From 1 September SWOV will start with two new projects commissioned by CEDR, the platform for European cooperation between National Road Authorities. These projects are financed in the framework of the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme 2016.
ADVERTS: Distraction by (digital) billboards
The first project ADVERTS focuses on distraction by (digital) roadside billboards ( ADVERTS which stands for Assessing Distraction of Vehicle drivers in Europe from Roadside Technology-based Signage). Distraction is one of the main challenges currently facing road transport. Distraction not only arises from sources inside the vehicle, but also from sources outside the vehicle. With respect to the latter, the increasing use of roadside advertising via (digital) billboards is of particular interest. By definition, roadside advertising is intended to capture the attention of road users and, as such, it is a source of distraction. However, some features of roadside advertising are likely to be more distracting than others.
PROGReSS: Guidance for roadside safety
The second project (PROGReSS - PROvision of Guidelines for Road Side Safety) focuses on the safety of roadsides of European rural roads and motorways. Single-vehicle lane departures involving roll-over or impacts with objects constitute a substantial part of European road casualties on these roads. These crashes are often associated with dangerous roadside areas, including embankment characteristics, dangerous obstacles, visibility issues as well as other problems arising from poorly designed or maintained roadside areas. Thus, from a road safety perspective, roadside areas are a very important topic in Europe.
