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Title:

The Relationship between Geometry and Vehicle Speed of Chicanes

Accession Number:

01632153

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

Chicanes are one type of the traffic calming measures recognized and implemented in North America to improve safety for the roadway users. It is formed by curb extensions or edge islands situated on both sides of the roadway in a staggered manner. This arrangement causes a horizontal deflection that influences the drive path with the purpose of reducing vehicle speeds being the amount of deflection dictated by the path angle the key to speed reduction. As standard guidelines have not been established in North America yet, little information is available for correlating the chicane geometry to the effectiveness of speed reduction for vehicles. In a past study from the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the path angle of the chicane was found to correlate to drive speeds, for example, speed reduces as the path angle increases. This study is focused on taking a closer look at the relationship between the drive path, path angle of the chicane and drive speeds. Given the field tests results collected from the TRL study, the lateral friction experienced for the different scenarios are calculated and compared, since these friction coefficients provide an indication of the driver’s comfort as it negotiates chicanes with different path angles. These friction values influence the calculation of vehicle speeds along a path and were used to determine the fastest feasible path through the chicane with the use of vehicle simulation and swept path analysis software. The goal of this study is to find the correlation between the geometry of a chicane to the drive speeds while observing the driver’s comfort. Establishing this relationship can serve as a basis for future design guidelines as well as help engineers design chicanes with more accurate speed predictions.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB65 Standing Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics. Alternate title: Relationship between Geometry and Vehicle Speed of Chicanes

Monograph Accession #:

01618707

Report/Paper Numbers:

17-02184

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Chan, Steven
Vehabovic, Ena
Velez, Andres

Pagination:

12p

Publication Date:

2017

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Uncontrolled Terms:

Angles; Chicanes

Subject Areas:

Highways; Safety and Human Factors

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-02184

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Dec 8 2016 10:48AM