LIGHTED GUIDANCE DEVICES: ENVIRONMENTAL MODULATION OF DRIVERS' PERCEPTION OF VEHICLE SPEED THROUGH WORK ZONES

Annually, thousands of highway workers risk serious injury and death from drivers who enter work zones too fast or accelerate after entering the zone and then, due to excess speed relative to environmental limitations, have insufficient time to avoid accidents in the zone. This research investigated the effectiveness of a system of pulsing lights, which gave the illusion of movement, positioned along side the roadway through a work zone in the virtual world of a driving simulator, in causing drivers to synchronize vehicle speed with the light pulses. Forty drivers participated and 20 older adults. Each participant made 15 passes through the work zone: a control pass with stationary white lights, two control passes with no lights, and 12 passes of test conditions--2 colors (red and green) times 3 apparent pulse speeds (-80, 0, and +80 mph) times 2 zone entry speeds (40 and 70 mph). Age, sex, and zone entry speed differences were found, but overall, backward moving lights caused drivers to reduce their vehicle speed, forward moving lights caused drivers to increase their vehicle speed, stationary light and control lights had little or no effect, and green produced stronger effects than red. Backward moving lights caused the greatest slowing in the young while forward moving lights caused the greatest acceleration in the old males and young females.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Five volumes of papers and one volume of abstracts comprise the published set of conference materials.
• Corporate Authors:

  VERTIS

  TORANOMOM 34 MORI BUILDING 1-25-5
  TORANOMON, MINATOKU, TOKYO 105  Japan 
• Authors:
  • Vercruyssen, M
  • Hancock, P A
  • Williams, G
  • Olofinboba, O
  • Nookala, M
  • Foderberg, D
• Conference:
  • Steps Forward. Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress
  • Location: Yokohama, Japan
  • Date: 1995-11-9 to 1995-11-11
• Publication Date: 1995-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1691

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Drivers; Driving simulators; Guidance systems (Aircraft); Intelligent transportation systems; Light; Motor vehicles; Perception; Pulses; Speed; Traffic speed; Work area
• Uncontrolled Terms: Guidance systems
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver perception; Pulsation
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00726076
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Volume 4
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 19 1996 12:00AM