STUDY OF FREEWAY WEIGHT STATION SIGNING

THE INSTALLATION OF TRUCK WEIGHT STATIONS ON INTERSTATE FREEWAY SYSTEMS CREATED PROBLEMS NOT EXISTING ON FREE ACCESS TYPE ROADS, REQUIRING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW, REMOTE CONTROLLED CHANGEABLE MESSAGE BLANKOUT SIGN TO COMMUNICATE WEIGH STATION STATUS TO TRUCK DRIVERS. FOR PURPOSES OF THE ANALYSIS, TRUCK DRIVERS WERE SEPARATED INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: (1) THOSE WHO USE THE FREEWAY MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH AND (2) THOSE WHO USE THE ROAD LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH. THE SIGNS TESTED BY DRIVER INTERVIEW WERE THE MICHIGAN SIGN WHICH WAS PROPOSED AS A STATE STANDARD AND THE NEW AASHO STANDARD FOR WEIGH STATIONS SIGNING. THE MICHIGAN SIGN APPEARED TO BE PREFERRED AS THE STANDARD SIGN. DRIVER COMMENTS SHOWED A REQUIREMENT OF COLOR CODING OF THE OPEN- CLOSED MESSAGE, AND BETTER READABILITY BY PROVIDING A BACKGROUND AROUND THE ILLUMINATED MESSAGES. DRIVERS ALSO PREFERRED THE SIGN INSTALLED FURTHER IN ADVANCE OF THE EXIT FOR QUICKER DECISION MAKING. BOTH TYPES OF SIGN SYSTEMS PROVIDE A COMPLETE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING WEIGH STATION STATUS TO TRUCK DRIVERS. IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THE AASHO STANDARD BE USED PROVIDE BETTER UNIFORMITY FOR THE FREEWAY TRUCK DRIVER.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Tsd-tr-111-69, 21 PP, 4 FIG, 4 PHOT, 4 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  Michigan Department of State Highways

  State Highways Building, PO Drawer K
  Lansing, MI  United States  48904
• Authors:
  • Richard, C L
• Publication Date: 1969-3

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Color codes; Drivers; Freeways; Illuminated traffic signs; Interviewing; Legibility; Signs; Standardization; Testing; Traffic signs; Truck drivers; Trucks; Variable message signs; Weighing devices; Weight measurement
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver interviews
• Old TRIS Terms: Blankout signs; Freeway signs
• Subject Areas: Highways; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225476
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 26 1994 12:00AM