News

One of SAFER’s high-profile projects – MeBeSafe (Measures for Behaving Safety in Traffic) has successfully started its first baseline tests within the project in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The measurements at the Eindhoven motorway exit tracks the current driving behavior at drivers at this location for further research for improving traffic safety by the concept of nudging.

The nudging concept
A nudge means a friendly, little push towards a behavioural change. The nudging concept relates to subconsciously pushing humans to make a desired choice, without being prohibitive against alternative choices of action. By preserving our freedom of action and giving us choice, nudging measures are less intrusive and can be provided earlier in a chain of events that might lead to a critical situation. The nudging measures in MeBeSafe will be implemented for in-vehicle advanced driver assistance systems and remote measures like coaching, as well as through adaptive in-road surface displays.

Tests in simulator and real traffic
The motorway exit in Eindhoven, will serve one research road section for nudging drivers toward a desired behavior. As a first step in researching appropriate infrastructure nudging measures, the current traffic flow was initially measured. The results serve as a first indicator for simulator testing of potential infrastructure nudging solutions. The different solutions will then first be tested in a driving simulator and then in real-traffic. One nudging measure that will be tested is focused on prepare car-drivers for driving through a section with limited visibility where vulnerable road users often cross. The aim is to inform the drivers at an earlier stage that there may be cyclists or pedestrian ahead.