An Exploratory Survey of Drivers' Knowledge of Right of Way at Freeway On-Ramp Merging Areas

Freeway ramp areas have been identified as accident prone locations. Drivers failing to yield the right of way appear to be a major cause of accidents at entrance ramps. This paper investigates what drivers know about right of way at the freeway merge areas and explores their actions when driving in the vicinity of freeway entrance ramp merge areas. A total of 530 Ohio drivers responded to mail and online surveys that assessed their demographic characteristics, knowledge of right of way and merging practices. Results show that only 69.4% of respondents could correctly identify a vehicle that was merging correctly into the freeway. Most drivers did recognize that the vehicle already on the freeway has the right of way if the entering vehicle is cutting through directly into the freeway main lines. However, when the same vehicle is entering the freeway after using the acceleration lane as required, only 67.5% were able to identify that the vehicle on the main lanes has the right of way. The drivers indicate that two-third of respondents reported acting properly when entering the freeway. Drivers under 26 years of age and those 65 and older reported more incorrect driving actions compared with other age groups. Although males showed significantly higher knowledge on merging, they expressed more incorrect driving actions when driving in the vicinity of freeway ramp merging areas.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/614107147
• Authors:
  • Eustace, Deogratias
  • Owusu-Ansah, Stephen
  • Indupuru, Vamsi K
• Publication Date: 2010-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 36-42
• Serial:
  • ITE Journal
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue Number: 11
  • Publisher: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
  • ISSN: 0162-8178
  • Serial URL: https://www.ite.org/publications/ite-journal/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Demographics; Drivers; Freeways; Knowledge; Merging area; Merging traffic; On ramps; Right of way (Traffic); Surveys
• Geographic Terms: Ohio
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01330502
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 28 2011 7:36AM