Periodic Report Summary - PROLOGUE (Promoting real life observations for gaining understanding of road behaviour in Europe)
First year's activities of PROLOGUE looked at the experiences with naturalistic observations so far, the possible application areas and the interests of potential users (WP1). Among other things it was concluded that so far almost all naturalistic observation studies were small-scale and had road safety as their main interest. It was also concluded that the results of these studies did indeed shed light on issues that are otherwise difficult to study, for example distraction and its relationship to road crashes.
In the US, the potential of naturalistic observations was reason to finance a large-scale study with almost 2,000 equipped vehicles to be observed for two years. The inventory also showed that naturalistic observations could contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between behaviour and eco-driving and between behaviour and traffic management measures. Potential users were found to be very interested in the many application areas of naturalistic observations.
A second cluster of activities in the first year was related to the technical, organisational and methodological aspects of naturalistic observations (WP2). Much was learned from the experiences in the US, in particular from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2).
Besides the widely available public information on SHRP2, a visit to the US was organised to attend a workshop on technology and methodology. In Europe, the FESTA Handbook (Field operational test support action) proved very useful as well as the EuroFOT activities. For the methodology a third source of information was found in epidemiology. The work resulted in a series of specific recommendations regarding, for example, selection of vehicles and participants, statistical analysis methods, legal and ethical issues, data acquisition, data storage, and data management.
At the end of the first year a series of small-scale field trials were running (WP3). The Israeli trial focuses on young drivers and cultural differences within Israel and in comparison with Austria. The Austrian trial looks at the effects of a driver training. The Dutch trial focuses on vulnerable road users at intersections using site-based information by cameras. Following one of the recommendations of WP1 this trials also looks at the added value of combining site-based and in-vehicle information. In Spain the trial looks at the effects of in-vehicle information systems that might distract the driver. Finally, in Greece the trial is dedicated to the way drivers react to advanced driver assistance systems such as forward collision and lane departure warning. At the kick-off of WP3 the close contacts with SHRP2 researchers again proved useful as they delivered a dedicated workshop on data gathering and data analyses.
As indicated, the aim of PROLOGUE is to prove the feasibility and usefulness of a large-scale European naturalistic observation study. This requires to familiarise potential stakeholders with this method and to convince them of its usefulness. It also requires considering explicitly their opinions and interests. This is why PROLOGUE has a User Forum.
The User Forum is open to all transport and transport related professionals and currently consists of over 100 members. The members received the PROLOGUE newsletter that was released twice during the first year; they were invited to participate in the first Pan-European workshop that took place in February in Brussels - around 60 people attended; and they were invited to complete a questionnaire about the potential application areas (WP1).
The PROLOGUE website, http://www.prologue-eu.eu provides general information, not only about PROLOGUE but also about other naturalistic observation studies, including Field Operational Tests (FOTs). Finally, a special video about the 'how' and 'why' of naturalistic observation studies was developed and made available through the website.
In the US, the potential of naturalistic observations was reason to finance a large-scale study with almost 2,000 equipped vehicles to be observed for two years. The inventory also showed that naturalistic observations could contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between behaviour and eco-driving and between behaviour and traffic management measures. Potential users were found to be very interested in the many application areas of naturalistic observations.
A second cluster of activities in the first year was related to the technical, organisational and methodological aspects of naturalistic observations (WP2). Much was learned from the experiences in the US, in particular from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2).
Besides the widely available public information on SHRP2, a visit to the US was organised to attend a workshop on technology and methodology. In Europe, the FESTA Handbook (Field operational test support action) proved very useful as well as the EuroFOT activities. For the methodology a third source of information was found in epidemiology. The work resulted in a series of specific recommendations regarding, for example, selection of vehicles and participants, statistical analysis methods, legal and ethical issues, data acquisition, data storage, and data management.
At the end of the first year a series of small-scale field trials were running (WP3). The Israeli trial focuses on young drivers and cultural differences within Israel and in comparison with Austria. The Austrian trial looks at the effects of a driver training. The Dutch trial focuses on vulnerable road users at intersections using site-based information by cameras. Following one of the recommendations of WP1 this trials also looks at the added value of combining site-based and in-vehicle information. In Spain the trial looks at the effects of in-vehicle information systems that might distract the driver. Finally, in Greece the trial is dedicated to the way drivers react to advanced driver assistance systems such as forward collision and lane departure warning. At the kick-off of WP3 the close contacts with SHRP2 researchers again proved useful as they delivered a dedicated workshop on data gathering and data analyses.
As indicated, the aim of PROLOGUE is to prove the feasibility and usefulness of a large-scale European naturalistic observation study. This requires to familiarise potential stakeholders with this method and to convince them of its usefulness. It also requires considering explicitly their opinions and interests. This is why PROLOGUE has a User Forum.
The User Forum is open to all transport and transport related professionals and currently consists of over 100 members. The members received the PROLOGUE newsletter that was released twice during the first year; they were invited to participate in the first Pan-European workshop that took place in February in Brussels - around 60 people attended; and they were invited to complete a questionnaire about the potential application areas (WP1).
The PROLOGUE website, http://www.prologue-eu.eu provides general information, not only about PROLOGUE but also about other naturalistic observation studies, including Field Operational Tests (FOTs). Finally, a special video about the 'how' and 'why' of naturalistic observation studies was developed and made available through the website.