Ergodesign & Usability in Transport Systems

Ergodesign and traffic safety: risk perception and information comprehensibility

Traffic Safety campaigns are part of governments' communication and information about how to behave safely in the traffic environment. It is expensive and demands society's involvement. The main aspect of this investigation is the information design about traffic safety, from Brazilian Federal Government. This research aims to analyze the information comprehensibility considering traffic safety campings, considering aspects of Plain Language. It is expected to develop guidelines for the design of this information, validating within the citizens.

STARS Project

Our PUC-Rio team joined the University of Southampton leadership and researchers from Bangladesh University Of Engineering & Technology, National University Of Civil Engineering (Vietnam), Strathmore University (Kenya), Tsinghua University (CHINA), Universidad De Las Americas (Ecuador). Funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research with Overseas Development Assistance money, the project has approached road safety as a complex public health issue that impacts upon all of our lives. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road traffic collisions kill around 1.35 million people every year, with the majority of those fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), despite those settings having significantly lower motorization rates. Despite the greater need for LMICs, the majority of road safety research is still undertaken in high-income countries. It is also characterized by traditional approaches to understanding the problem, with collision analysis typically having a strong focus on the end-users and their immediate environment. The STARS (SocioTechnical Approach to Road Safety) project has looked beyond these immediate factors, applying systems thinking and methods to understanding the higher factors that shape road safety outcomes.

(Contact us to receive a free copy of STARS Project booklet).