Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near AVs

As more automated vehicles enter shared roadways, an essential aspect of automated vehicle (AV) safety is understanding the interactions between these vehicles and other road users. Anecdotal incidents about aggressive following and overtaking behaviors at crosswalks near the Med City Mover (MCM), a low-speed automated shuttle (LSAV) pilot demonstration in Rochester, Minnesota, suggested the need for a scientific study of the behaviors of drivers of manual vehicles near the LSAV. In this report, the research team conducted a series of laboratory and field studies aimed at better understanding the safety relationship between LSAVs and the humans they share the road with. Overall, the studies found an increased risk of overtaking and multiple threat passing near the MCM which may increase the risk of pedestrian-involved crashes, sideswipe crashes, and rear-end crashes. Study findings suggest that poor human-machine interfaces, exceptionally slow vehicle speeds, and resultant large queues behind the MCM contribute to these risks. Improved communication interfaces, speeds more consistent with the surrounding traffic, and smaller queue size are all important factors that AV developers and future pilot demonstrations must to consider to better promote pedestrian safety near AVs.

• Record URL:
  • https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14153/mndot.17719
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Final report title: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near an Automated Vehicle. Final report available at: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14153/mndot.17705

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $241,816.00
• Contract Numbers:

  1036342 WO#43

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Minnesota Department of Transportation

  395 John Ireland Boulevard
  St Paul, MN  United States  55155
• Managing Organizations:

  Minnesota Department of Transportation

  395 John Ireland Boulevard
  St Paul, MN  United States  55155
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

  Minneapolis, MN  United States  55455
• Principal Investigators:

  Morris, Nichole

• Start Date: 20220217
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20240416

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Driving behavior; Passing; Pedestrian safety; Shuttle buses; Slow moving vehicles; Vehicle mix
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01950379
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Minnesota Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 1036342 WO#43
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 31 2025 3:17PM