00714884

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...trr/1995/1495/1495-011.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...wara&publication_year=1995

Pavement markings on public roads provide driver guidance, convey advisory or warning information to the driver, or both, and are often used as a supplement to other traffic control devices without redirecting the focus of attention from the road. Adequate visibility of pavement markings at night is an important element of driver safety, especially in the absence of public lighting. Increased lateral separation between double center stripes could increase the detection distance because the human visual system would spatially integrate over the lateral space between the parallel lines to form a more visible target that subtends a greater visual angle. Most of the technical literature has shown that there seems to be no available pavement marking visibility data on begin-and-end detection distances. Also, no data are available on the effects of lateral separation between double solid center stripes and the interaction between lateral separation and line width. The current study was conducted to provide a scientific basis for quantifying the effects of lateral separation between double solid center stripes. It is current standard practice in Ohio to implement double solid yellow center stripes (0.1 m wide) with a lateral separation of 0.1 m. On the basis of a field experiment involving 48 subjects, average begin-and-end detection distances were established and psychometric curves were plotted. An ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc test failed to find any significant systematic effect caused by lateral separation between the center lines. On the basis of the findings of this study it is possible to tentatively conclude that an increase in the lateral separation (from 0.05 to 0.2 m) between the double center stripes does not appear to be a useful method to increase driver visibility. In addition, as expected, the amount of retroreflective material (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, or 0.2 m width, double solid versus dashed, gap/stripe ratio of 9.15/3.05 m versus 10.98/1.22 m) has a fairly small effect on the 85th percentile end detection distances, thus indicating a relatively small marginal gain in visibility with a substantially increased retroreflective area. In fact, calculations indicate that an increase in area from 0.122 to 2.44 sq m for each 12.2-m-long center line segment (20-fold increase) is required to increase the average end detection distance from 82 to 128 m, which in only an increase of 56%.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1495, Traffic Control Devices, Visibility, and Railroad Grade Crossings. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

01399828

English

p. 87-98

1995

Transportation Research Record

0309061601

Figures (8) ; References (7) ; Tables (2)

Center lines; Highway safety; Lane lines; Night; Psychometrics; Road markings; Visibility; Visibility distance; Width; Yellow

Solid lines

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS, TRB

Dec 12 1995 12:00AM

• APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING SAFETY
• COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ADVANCE WARNING SIGNS AT HIGH SPEED SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS
• CURVE RADIUS PERCEPTION ACCURACY AS FUNCTION OF NUMBER OF DELINEATION DEVICES (CHEVRONS)
• DETECTABILITY OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS UNDER STATIONARY AND DYNAMIC CONDITIONS AS A FUNCTION OF RETROREFLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS
• EFFECTIVE USE OF VARIABLE MESSAGE SIGNS: LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF USERS' MANUALS
• EFFECTS OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR AT FREEWAY LANE DROP EXITS
• EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS AT TWO-WAY STOP-CONTROLLED INTERSECTIONS IN ALASKA
• EVALUATION OF ACCURACY OF U.S. DOT RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING ACCIDENT PREDICTION MODELS
• EVALUATION OF PROPOSED MINIMUM RETROREFLECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAFFIC SIGNS
• EVALUATION OF STROBE LIGHTS IN RED LENS OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS
• HIGH-VOLUME PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALK TIME REQUIREMENTS
• KNOWLEDGE-BASED PERSONAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR APPLYING AND PLACING CURVE DELINEATION DEVICES
• LOSS OF VISIBILITY DISTANCE CAUSED BY AUTOMOBILE WINDSHIELDS AT NIGHT
• MOTORIST INTERPRETATION OF YELLOW X AND YELLOW DIAGONAL ARROW IN FREEWAY LANE CONTROL SIGNAL ARRAY
• TRAFFIC SIGN READING DISTANCES AND TIMES DURING NIGHT DRIVING
• VISIBILITY OF NEW PAVEMENT MARKINGS AT NIGHT UNDER LOW-BEAM ILLUMINATION
• VISIBILITY OF NEW YELLOW CENTER STRIPES AS A FUNCTION OF OBLITERATION
• YELLOW PAVEMENT MARKINGS WITH YELLOW NIGHTTIME COLOR