TRAFFIC CONTROLS FOR MAINTENANCE ON HIGH SPEED HIGHWAYS

OBSERVATIONS WERE FIRST MADE AT LANE CLOSURES ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS WHERE YELLOW WARNING SIGNS WERE ERECTED ROUTINELY IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTRACT WORK. LATER DATA PROVIDED DIRECT COMPARISON BETWEEN NEW YELLOW AND NEW ORANGE SIGNS. DRIVER OBEDIENCE IMPROVED WHEN NEW SIGNS OF EITHER COLOR WERE USED; THIS IMPLIES THAT SIGNS SHOULD ALWAYS BE MAINTAINED IN GOOD CONDITION. ORANGE SIGNS WERE SLIGHTLY MORE EFFECTIVE THAN YELLOW SIGNS IN REDUCING TRAFFIC CONFLICTS AND MERGES NEAR THE TRAFFIC CONES. THE RESULTS TEND TO SUPPORT THE ADOPTION OF ORANGE AS THE STANDARD COLOR FOR SIGNING CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE SITES. HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO COLORS WERE RATHER SMALL. DRIVER PREFERENCE POLLS SUPPORTED THE ORANGE SIGNS MORE STRONGLY. A DEGREE OF DRIVER INSENSITIVITY TOWARD SIGNING WAS SHOWN. IN GENERAL, VARIABLES SUCH AS SHORT SIGHT DISTANCES, HIGH VOLUMES, POOR CONDITIONS OF SIGNS, AND DRIVER INSENSITIVITY PRODUCED UNSAFE SITUATIONS AT LANE CLOSURES. /AUTHOR/

Media Info

  • Pagination: 36 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00226380
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: Aug 7 1972 12:00AM