Browsing by Author "Miles, Melissa"

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    An Evaluation of Road User Interactions with E-Scooters
    Hong, Yubin; Klauer, Charlie; Vilela, Jean Paul Talledo; Miles, Melissa (SAFE-D: Safety Through Disruption National University Transportation Center, 2022-06)
    Electric scooters (e-scooters) are gaining in popularity due to their availability, accessibility, and low cost. However, there has been little research on how e-scooters behave on the road and interact with other road users. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, teaming with State Farm, conducted an observational study on the Virginia Tech campus. Video data were gathered through instrumented fixed cameras located at various intersections and high-volume pedestrian areas. The analysis focused on times with a high volume of e-scooter riders, which was the period from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A total of 492 e-scooter trips were recorded, and 473 of those were analyzed. The analysis showed that e-scooters pose the most threat to pedestrians due to their higher speed and the greater vulnerability of pedestrians. The results also showed that the e-scooter riders adjusted their operation rules based on the traffic environment. These results suggest that it might be safer for e-scooters to be operated on designated lanes, bike lanes, or roadways with a speed limit of 25 mph or less. Additional countermeasures to separate e-scooter traffic from vehicles may be required on roadways with faster speed limits. Further research is needed to confirm these recommendations.
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    Impact of Highly Automated Vehicle (L4/5 AV) External Communication on Other Road User Behaviors
    Rossi-Alvarez, Alexandria I.; Grove, Kevin; Klauer, Charlie; Miles, Melissa; Schaudt, Andy; Doerzaph, Zachary R. (SAFE-D: Safety Through Disruption National University Transportation Center, 2022-10)
    The advancement of SAE Level 4+ Automated Vehicles (L4/5 AVs) has led numerous stakeholders to develop external communication systems for these vehicles. Most research on vehicles emulating these displays has been conducted using one vehicle. However, it is vital to understand how communication to vulnerable road users (VRUs) is affected when multiple L4/5 vehicles are present. This study examined how L4/5 AVs can best communicate their intentions (e.g., turning, stopping, yielding) to VRUs and drivers of conventional vehicles. Subjective and objective data was collected to assess road user responses to two vehicles emulating L4/5 displays, from both a passenger and pedestrian perspective. Participants with no prior knowledge of the experiment’s design or intent experienced three light patterns that provided information regarding L4/5 AVs’ intent to slow/stop, begin, and travel with simulated automation active. Overall, participants were overwhelmed by multiple vehicles with different light bars in their crossing vicinity and found it difficult to prioritize attention. These results have implications for future design of external communication displays on L4/5 AVs. Training may be necessary for road users, given the relatively low percentage of participants who understood the meaning of these displays after multiple exposures and participants’ confusion in where to look and how to interpret the intention of the displays when multiple vehicles were present.