Improving the effectiveness of nighttime temporary traffic control warning devices, volume 1 : evaluation of lights on nighttime work zone channelization devices.

Details

• Creators:
  Steele, Douglas A. ; Zabecki, Jessica L. Marcon ; Zimmerman, Laura
• Corporate Creators:
  Applied Research Associates, Inc.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration ; Illinois. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Traffic control devices
  • Temporary structures
  • Warning devices
  • Night
  • Work zone traffic control
  • Traffic channelization
  • Drums (Containers)
  • Barricades
  • Highway safety
  • Lighting
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ICT-13-029 ; ICT-13-029 ; UILU-ENG-2013-2030
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Illinois
• Corporate Publisher:
  Illinois Center for Transportation
• Abstract:
  Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is one of the few state transportation agencies that ; require warning lights on nighttime work zone channelization devices, such as drums and barricades. The intent ; of the steady-burn, amber warning lights is to increase visibility of the channelization devices, providing guidance ; to motorists and preventing intrusions into the closed lane. However, their additional benefit beyond that provided ; by the high-reflectivity materials used on the channelization devices themselves has not been evaluated, ; including taking into consideration their initial, maintenance, and replacement costs; and the environmental and ; economic issues of routine battery replacement. ; Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime channelization ; devices by reviewing pertinent literature, experimental studies of nighttime work zones with and without lights on ; drums, driver surveys, and focus groups of driver perceptions and behavior in work zones using traffic drums. We ; applied a cognitive model of driver mental processes to this information to determine the influence of drum ; warning lights, if any, on driver perception and response. ; The research showed that, when unprompted, most drivers did not perceive a difference or respond any ; differently in nighttime work zones using lights on drums than in those without lights. However, when asked to ; make direct comparisons between work zones with and without lights on drums, there was a slight preference for ; lights on drums due to the perceived increase in nighttime lighting they provide. Nighttime work zones, and work ; zones in general, are visually cluttered environments; and the presence (or absence) of lights on drums was not ; significant enough to attract the drivers’ attention, given competing visual cues such as work zone traffic control ; devices, other vehicles, and activities in the work space. In addition, the reflective prismatic sheeting on drums in ; Illinois provides sufficient visibility without warning lights.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  R27-108
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28797/dot_28797_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 849.28 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:5fca6cfbd7e4faf0309d6531228ac11d7fa61d319f5b998b506748ef55ff76f6