01555697

Component

With the worsening of urban traffic congestion in large cities around the world, researchers have been looking for unconventional designs and/or controls to squeeze more capacity out of intersections, the most common bottlenecks of the road network. One of these innovative intersection designs, known as the exit-lanes for left-turn (EFL), opens up exit-lanes to be used by left-turn traffic with the help of an additional traffic light installed at the median opening (the pre-signal) [1]. This paper studies how drivers respond to EFL intersections with a series of driving simulator experiments. In the experiments, 64 drivers were recruited and divided into two groups. One group is trained to use the EFL while the other group is not. In addition, four scenarios were considered with different sign and marking designs and traffic conditions in the experiments. Results indicate that drivers show certain amount of confusion and hesitation when encountering an EFL intersection for the first time. They can be overcome, however, by increasing exposure through driver education or by cue provided from other vehicles. Moreover, drivers unfamiliar with EFL operation can make a left turn using the conventional left-turn lanes as usual. The EFL operation is not likely to pose any serious safety risk of the intersection in real life operations.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB50 Traffic Control Devices.

01550057

15-1244

English

20p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Driver performance; Driving simulators; Guide signs; Left turns; Signalized intersections

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I80: Accident Studies

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-1244

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 12:29PM