Human Centered Systems Research
Pedestrian and Bicycle Program
The Pedestrian and Bicyclist Program consists of research dedicated to understanding the behavior of pedestrians and bicyclists to promote safety and mobility. Research led by traffic engineers and human factors and experimental psychologists may include literature reviews, state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice reviews, field studies, and laboratory studies. Research results from the Pedestrian and Bicycle Program are expected to be useful to engineers and policy makers responsible for ensuring the safety of pedestrian and bicycle road users.
Current research ranges from developing a basic understanding of pedestrian exposure to risk, to investigating the effectiveness of a crosswalk safety countermeasure (inroadway warning lights), to learning about the operational characteristics of a novel transportation device (SegwayTM Human Transporter (HT)).
One project will examine how pedestrian and bicyclist exposure to risk is quantified. Ultimately, the goal of the research will be to improve the accuracy of current risk assessment techniques. Another project is a before-and-after study being conducted at two crosswalks in the metropolitan region of
Washington, D.C. In the "after" phase, inroadway warning lights were installed at the crosswalks using either push-button actuation or automatic detection of pedestrians attempting to cross the road. Before-and-after and long-term-after (one year) data collection will be used to understand the effectiveness of this pedestrian safety measure. Another project is investigating the operational characteristics of Segway riders and consists of two studies. The first study examined the stopping behavior of experienced Segway riders. The second study is investigating both novice and experienced Segway riders, who are performing simple navigation tasks and rating a series of sidewalk videos on the quality of lateral and longitudinal separation, passing ability, and general ridability.
Contact: Ann Do, 202-493-3319
