Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near Automated VehiclesStatus: CompleteReport Date: 01/10/2025 Summary: Driverless vehicles provide the transportation industry with fiscal and environmental benefits, but concerns remain regarding the interaction between driverless vehicles and drivers of manual vehicles. In Rochester, Minnesota, interactions between a driverless shuttle and other vehicles were observed in a pedestrian-heavy area of the city. Additional research included analyzing driver behavior relative to the shuttle and conducting lab tests to better understand what messaging the shuttle could provide surrounding traffic. The results demonstrated that potential dangers could be mitigated by increasing the speed of the shuttle and displaying clearer messaging on the back of the shuttle to alert drivers to the shuttle’s behavior. Final Deliverables: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near an Automated Vehicle (Report #2024-02) Research Summary: Safety Considerations Associated with Driverless Shuttle (Research Summary) Related Materials: CTS Webinar: Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near an Automated Vehicle (Video/Webinar) Safety Considerations Associated with Driverless Shuttles (Blog Post) Research Radar: Exploring Autonomous Vehicle Innovations (Video/Webinar) Project Summary: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near AVs (Brochure/Handout) New Project: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near Automated Vehicles (Blog Post) Related Research: The Role of eHMI in Reducing Driver Overtaking Decisions Around Low-speed Automated Vehicles Yielding to Pedestrians. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 68(1), 965-967. Comparative Analysis of Driver Overtaking Behavior Near Low-Speed Automated Vehicles and Human-Driven Vehicles in IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 13184-13193, Oct. 2024 Project Personnel: Principal Investigator: Nichole Morris Co-Principal Investigator: Curtis Craig Technical Liaison: Cory Johnson Project Coordinator: Marcus Bekele Panel Members: Amber Dallman - Sustainability & Public Health Brad Drahos - University of Minnesota Evan Krepps - EasyMile Gordon Glass - Paul Meredith - First Transit Group Steven Frich - Tara Olds - Research and Innovation Thomas Johnson-Kaiser - Transportation System Management and Operations
