The work in DRIVE 11 Project VRU-TOO was targeted specifically at the reduction of risk and minimization of delay to vulnerable road users, namely pedestrians with as little inconvenience to motorized traffic as possible. To achieve this, the project linked practical implementations in three countries with behavioural studies of the micro-level interaction of pedestrians and vehicles and the development of computer simulation models. This paper concentrates on the implementations. These took the form of pilot projects to test the impact of applying advanced detector systems to improve conditions for pedestrians at signalized junctions and crossings on main roads. The overall objectives of the implementations conducted by VRU-TOO were to reduce waiting time for pedestrians, to obtain increased safety and comfort for pedestrians, and to do so without a negative effect on the efficiency of vehicle traffic in terms of queues, delays and capacity. (A)
Abstract