VRU Safety

Vulnerable road user (VRU) safety research focuses on mitigating the disproportionately high accident rates involving pedestrians and cyclists. Current efforts concentrate on improving VRU detection and prediction through advanced sensor fusion, machine learning algorithms, and the development of collective perception systems that share data between vehicles to reduce occlusion risks. This research is crucial for developing effective safety countermeasures, such as improved infrastructure and proactive collision avoidance systems, ultimately aiming to reduce VRU fatalities and injuries. The reliability of automatically generated conflict data as a surrogate for actual crashes is also a key area of investigation, informing efficient data collection and infrastructure investment strategies.