Final report

This research studies the effectiveness of a dynamic message sign (DMS) using a driving simulator. Over 100 subjects from different socio-economic and age groups were recruited to drive the simulator under different traffic and driving conditions and various travel-related DMS messages. The subjects drove between a specified pair of origin and destination while choosing their own route in a fairly realistic 12 × 12 mi2 (20 × 20 km2) network that included road signs, traffic signals, three-dimensional buildings and trees, and other roadside objects. Their driving behavior, including changes in driving speed, route choice and diversion, and travel time perception in the presence of DMS were studied. In addition to the driving simulator experiment, a stated preference analysis was conducted through three sequential survey questionnaires. The questionnaire data was utilized to better understand drivers’ perceptions of the efficiency-related attributes. The study concluded that DMS is a safe device, since drivers did not reduce their speed significantly to read the DMS contents. Furthermore, quantitative information provided by DMS affected drivers’ route choice significantly and drivers were quite sensitive to travel time change. However, the diversion rate due to a second DMS with qualitative information was much less than what the subjects stated in the survey.

US Transportation Collection