Human factors and safety

We investigate road users’ interactions with new and current transport systems and technologies to advance transport safety.

Our capabilities include:

• Design of methodologies for studying user behaviour (field operational tests, naturalistic driving studies, questionnaires, focus groups, laboratory studies)
• Design of Human-in-the-loop-simulation experiments
• Software development (driving simulator and related equipment)

Priority research topics include:

• Advanced driver assistance systems (Including Intelligent Speed Assistance)
• Driver attitudes and behaviours
• Eco driving
• Electric vehicles
• Engineering and Road/Sign Design
• Human factors of highly automated driving
• ‘Humans in the loop’ simulation
• Intelligent Speed Adaptation
• Large scale Field Operational Tests
• Naturalistic Driving Studies
• Use of Machine learning and Bayesian Statistics to understand road user behaviour
• Virtual prototyping/testing
• VRUs and Automation
• Young older and impaired drivers

We use the University of Leeds car, truck and pedestrian simulators to conduct our research. We also use tools for psychophysiological measures of performance (eye tracking, head tracking, heart rate, skin conductance etc.)

Read our ISA interface study, which examines various alternative designs for the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA).

Contact us

If you would like to discuss an area of research in more detail please contact: Professor Natasha Merat.