01626518

Component

This study empirically evaluates effectiveness of speed humps and tables on reducing vehicle speeds along an arterial, and drivers’ perception and reaction with respect to these speed control devices. Both observational and experimental studies were conducted in a 1.84 km section of an arterial in South Korea. The observational study using radar revealed that vehicles had lower speeds when passing speed humps than speed tables, and that closely-spaced speed control devices were more effective in stabilizing vehicle speeds over the section. The experimental study was designed to examine how different driver groups reacted to these devices. The outcomes indicate that the driver group with high free-flow speed changed their speeds more abruptly near the devices, and this pattern becomes more prominent when they passed isolated devices. In addition, the eye-tracking data show that drivers perceived the devices via peripheral vision – reduced speeds prior to eye fixation on the devices. These findings suggest that multiple speed control devices need to be installed in close distances to reduce vehicles speeds more effectively, especially for speed tables because they were less effective in reducing vehicle speeds. Furthermore, since drivers perceived these devices via peripheral vision rather than eye fixation, it would be more helpful to paint or design speed control devices in more distinguished fashion.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB65 Standing Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics.

01618707

17-04167

English

17p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; Photos; References; Tables

Arterial highways; Behavior; Drivers; Eye movements; Free flow speeds; Operating speed; Perception; Speed control; Speed control humps

South Korea

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-04167

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:35AM