Evaluating Vulnerable Road User Stress During Motor Vehicle Interactions in Urban Traffic Environments
Project Description
The project aims to understand how interactions with motor vehicles and varying urban infrastructure conditions affect cyclists’ physiological stress responses. It focuses on urban cycling environments where cyclists share space with motor vehicles, considering different infrastructural contexts. The method involves analyzing physiological data (heart rate, heart rate variability, eye tracking), subjective responses, and performance data collected from the naturalistic part of the cycling experiment from the 24UNM03 project to quantify cyclists' stress responses. Using the integrated dataset, statistical models, likely Linear Mixed Effects Models (LMM), will be developed to quantify the relationship between micro-interactions and cyclist stress responses. This modeling approach accounts for both fixed and random effects, allowing examination of how individual variables influence outcomes while considering participant variability. The process aims to identify key stressors linked to infrastructure and vehicle behavior, translating findings into actionable insights for infrastructure design and safety interventions.
Outputs
This research will generate empirical evidence on how micro-interactions between cyclists and moving vehicles and varying urban infrastructure conditions impact cyclists’ physiological and perceived stress levels. By quantifying stress responses concerning vehicle class, noise, and proximity, the study will reveal critical thresholds where these factors significantly influence cyclist safety. The project also seeks to inform the best practices for future studies aiming to quantify cyclist stress and enhance data fusion protocols. The outputs of this research will include a comprehensive technical report and one or more peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, integrated datasets and detailed methodological documentation will be made available to the broader research community, promoting further innovation in the field.
Outcomes/Impacts
Insights from the project could become instrumental in guiding the design of safer urban cycling environments, with potential implications for revising existing infrastructure guidelines and traffic management strategies. Moreover, the study’s innovative framework for integrating objective (e.g., ECG, eye tracking) and subjective (surveys and questionnaires) stress measures will establish a robust method for future research in transportation safety.
Other project dissemination activities include:
Events Participation: Research outcomes will be presented at national and international conferences, as well as local public events, where findings will be shared with academic peers, transportation professionals, and policymakers.
Class Materials: The project’s insights will be incorporated into relevant university courses such as CE 482/582, "Highway and Traffic Engineering," and CE 598, "Statistics for CE," underscoring the importance of human factors in infrastructure design. These materials will help educate the next generation of engineers and urban planners on the critical intersection of human behavior and transportation design.
Dates
12/1/2025 to 11/30/2026
Universities
University of New Mexico
Principal Investigator
Lisa L. Losada-Rojas
llosadar@unm.edu
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7221-4900
Project Partners
None
Research Project Funding
$102,895
Contract Number
69A3552348336
Project Number
25UNM02
Research Priority
Promoting Safety