.g. CO2 emissions, and traffic management. Based on inventory studies, a series of small-scale field trials, and close involvement of user groups and stakeholders, PROLOGUE will result in recommendations and an outline for a large-scale naturalistic study, dealing with research questions, methodology and technology for data collection, data storage, data reduction, data mining and data analysis. Communication and dissemination to all potential stakeholders are vital to gain their support for and involvement in a large-scale European study. The PROLOGUE consortium consists of 9 partners institutes, is well spread over Europe and includes Israel, has a wide experience on all aspects relevant for naturalistic observations, and a large international network of road safety and transport experts.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

By observing drivers and accidents in real-life situations using naturalistic observation, policymakers may develop new ways to pre-empt collisions and create safer roads.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

A novel way of studying road fatalities and introducing safety measures is being developed using a research method known as naturalistic observation. This involves unobtrusively observing drivers in their natural settings to see how they react in normal situations while driving, as well as in collisions.

The EU-funded 'Promoting real life observations for gaining understanding of road behaviour in Europe' (Prologue) project is investigating how naturalistic observation can help implement more effective safety measures. It is considering the feasibility of a large-scale European study on the subject.

The project is currently documenting past initiatives in this direction, mostly small-scale studies on road safety, in addition to examining the relationship between distractions and collisions, among other issues.

Field trials and comparisons in this direction are being conducted in Austria, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands and Spain to examine various aspects: driver training, driver behaviour at intersections, in-vehicle distractions, and driver assistance systems, among others.

One large-scale study in the United States has shown how naturalistic observation can shed light on driver behaviour and safety measures, an area that Prologue is probing intensively. The project is learning from the American experience and know-how in the field and attending workshops in the country. From these initiatives and existing resources, such as the European Field Operational Test Support Action (FESTA) Handbook, Prologue is developing a new methodology for naturalistic observation and road safety measures.

In addition, Prologue is working on familiarising potential stakeholders with the naturalistic observation method and explaining its advantages, incorporating their feedback and opinions in the matter through a user forum. Over 100 members strong, the forum is active in preparing newsletters, organising workshops and creating a platform for exchange on the subject.

The overall advantages of observing drivers in real-life situations will culminate in a novel way to consider road safety and develop effective measures. This is set to save lives, alleviate physical and mental trauma, and save authorities considerable costs.