Human Factors Study to Understand Driver Behavior on Managed Lane Facilities

Details

• Creators:
  Alluri, Priyanka ; Abou-Senna, Hatem ; Mwambeleko, Enock ; Ahmed, Sharfuddin ; Nayem, HM ; Gupta, Atharv
• Corporate Creators:
  Florida International University. Lehman Center for Transportation Research
• Contributors:
  Holley, Gail M.
• Corporate Contributors:
  Florida. Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Automatic Data Collection Systems Buffer Concrete Data Collection Driving Behavior Driving Simulators Lane Distribution Managed Lanes Pylons Separation Types Traffic Barriers Traffic Speed Measurement

  More +
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Florida
• Edition:
  Final Report: May 2023 – July 2025
• Corporate Publisher:
  Florida. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has several managed lane facilities throughout the state. Managed lanes (MLs) are commonly constructed adjacent to general-purpose lanes (GPLs) to improve mobility. The objective of this research was to understand driver behavior on managed lane facilities, specifically pertaining to the type of separation between the MLs and the GPLs. This research employed a naturalistic driving study and a driving simulator study to examine how separation type affects driver behavior on ML facilities. Three separation types; pylons, buffer areas, and concrete barriers were analyzed utilizing naturalistic driving data, while two separation treatments; separation width defined by single solid lines or double solid lines, and separation height defined by 24" or 28" in curved sections were analyzed utilizing the driving simulator. The driving simulator study was conducted at the University of Central Florida (UCF) using a compact version (miniSimTM) of the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) developed by the University of Iowa. Participants experienced various driving scenarios along a 6-mile roadway with single-lane ML and 2-lane ML sections. Separation width (single solid or double solid lines) was examined in both straight and curved sections, while separation height (24-inch and 28-inch pylons) was evaluated only in curved sections. Results revealed higher mean speeds and shorter fixation durations with double solid lines combined with 28-inch pylons in curved segments. Lane deviation away from the separator was greater with double solid lines combined with 24-inch pylons. Over half of the participants reported double solid lines and 28-inch pylons as being more noticeable. The naturalistic driving study examined how drivers behave in the real world on ML facilities with different separation treatments. Data from ML facilities in Florida and Washington State was collected from the Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS) and the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), respectively. Performance measures analyzed included lane utilization, travel speed, and lane deviation. Findings revealed that concrete barriers and pylon separations result in decreased lane utilization compared to buffer separation by 12.8% and 8.6%, respectively, on the leftmost GPL. On the rightmost ML, lane utilization increased by 2% with concrete barriers and decreased by 20% with pylon separations compared to buffer separation. Buffer separation resulted in higher average speeds on MLs. Drivers in the ML adjacent to the separator tend to drive away from the separator for all separation types, with the greatest magnitude observed on buffer-separated ML facilities. This research provides FDOT and other transportation agencies with a better understanding of the effects of different ML separation treatments between the MLs and GPLs on driver behavior, enabling agencies to implement treatments aimed at improving safety and mobility on ML facilities.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  BED29 977-08
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d28429d9fbcce48178e360390bfd70a38427edd7c4bf7e915fb3cf161e9f3ec12c833071b059d1ba7868c5faef82e5bcc4cfb9d98eb0ade09df277918bad7097
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/88910/dot_88910_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.55 MB ]