USE OF SAFETY REST AREAS
THE IMPROVEMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND HIGHWAYS AND THE INCREASED USE OF HIGHWAYS BY MOTOR VEHICLES DURING RECENT YEARS HAS PRESENTED AN INCREASINGLY CRITICAL SAFETY PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO HANDLING VEHICLES PARKED ADJACENT TO THE TRAVELED WAY OF RURAL ARTERIAL HIGHWAYS. TO REDUCE THIS HAZARD, MANY SECTIONS OF THESE HIGHWAYS HAVE BEEN POSTED TO LIMIT PARKING FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES ONLY. THESE RESTRICTIONS AND THE DESIRE TO ELIMINATE PARKING HAZARDS REQUIRE THAT PROVISION BE MADE TO ASSIST MOTORISTS WHO NEED A REST OR OTHER TYPE OF STOP IN FINDING ADEQUATE FACILITIES FOR THEIR NEEDS. THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO PROVIDE DATA ON THE AMOUNT AND CHARACTER OF USE OF THE EXISTING REST AREAS ON THE TRAVELED ROUTE OF THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, SO THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO SERVE AS A BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE NEED AND SPACE FOR REST AREAS AS WELL AS FACILITIES TO BE PROVIDED IN REST AREAS. THE SEVEN REST AREAS STUDIED IN 1960 WERE ALL ON NON-ACCESS CONTROLLED PORTIONS OF THE TRAVELED ROUTE OF THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM. SOME OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS RESULTING FROM THE STUDIES WERE: (1) FROM 2 TO 4 PERCENT OF THE TRAFFIC ON THE ADJACENT HIGHWAY USED THE REST AREA. (LIMITED STUDIES ON ACCESS-CONTROLLED SECTIONS HAVE SHOWN THIS RELATIONSHIP TO BE AS HIGH AS 1 PERCENT) (2) THE USE OF REST AREAS IS INVERSELY RELATED TO THE PORTION OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC THAT IS LOCAL SHORT-HAUL TRAFFIC AND DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE REMOTENESS OF THE REST AREA WITH RESPECT TO OTHER LOCATIONS PROVIDING THE SAME FACILITIES. (3) THE MAJOR FACILITIES USED BY MOTORISTS ARE REST ROOMS, DRINKING WATER, AND PICNIC TABLES. /HRB/
- Record URL:
-
Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 41, pp 375-414, 12 FIG, 30 TAB, 11 REF, 1 APP. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
-
Authors:
- Head, J A
- Publication Date: 1962
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 41st Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 8-12, 1962
-
Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 41
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Location; Roadside rest areas; Rural highways; Utilization
- Identifier Terms: Interstate Highway System
- Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Research; Terminals and Facilities;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00204844
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Jan 24 1972 12:00AM