BARRICADE STUDY

BARRICADES USED TO CHANNEL TRAFFIC INTO A FEWER NUMBER OF LANES ARE SOMETIMES STRUCK AND DAMAGED BY VEHICLES. THIS OCCURS BECAUSE DRIVERS FAIL TO EFFECTIVELY JUDGE THE LATERAL CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE BARRICADES AND THEIR VEHICLES. A WELL DEFINED VERTICAL EDGE PLACED UPON THE TRAFFIC SIDE OF BARRICADES ARE PROPOSED THAT WOULD HELP REMEDY THE ABOVE PROBLEM? THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE VERTICAL EDGES (HEREAFTER REFERRED TO AS CLEARANCE AIDS) ARE TESTED. THE CLEARANCE AIDS STUDIED WERE FOUND TO HAVE NO APPARENT EFFECT IN HELPING DRIVERS JUDGE THE LATERAL CLEARANCE BETWEEN THEIR VEHICLES AND BARRICADES. NO DIFFERENCE IN THE AVERAGE LATERAL CLEARANCES WERE FOUND WHEN LATERAL CLEARANCES BETWEEN VEHICLES AND A NORMAL BARRICADE, AND LATERAL CLEARANCES BETWEEN VEHICLES AND A BARRICADE EQUIPPED WITH A CLEARANCE AID WERE COMPARED. THE CLEARANCE AIDS WERE CONCLUDED INEFFECTIVE. THE CLEARANCE AIDS ARE TESTED ONLY DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AND DURING PERIODS OF NORMAL TRAFFIC. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT BARRICADES ARE DAMAGED MORE OFTEN DURING SOME OTHER PERIOD; HOWEVER, SINCE THE CLEARANCE AIDS WERE VERY STRIKING (VISUALLY) DURING THE TEST PERIOD, ANY POSSIBLE DIFFERENCE IN LATERAL CLEARANCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DETECTED AT THAT TIME. THE CLEARANCE AIDS ARE RECOMMENDED NOT TO BE USED IN THE FUTURE. HOWEVER, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOME OTHER MODIFICATION OF BARRICADES WOULD PRODUCE THE DESIRED RESULTS OF HAVING FEWER VEHICLE-BARRICADE ACCIDENTS. THE CLEARANCE AIDS CONSISTED OF 3 IN. X 3.5 FT. X 1/2 IN. BOARDS WITH MATERIAL CALLED "DAY-GLO" COVERING THE 3 IN. X 3.5 FT. SURFACE AREA. THE "DAY-GLO" MATERIAL IS INTERNATIONAL ORANGE IN COLOR, BUT DOES NOT HAVE REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES. EIGHT CLEARANCE AIDS WERE CONSTRUCTED AND FASTENED TO EIGHT BARRICADES AT THE STUDY SITE. /SRIS/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 16 Pp, 4 FiG, 1 TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  Minnesota Department of Highways

  ,    
• Publication Date: 1968-4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barricades; Driver performance; Drivers; Personnel performance; Railroad clearances; Road markings; Traffic lanes; Vehicles
• Old TRIS Terms: Clearances; Traffic marking
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225713
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 21 1970 12:00AM