Users' perception on a shared pathway (PMD users' perspective)

• Main Author: Koh, Yong Xiang
• Other Authors: Lum Kit Meng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76231
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Since the introduction of personal mobility devices (PMDs) onto current footways, there have been several incidents and disagreements surfaced by both the pedestrians and the PMD users. The rising occurrences of PMDs to pedestrians’ accidents has compromised on the safety of footway users. Thus, this final year project will provide an in-depth study of current footway sharing situations, and recommendations will be suggested out based on key findings to address the safety issues. In order to obtain accurate information that will address the current footway situation, studies will be conducted on both group of users, to obtain their perspectives on the issue. The studies will be presented in two forms. The first form of study will be presented in the form of literature research, which seeks to find out more about the current problems faced by both group of users. This literature research also covers key issues such as right of way, problems faced during footway sharing, and recommendations made by the participants to improve on current footway situations. This helps to highlight problems faced which is not covered by the Active Mobility Act (AMA). The second form of study will be presented in the form of a field study, which aims to obtain the optimal navigation speed for safety. Scenarios will be covered in this field study; participants will be asked to watch several virtual reality clips where a PMD user passes a pedestrian with varying operation speed, overtaking distances, and approaching orientation. Participants will then answer a list of parameters that composite safety. Through these studies, results obtained has shown a consistent response. From the literature research, participants highlighted the need to improve current footway infrastructure, education for all footway users and address phone usage on footways. From the field study, for front approaching scenarios, both 15km/h and 10km/h was chosen to be the speed where participants felt the safest, and for back approaching scenarios, 10km/h was chosen as a comfortable speed, due to several uncertainties such as lack of eye contact. Thus, after much consideration, 10km/h was chosen to be the optimal speed for safety. This is in-line with current legislation set in the Land transport (enforcement measures) bill. Thus, recommendations have thus been suggested based on the participants responses to improve on current footway situation. These recommends include the need to address phone usages on footways as well as to improve current footway infrastructures. Seen the results from the field study is in-line with the latest legislation which mandates 10km/h as operating speed, nothing can be changed.