Details:

Alternative Title:
Effectiveness of changeable message signs in controlling vehicle speeds in work zones, phase 2 : final report
Creators:
Garber, Nicholas J. ; Srinivasan, Srivatsan.
Garber, Nicholas J. ; Srinivasan, Srivatsan. Less -
Corporate Creators:
Virginia Transportation Research Council
Corporate Contributors:
Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration Less -
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Accident Exposure Automobiles By Type Behavior Construction Sites Drivers Duration Effectiveness Exposure Length Measures Of Effectiveness Radar Speed Control Speeding Speed Reduction Time Duration Traffic Speed Variable Message Signs Vehicle Type Warning Systems Work Zone Traffic Control
Publication/ Report Number:
VTRC 98-R10
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Right Statement:
Commonwealth of Virginia.
Geographical Coverage:
Virginia
TRIS Online Accession Number:
00748160
OCLC Number:
38555899
Edition:
Final report
Corporate Publisher:
Virginia Transportation Research Council
NTL Classification:
NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Construction and Maintenance;NTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-Roadway Operations and Maintenance;NTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS;NTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-Traffic Flow;NTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-Traffic Control Devices;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway Safety;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Speed Limits;
Abstract:
Highway work zones have been plagued with increasing numbers of accidents in recent years. Drivers' lack of compliance with speed restrictions within work zones has been cited as one of the major contributing factors to this trend. The conventional practice for regulating work zone speeds has been static signing procedures (using regulatory or advisory speed signs). It has been found that drivers do not slow down in response to these static control measures. A Changeable Message Sign (CMS) equipped with a radar unit can be used to display specific warning messages to speeding drivers. This offers a more dynamic speed control environment and therefore may prove to be more effective in influencing drivers to reduce their speeds. This report is the second phase of a longitudinal research study. The first phase of the project, conducted by Garber and Patel, examined the short term effectiveness of CMSs in reducing vehicle speeds in work zones. That research established that the CMS (with the radar unit) is more effective in reducing speeds in work zones than the standard Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) signs. This study, while attempting to replicate the results obtained in Phase I of the project, concentrated on evaluating the effect of duration of exposure of the CMS with radar on its effectiveness in reducing speeds and influencing speed profiles in work zones. The impact of length of the work zone and vehicle type on speed reductions was also studied. Speed and volume data for the population and for speeding drivers were collected through automatic traffic counters and video cameras respectively at three work zones. These data were collected at the beginning, middle and end of each work zone, to study the behavior of high speed drivers in particular and to compute their average speed reduction in response to the warning message. The results of the study indicate that the duration of exposure of the CMS does not have a significant impact on speed characteristics and driver behavior. Therefore, the CMS continues to be effective in controlling speed in work zones for projects of long durations. It was also found that there were no distinctive differences among the different types of vehicles with regard to speed reduction. The study also established that in longer work zones, drivers who reduced their speed in response to the speed control effort frequently have a tendency to speed back up as they approach the end of the work zone. This indicated that very long work zones might warrant the installation of a second CMS to maintain speed reductions through the work zone.
Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:3607e4df37fd63e3e667a1c0e3a85ce3b227ccba9dde64f063432e42e52f9b06
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/16588/dot_16588_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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