ROAD SURFACING AND DESIGN
VIRTUAL REALITY ENABLING ‘TEST DRIVES’ OF ROAD PLANNING
Older pedestrians are overrepresented in road fatalities, with a recent report from Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission finding people aged 70 and over account for 32 per cent of the state’s pedestrian deaths, despite representing only ten per cent of the population.
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esearch suggests road intersection design, crossing widths, location and timing of traffic lights, and density and type of traffic, all play a part in the overrepresentation of older people in road accidents. While urban planners strive to consider all these dimensions when designing pedestrian areas, it is often very difficult to accurately predict the interaction of so many elements until they come together in a real-world scenario. A new research project from the University of South Australia will deliver a novel solution to this design challenge, simulating upgrades to roads, crossings and footpaths using virtual reality (VR) technology in order to improve safety for elderly pedestrians. EXPERT RESEARCHERS TEAM UP Researchers from UniSA’s Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments and Brain-BehaviourBody Research Concentration will develop a walkable VR environment suitable for use by older people, which will
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March 2021 // Issue 18
help planners and engineers design and test better roads and footpaths. Supported through funding from the Road Safety Innovation Fund (RSIF), the interdisciplinary project draws upon the expertise of three UniSA researchers from diverse fields – construction management expert Dr Jun Ahn, VR technologist Dr Gun Lee, and cognitive psychologist Dr Ancret Szpak. “Having access to a wide range of data from both virtual and real environments means we can overcome the limitations of previous ways of assessing pedestrian safety,” Dr Ahn said. “Through this project we will create a virtual environment to simulate the road environment. “We can easily change that virtual model to test the impact that a range of factors, such as intersection designs, crossing widths and traffic signals, have on road safety. “The project will focus on the needs of older people, who may, for example, have impaired vision or hearing, need a walking aid, or require longer to cross the road than young people.”
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