Title

Vulnerable Road User Safety in the (Partially) Autonomous Age: Research Methods and Critical Issues

Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

1605 Tilia, Room 1103, West Village

Abstract

Technology provides innovative ways to both measure and potentially improve vulnerable road user safety. Advances in simulated driving environments and physiological measurements of stress and attention offer mostly-untapped potential for measuring drivers’ interactions with bicyclists and pedestrians. But do these methods provide useful, valid data? Similarly, the growing ubiquity of in-car technologies and the imminent “autonomous revolution” hold promise for reducing driver error and saving hundreds or thousands of lives a year – but is enough attention being paid to people outside the vehicle? Dr. Goddard will present early results from several on-going research projects, with the intent of pushing the audience to think critically about these issues.

Biographical Sketch

Tara Goddard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Dr. Goddard earned her PhD in Urban Studies from the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. She holds a Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and served from 2007 through 2011 as the Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Davis, CA. Tara’s research interests include all things transportation safety-related, but in particular, the interactions of transportation and social psychology and their influence on differential experiences and safety outcomes for vulnerable road users.