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Title:

Drivers’ Understanding of Innovative Roundabout Traffic Control Devices

Accession Number:

01122539

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

The 2009 edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices will contain innovative sign and marking treatments for application at U.S. roundabouts. The development of unique traffic control device (TCD) concepts was based on the need for drivers to understand the novel highway geometry associated with modern roundabouts, while incorporating graphic symbols and sign formats that were similar to traditional TCDs. Given that no empirical information existed regarding the effectiveness of the innovative devices, the study described below was undertaken fulfill this research need. The objective this human factors laboratory study was to determine the ability of select traffic control device components, e.g., the Fishhook left-turn pavement marking and the “curved-stem” guide sign arrow, to elicit the correct inner-lane choices for drivers entering roundabouts. Laboratory subjects responded to roundabout-advance scenes depicting a guide sign and roundabout-entry scenes depicting pavement markings. Twenty-eight sign-marking combinations were tested on a sample 117 licensed drivers, most of whom had occasional roundabout driving experience, in all age groups. Measures of device effectiveness included lane-choice correctness for the intended destination and subject confidence in their lane choice. Study results demonstrated that the combination of ‘curved-stem’ arrows on advance guide signs and the ‘Fishhook’ pavement marking were effective at conveying the desired roundabout driving paths to motorists. In addition the ‘One-Way’ regulatory sign, in combination with a black-on-white chevron panel, mounted on the center island was shown to be the most effective device to convey the proper driving direction within the roundabout.

Monograph Accession #:

01120148

Report/Paper Numbers:

09-3107

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Hanscom, Fred R

Pagination:

19p

Publication Date:

2009

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Photos (11) ; References; Tables (4)

Subject Areas:

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

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-3107

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 30 2009 7:30PM