THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ON DRIVER ON-RAMP MERGING BEHAVIOR

DRIVER MERGING ON URBAN FREEWAY RAMPS WAS STUDIED IN TERMS OF PERCEPTION OF THE MERGING SITUATION AND THE POSSIBLE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ON GAP ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION. PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING OF ACTUAL MERGING BEHAVIOR ON A RAMP ON THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY WAS ANALYZED IN TERMS OF 43 ALTERNATIVE MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSIONS OF GAP SIZE USED. AMONG OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH WERE DETERMINATION OF THE MOST PSYCHOLOGICALLY EFFECTIVE MEASURES OF GAP SIZE AND DETERMINATION OF CHANGES IN DRIVER BEHAVIOR RELATING TO GAP SIZE UNDER VARYING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS DRY AND WET WEATHER, DAY AND NIGHT DRIVING. RESULTS INDICATED THAT THOSE SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF GAP SIZE MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO MERGING BEHAVIOR REFLECTED THE KINEMATICS OF LAG CONDITIONS. TIME LAG ALSO SHOWED A HIGH RELATIONSHIP. MERGING BEHAVIOR DIFFERENCES UNDER VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE DISCUSSED. /HSL/

• Corporate Authors:

  HRB-Singer Incorporated

  P.O. Box 60, Science Park
  State College, PA  United States  16801
• Authors:
  • Carter, R G
  • Seguin, E L
  • Root, R T
  • Avis, G B
• Publication Date: 1970

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 123 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Drivers; Driving; Environmental engineering; Merging traffic; Perception; Ramps
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226449
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 17 1973 12:00AM