01592116

Component

This study focuses on examining potential alternatives to provide the road user the same level of information to reduce or eliminate the hits on exit gore signs and therefore mitigate maintenance crew risk. Researchers selected alternative exit gore treatments—1) chevrons pointing up, 2) chevrons pointing right and left, 3) diagonal-shaped pavement markings, 4) diagonal-shaped pavement markings with chevrons pointing up, 5) horizontal EXIT pavement marking—to test drivers’ comprehension and recognition using a driving simulator. At the pre-simulation questioning, with 55 percent of participants believing the horizontal EXIT marking treatment was one of the best treatments. However, two-third of participants believes they would be forced to exit from the right lane if they saw these markings. At the simulation driving, the evaluation on the treatments was conducted under three different viewing conditions, 1) long viewing distance on a flat roadway segment, 2) short viewing distance with a vertical curve ahead of gore exit, and 3) limited viewing distance blocked by a lead truck. As a result, the treatment of the vertical chevron paired with diagonal pavement markings performed consistently well under three different driving conditions, but none of the alternative treatments performed notably poorly. In the comparison of the recognition distance, participants could recognize the treatment of the chevrons pointing up paired with diagonal pavement markings significantly earlier than the treatment with only chevrons pointing up under the long viewing condition. For the short viewing condition, the exit gore sign was recognized significantly earlier than the treatment with chevrons pointing right and left. It is noted that the exit gore sign worked well under the short viewing and blocked conditions because of its height providing an advantage over shorter treatments. This driving simulator study suggests that some alternate treatments for a highway exit gore have the potential to be as visually conspicuous as the exit gore sign. As a future study, researchers recommend further field examination on driver comprehension of the potential alternatives and driving performance.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB50 Standing Committee on Traffic Control Devices. Alternate title: Examining Drivers’ Comprehension and Recognition of Highway Exit Gore Treatments

01584066

16-2365

English

17p

2016

Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Comprehension; Gore area; Occupational safety; Off ramps; Traffic signs; Visibility

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-2365

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 12 2016 5:03PM