XCYCLE

Cyclists count for an increasingly large share of serious injuries and fatalities in road accidents, partly because they are not treated equally by traffic systems (e.g. traffic signals frequently fail to register their approach or presence). The XCYCLE project aims to level the treatment of cyclists in road traffic, thus encouraging cycling and increasing its safety margin. The project is developing: • Technologies that improve active and passive detection of cyclists • Systems informing both drivers and cyclists of a hazard at junctions • Effective methods of presenting information in vehicles and on-site • Cooperation systems aimed at reducing collisions with cyclists Two relevant use cases will be bicycle interaction with large vehicles and cars at intersections and immediate or extended green traffic light for cyclists approaching traffic signals. An in-vehicle detection system and a system of threat mitigation and risk avoidance by traffic signals will be developed. The components developed and built up will be systematically integrated, implemented and verified. A new large-scale research infrastructure in the city of Braunschweig (Germany) and a second test mobile platform will be used as test site. A demo bicycle with a cooperative technology will be developed and tested as well. A user-centred approach will be adopted. Behavioural evaluation will part of the whole process: attentional responses using eye tracking data; evaluation of human-machine interface; acceptance and willingness to pay. In the cost-benefit analysis, behavioural changes will be translated into estimated crashes and casualties avoided.