Safety Aspects of Using Vehicle Hazard Warning Lights: Volume 1. Executive Summary

Details

• Creators:
  Knoblauch, Richard L. ; Tobey, Henry N.
• Corporate Creators:
  BioTechnology, Inc.
• Contributors:
  Byington, Stanley R. ; Warren, Davey
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Systems Division
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Flares Flashers Slow Moving Vehicles Traffic Incidents Warning Systems
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-RD-80-101
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Contracting Officer:
  Byington, Stanley R.; Warren, Davey
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Systems Division
• Abstract:
  This report describes a series of experiments that were conducted to examine the effectiveness of four-way flashers. Both the disabled vehicle situation and the slow-moving vehicle situation were examined at two- and four-lane locations under both daylight and nighttime conditions. The disabled vehicle tests involved parking a test vehicle (either a car or a tractor-trailer) at the side of the road and monitoring the behavior of drivers. The slow-moving vehicle tests involved introducing a staged slow-moving vehicle (either a car or a tractor-trailer) into the traffic stream and observing the overtaking vehicles. At the disabled vehicle, red and amber four-way flashers as well as flares, reflectorized triangles, headlights, and other situational factors were evaluated. For the slow-moving vehicle tests, the effects of red and amber flashers as well as a 30 and 40 mph (48.3 and 64.4 kph) slow-moving vehicle were examined. For both the disabled and the slow-moving vehicle situations, it was found that four-way flashers are effective at reducing the inherent danger. In the disabled situation, it was found that approaching motorists slow down sooner and slow down more when flashers are displayed. In the slow-moving situation, it was found that drivers of overtaking vehicles approach more cautiously and pass more carefully. In both situations flashers increase the awareness of the drivers of overtaking vehicles.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DOT-FH-11-9385
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7236092fd918cf178c042ae5eda7a02ba8aa0bc7dee7f0cbba8f38a958adac544a90036a26704ff270210958ef1f0284b3e7ef6ca608ee0dc19d8150476cabab
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67608/dot_67608_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 823.67 KB ]