INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR EXITING AT INTERCHANGES

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE DRIVING TASK HAS BEEN FORMULATED CONCERNING THE INFLUENCE OF SIGN CHARACTERISTICS ON EXITING BEHAVIOR IN THE VICINITY OF FREEWAY INTERCHANGES. THE MODEL SUBDIVIDES THE DRIVING TASK INTO TWO BASIC FUNCTIONS - DIRECTIONAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND TRACKING. TWO PRINCIPAL VARIABLES SUGGESTED BY THE MODEL FOR INVESTIGATION WERE (1) INFORMATION PRESENTATION TIME (THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT A SIGN IS READABLE BY A DRIVER) AND (2) INFORMATION LEAD DISTANCE (THE DISTANCE FROM AN EXIT THAT THE ADVANCE INFORMATION SIGN IS PLACED). EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THESE AND RELATED VARIABLES WERE CONDUCTED UNDER LABORATORY, CONTROLLED-FIELD, AND IN SITU CONDITIONS. THE ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING FOR THESE STUDIES WAS THE URBAN FREEWAY INTERCHANGE, SPECIFICALLY CHOSEN BECAUSE IT REPRESENTED THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF COMPLEXITY. AS SUCH IT PROVIDED A SENSITIVE GROUND FOR THE EVALUATION OF SIGN TECHNIQUES SINCE EVEN A MINOR PHYSICAL MANIPULATION OF A SIGN PARAMETER MAY MANIFEST ITSELF IN A PERFORMANCE CHANGE. AN INFORMATION LEAD DISTANCE OF A QUARTER MILE APPEARS TO BE INADEQUATE. FEW DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN THE EXISTING BEHAVIOR OF DRIVERS WITH A ONE-HALF OR ONE MILE INFORMATION LEAD DISTANCE. THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION PRESENTATION TIME REQUIRED BY THE DRIVERS IN THESE TESTS IS LESS THAN THAT WHICH IS TYPICALLY AVAILABLE UNDER CURRENT SIGN PRACTICES. /BPR/

• Corporate Authors:

  HRB-Singer Incorporated

  P.O. Box 60, Science Park
  State College, PA  United States  16801
• Authors:
  • Mace, D J
  • Hostetter, R S
  • Sequin, E L
• Publication Date: 1969-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Design; Distance; Drivers; Freeway operations; Information management; Information, data, and knowledge; Interchange ramps; Interchanges; Intersection elements; Lead time; Time; Traffic signs
• Old TRIS Terms: Freeway entrances and exits; Time factor; Traffic sign design
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225710
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Traffic Systems Reviews & Abstracts
• Report/Paper Numbers: Report 89211-f
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 13 1970 12:00AM