01838030

Component

https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221076443

Previous investigation has revealed that diverging maneuvers along curved terminals lead to a deterioration in the longitudinal and transversal performances of drivers with respect to linear ones. As a countermeasure, innovative horizontal markings (HMs) may be used to compel drivers to drive more prudently and maintain better vehicle control. In this driving simulation study, the behavioral effects of alternative HMs along curved exit ramp terminals were investigated. Forty-eight voluntary participants drove along randomly assigned exit ramp terminals, the design of which involved combinations of the following input variables: (i) horizontal markings (standard HM1, with internal lane bands HM2, with external zebra stripes HM3); (ii) lighting conditions (day and night); (iii) traffic flow in the motorway (1,000?passenger cars per hour pc/h and 3,000?pc/h), and (iv) ramp terminal connection type (continuous and reverse). Longitudinal (i.e., speed) and transversal (i.e., lateral position and diverging abscissa) behavioral data were collected. HM2 leads to greater improvements in the level of road safety thanks to better longitudinal and transversal driver behavior. However, drivers did delay their exit from the motorway with respect to the baseline condition (HM1) independent of the connection type. No relevant improvements were observed with HM3, apart from speed reductions at the end of the terminal and more centered trajectories when approaching the ramp. Results also show that drivers tended to enter the reverse terminal later than the continuous one (where drivers correctly used the taper), thus revealing that the use of the innovative HMs was not able to compensate for this inappropriate behavior adopted along reverse terminals.

Alessandra Lioi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0812-4094 © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2022.

English

0000-0003-0812-4094

0000-0002-4963-056X

0000-0002-6685-4805

0000-0003-4988-4882

0000-0003-2560-1497

pp 774-787

2022-6

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Web

References (56)

Drivers; Driving simulators; Highway curves; Highway safety; Off ramps; Road markings

Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 26 2022 3:03PM