01628720

Component

This paper presents an empirical investigation into drivers’ compliance with weather- and congestion-responsive variable advisory speed (VAS) system along OR-217 corridor in Portland, Oregon. The effect of the VAS posted speeds on drivers’ selected speeds were examined on individual travel lanes under different traffic and weather conditions. In this investigation, a total of seven month of traffic data along with VAS status log were obtained from the detectors and the advisory speed signs along the southbound direction of the corridor. Study results suggest that there is a distinct shift in speed distributions towards the left (i.e. lower speeds) when the system was on and that this shift is more evident when lower speeds were posted on VAS signs. More compliance with VAS speeds was observed on the right lane compared with that on the left lane as well as when higher advisory speeds were posted on the VAS signs. Further, it was found that weather, light conditions and distance from the VAS sign all affect driver compliance to variable degrees. Finally, the study found no tangible evidence that drivers’ compliance with VAS speeds changed over time.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AND20 Standing Committee on User Information Systems.

01618707

17-04126

English

17p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Driver performance; Traffic congestion; Variable speed limits; Weather

Portland (Oregon)

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-04126

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:34AM