Work Zone Safety Device Evaluation

Details

• Creators:
  McCoy, Patrick T. ; Bonneson, James A.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Center for Infrastructure Research
• Corporate Contributors:
  South Dakota. Department of Transportation. Office of Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Field Tests Flaggers Guides To The Literature Information Display Systems Law Enforcement Literature Reviews Measures Of Effectiveness Portable Equipment Rumble Strips Safety Signal Lights Speed Speed Control Traffic Control Devices Traffic Speed Work Zone Traffic Control

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  SD92-10-F
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  South Dakota. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  The objective of this research was to identify and evaluate traffic control devices that would improve the safety of traffic operations in work zones on highways in South Dakota. A review of the literature and current practice was conducted to identify traffic control devices with the potential to reduce speeds and/or improve driver recognition and comprehension of traffic control in work zones. In addition, the accident experience in work zones on highways in South Dakota was reviewed to identify the types of work zones that represent the most serious safety problems. The traffic control devices identified were prioritized according to their potential effectiveness, ease of implementation, advantages and disadvantages, cost, and applicability in work zones which represent the greatest safety problems in South Dakota. The SDDOT selected from the prioritized lists the following traffic control devices for field evaluation: 1) portable rumble strips in advance of a single lane closure on a rural 2-lane highway; 2) speed monitoring display in advance of a single lane closure on a freeway; 3) innovative flagging in advance of a single lane closure on a freeway; 4) diverging lights display in a moving work zone on a freeway; and 5) law enforcement in advance of a single lane closure on an urban multilane street. The selected traffic control devices were installed and tested in the field. The field data were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the traffic control devices in reducing speeds and/or improving driver recognition. The speed monitoring display, innovative flagging, and law enforcement were effective in reducing the average speed of traffic. Although the innovative flagging procedures were the most effective, the flagger's inconsistency in following the prescribed procedures and the flagger's exposure to traffic may be potential problems in using the procedures. The portable rumble strips and the diverging lights display were not effective in improving driver recognition of work zone traffic control measures. However, the lack of work zone activity during the after study may have confounded the evaluation of the portable rumble strips, and the diverging lights display may be better suited to moving work zones on 2-lane, 2-way roadways.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  310116
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:00b83841cdc20b6684346703ea58caa122f775e5aa0ccd6aa66a6107b3883ba7b3c72d34dbedcc165b5f564978a6be1f1408deab7624c78c3fd4e1518b04ffaa
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/80192/dot_80192_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.47 MB ]