ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF INTERSECTION TRAFFIC SIGNING

Traffic signs are the primary interface between the roadway and the driver for communicating regulatory, warning and guidance information - day and night. To be of practical use signs must efficiently and effectively communicate their information in sufficient time to allow the driver to evaluate the relevance of the information and safely execute any required maneuver. It is the role of the Traffic Engineer to ensure that road signs will successfully communicate with the driver. The MUTCD and AASHTO "Green Book" provide information and guidance with respect to standard practices. While these documents provide an overall framework there are still engineering choices to be made for each sign installation. These choices include what signs to erect, how many to use, where to place them, and what materials to use in fabricating the sign. The objective of this paper is to outline the choices the Engineer must make and discuss the consequences associated with these choices. The choices include such things as sign size, fluorescent versus ordinary color, type of sign illumination, choice of retroreflective sheeting, use of multiple signs (i.e. redundancy), and static versus dynamic displays. The consequences of these choices are discussed in terms of cost, efficiency, and safety supported by available traffic engineering studies.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0935403876
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

  Washington, DC  United States 
• Authors:
  • Burns, D M
  • Bliss, T C
• Conference:
  • ITE 2004 Annual Meeting and Exhibit
  • Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida
  • Date: 2004-8-1 to 2004-8-4
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 34p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Design; Illuminated traffic signs; Performance evaluations; Retroreflectivity; Sign sheeting; Traffic engineering; Traffic signs
• Identifier Terms: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00980202
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0935403876
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 28 2004 12:00AM