Project Description

Walking is the most efficient and effective means of transport for short trips, as well as the most usable mode of transportation in the world. However, the difficulty in defining a pedestrian behavioral pattern comes from human unpredictability, which generally prevents the validation of techniques that establish assertive behavioral profiles or predictions. The objective of this research project is to better understand the behavior of pedestrians in the presence of electric vehicles and, in particular, the levels of noise reduction associated with them.
Initially there will be a survey of the state of the art (literature review) regarding the subject and then a research program that will focus on the study of pedestrian behavior in relation to the traffic as a whole will be proposed. In which it is expected to construct pedestrian behavior profiles, based on fundamental personality traits, in urban crossings. The proposal is to identify whether there is a higher level of risk associated with electric vehicles over internal combustion vehicles, given the noise reduction, and how this affects the behavior of pedestrians at crossings. In addition, the study should include an impact assessment associated with traffic calming measures, the type of direction used by a limited set of drivers, and the driver-pedestrian interaction. Finally, it is expected to identify mitigating measures capable of reducing the level of risk associated with the behavior of pedestrians in urban crossings.

Research Team

• Anna Oliveira
• Ana Bastos Silva (supervisor)
• Anabela Ribeiro 

Financial Support

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Stage of Progress

• Started in 2018