Current projects
Sponsor: Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
Project number: FE 03.0623/2022/GRB
Project partner: ELECTRIC-SPECIAL Photronicsysteme GmbH
Contact person: Dr.-Ing. Christoph Schulze
Duration: May 2025 – April 2027
Today, adaptive road lighting systems vary significantly in their technical features and modes of operation, largely driven by advances in the underlying technologies. Additionally, the technical specifications and requirements of these systems differ from one installation to another. To effectively address climate, emissions, and environmental protection goals, it may be counterproductive to define technical specifications individually for each installation. Instead, comprehensive operational concepts for adaptive road lighting are needed.
These concepts should incorporate at least the temporal and spatial dimensions of adaptive operation. Ideally, they should also consider factors such as traffic conditions and the functional role of the road within the broader transport network.
This project aims to identify the key components of such operational concepts, taking into account both technical and operational factors, as well as broader street lighting issues such as benefits, costs, and potential negative impacts. To achieve this, the project will include literature reviews, field studies, and workshops, among other activities.
Sponsor: Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
Project number: FE 77.0603/2022
Contact person: Dr.-Ing. Christoph Schulze, Dr. Sven-Thomas Graupner
Duration: Juli 2024 – June 2027
Road lighting systems on streets and paths adjacent to main roads have not yet been evaluated in terms of luminance. However, such evaluation could support the development of lighting systems that better enhance visibility and traffic safety. Designing and assessing lighting based on luminance may also help reduce energy consumption and avoid excessive illumination, thereby minimizing obtrusive lighting effects and their associated environmental impacts.
This project will carry out various studies to develop and evaluate a luminance-based road lighting concept specifically tailored for areas with a 30 km/h speed limit and for cycle paths. Additionally, it will examine the combined effects of road lighting and vehicle lighting on visibility, with a focus on identifying potential solutions for adaptive lighting.
Sponsor: Federal Highway Research Institute
Project partner: infas (Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft)
Contact person: M. Sc. Lisa Zwicker, Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Jens Schade
Duration: April 2024 – September 2025
The German Road Traffic Code (Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung, StVO), among other things, lays down rules for behaviour in road traffic in Germany. They are intended to promote road safety and to minimize the potential for conflicts between the various road users. Non-compliance with rules of conduct is one of the main reasons for road accidents. It can be caused by (correct) knowledge of a rule and deliberately breaking it - i.e. violating the rule. On the other hand, non-compliance can be due to a lack of or incorrect knowledge of the rule.
The project "Survey on the level of knowledge regarding the rules of conduct in road traffic" is therefore investigating the population's knowledge of certain traffic and conduct rules. The focus is primarily on those rules that are highly relevant to road safety. The aim is to describe the level of knowledge according to different age groups and groups using different means of transport (e.g. car drivers, motorcyclists, people on foot). To this aim, an online questionnaire and a telephone survey will be designed and conducted by the project partner infas.
Funding body: AXA Stiftung Prävention
Project partners: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule der Angewandten Wissenschaften – Human Factors Psychology und Technical University of Denmark
Contact: Madlen Ringhand, Juliane Anke
Runtime: Aug. 2023 - May 2025
E-scooters have been part of the transport system for several years, not only in Germany but also in Switzerland. There is a particular risk of crashes for young e-scooter riders and when riding at night.
The project investigates risky riding behavior and associated psychological factors in the decision to use e-scooters in Switzerland using a mixed approach of on-site observation, on-site surveys, and experiments. The project focuses on young riders and, in particular, the use of e-scooters in the dark and when under the influence of alcohol. The results will provide a basis for developing target group-oriented and situation-specific road safety measures for young people using e-scooters.
The Chair of Traffic and Transportation Psychology is participating in the project by designing and conducting an experimental online study. This study aims to investigate which influencing factors are unfavorable and which have a protective effect on young riders' decision to use an e-scooter.
Project partner: Audi AG
Contact: Prof. Dr. Tibor Petzoldt, M. Sc. Jenny Damme
Duration: Jan. 2023 – Jan. 2026
Many people hope for benefits from automated driving, including safer und smoother traffic. However, these benefits can only come into their full effect if the behaviour of automated vehicles is accepted by the majority of people, consequently developing a willingness to use them.
In order to create acceptance, it is advisable to design the behaviour of automated vehicles in close coordination with the expectations of potential users and interaction partners. Expectations of driving dynamics behaviour from the aspect of comfort (e.g. longitudinal and lateral acceleration) have already been investigated many times. In contrast, the expectations of the system design concerning the behaviour at manoeuvring level (e.g. overtaking and merging manoeuvres) have remained almost unnoticed so far.
Therefore, the project wants to clarify which parameters have an influence on the acceptance of the behaviour of automated vehicles at manoeuvring level (e.g. personality traits and traffic culture). On the one hand, the aim is to identify parameters that should be taken into account when designing the behaviour in general. On the other hand, concrete design recommendations for the behaviour in the context of selected driving manoeuvres and influencing parameters are to be derived.
To this end, a series of investigations will be conducted. Test persons will be presented with different driving manoeuvres using pictures and videos as well as a virtual reality driving simulator and common vehicle. The behaviour and selected parameters will be varied, respectively. They will be asked to evaluate the different behaviours (e.g. in terms of their acceptability and usefulness). In the virtual reality driving simulator and common vehicle the behaviour of the test persons will also be recorded (e.g. takeover and gaze behaviour).
Sponsor: European Union HORIZON 2020
Project Partners: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), Institute of Communcations and Computer Systems (GR), SystemX - Institut de Recherche Technologique (FR), ISINNOVA (IT) , RELAB (IT) , Arriva Personenvervoer Nederlande (NL), ERTICO (BE), ICOOR (IT), Politecnic University of Turin (IT), City of Trikala (GR), Region Brabant (NL), City of Hamburg (DE), Region West Midlands (UK)
Contact: Juliane Anke, Dr. Madlen Ringhand
Duration: Sept. 2022 – Aug. 2025
SINFONICA aims to develop functional, efficient, and innovative strategies, methods and tools to engage CCAM users, providers and other stakeholders (i.e. citizens, including vulnerable users, transport operators, public administrations, service providers, researchers, vehicle and technology suppliers) to collect, understand and structure in a manageable and exploitable way their needs, desires, and concerns related to CCAM. SINFONICA will co-create final decision support tools for designers and decision makers to enhance the CCAM seamless and sustainable deployment, to be inclusive and equitable for all citizens.
The Chair of Traffic and Transport Psychology participates in the project with the development of a knowledge base on user needs and requirements, especially of vulnerable groups, such as elderly, women, children or people with disabilities.
The project is funded by the Horizon 2020 Science and Innovation Program of the European Union under grant number 101064988.
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