01545941

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2434-05

http://scholar.google.com...atti&publication_year=2014

With the aim of reducing the number of road traffic deaths around the world, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2011–2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Excessive speed is one of the main problems to overcome. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of traffic-calming measures in reducing drivers’ speed along a road with a dangerous bend in an inland area near Venice, Italy. The driving simulator of the Transportation Laboratory of the University of Padua and the simulated scenario were validated by reproducing the study site environment. A driving simulator experiment was conducted to analyze changes in speed profiles associated with various countermeasures: evenly spaced guideposts, tall guideposts, narrowing guideposts, and dragon’s teeth markings. Tall and narrowing guideposts served to reduce drivers’ speed by up to 2.7 km/h. Unlike tall guideposts, which produced no detrimental effect on drivers’ behavior, narrowing guideposts led drivers to occupy more variable positions within the lane. In view of this at-risk behavior, the convenience of the option to produce an apparent narrowing of the lane on real roads was discussed. This study found that the use of driving simulators was a reliable research tool to reproduce drivers’ real behavior. The study also provided effective, low-cost measures to counteract excessive speed on dangerous road sections.

01545262

14-3662

English

pp 35–43

2014

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309295222

Print

Figures (4) ; References (31) ; Tables (3)

Countermeasures; Drivers; Driving; Driving simulators; Guideposts; Highway curves; Highway safety; Road markings; Speed control; Speeding; Traffic calming

Venice (Italy)

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 3:15PM

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