Addressing unobserved heterogeneity in road safety analysis

Supervisory Team: Dr Shahram Heydari and Professor Tom Cherrett

Project description

Despite significant improvements over the last decades, road safety remains a major concern in most countries, including the UK. For example, fatality statistics have flatlined during the last ten years in many high-income countries, calling for research to better understand underlying road crash mechanisms in order to be able to guide traffic safety policy more effectively. A key challenge in this regard is related to data limitations and unobserved heterogeneity. The aim of the project is to apply and extend advanced Bayesian methods in the context of road safety to address unobserved heterogeneity more fully compared to traditional methods used in the crash literature. This would lead to an improved understanding of traffic safety, allowing us to better inform decision makers in applying effective safety interventions.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Dr Shahram Heydari, Transportation Research Group, Email: [Email Address Removed]

Entry Requirements
A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent) in civil engineering (transportation), statistics or another relevant discipline. Experience with statistical modelling is required. A Masters qualification in transportation engineering or statistics would be beneficial. .

Closing date: applications should be received no later than 31 December 2020 for standard admissions, but later applications may be considered depending on the funds remaining in place.

Funding: full tuition fees for EU/UK students plus for UK students, an enhanced stipend of £15,285 tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years Partial funding for international students would be available..

How To Apply

Applications should be made online, please select the academic session 2020-21 “PhD Eng and Env (Full time)” as the programme. Please enter Shahram Heydari under the proposed supervisor.

Applications should include:
Curriculum Vitae
Two reference letters
Degree Transcripts to date
Apply online: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/how-to-apply/postgraduate-applications.page

For further information please contact: [Email Address Removed]