00741948

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1573-10

http://scholar.google.com...ORST&publication_year=1997

On the A16 Motorway in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Transport implemented an automatic fog-signaling system to elicit safer driving behavior during fog. Along a road section 12 km (7.4 mi) long, 20 sensors were placed to continuously measure the visibility range. During fog, the system displays an explicit fog warning on overhead matrix signs together with a maximum speed limit that depends on the actual available visibility range. An evaluation study in terms of driving behavior was carried out for a period of more than 2 years. Continuous traffic measurements for individual vehicles were obtained via inductive loop detectors at six locations (four experimental and two control locations). Data on the local visibility conditions and on the messages displayed on the matrix signs were available on a 1-min basis. The results reveal that the system has a positive effect on speed choice in fog: on top of a lower mean speed caused by the reduced visibility, the system results in an additional decrease of speed of about 8 to 10 kph (4.9 to 6.2 mph). The system also slightly reduces the standard deviation of the speed. For other measures of driving behavior, such as following distance, time headway and time to collision, the system showed small or no effects. The effects found, however, all indicated a behavioral change in a safe direction. It is concluded that the automatic fog-signaling system on A16 contributes to safer driving behavior in fog.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1573, Human Performance in Intelligent Transportation Systems, Information Systems, and Highway Design and Older Drivers.

English

p. 63-67

1997

Transportation Research Record

0309061547

Figures (3) ; Photos (1) ; References (7)

Behavior; Drivers; Field studies; Fog; Highway safety; Loop detectors; Measures of effectiveness; Overhead traffic signs; Speed control; Speed limits; Traffic speed; Visibility distance; Warning signs

Effectiveness; Speed reduction

Netherlands

Netherlands

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Oct 17 1997 12:00AM

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