EVALUATION OF DIAGRAMMATIC SIGNING AT CAPITAL BELTWAY EXIT NO. 1
ONE CONVENTIONAL SIGN ON THE WESTBOUND APPROACH TO EXIT NO. 1 OF THE CAPITAL BELTWAY WAS REPLACED BY A DIAGRAMMATIC SIGN TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF THE NEW SIGN ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR. BEFORE AND AFTER PHASES OF THE STUDY EVALUATED THE EFFECTS OF THE SIGN IN TERMS OF ERRATIC MANEUVERS. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN WEAVING MANEUVERS TOOK OVER THE GORE AREA AFTER INSTALLATION OF THE DIAGRAMMATIC SIGN, WHICH INDICATES A SAFER CONDITION THAN EXISTED BEFORE THE SIGN WAS INSTALLED. A TRADEOFF IS SEEN IN THE INCREASED PARTIAL WEAVES AND VEHICLE HESITATIONS ACCOMPANIED BY FEWER VEHICLES STOPPING OR BACKING AFTER THE INSTALLATION OF THE SIGN. MUCH OF THE INCREASED MANEUVERING COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO TOURIST TRAFFIC, YET THE TOTAL EFFECT OF THE TRADEOFF IS PROBABLY A SAFER CONDITION. STATISTICAL TESTS SHOWED MORE CONSISTENT PATTERNS OF DRIVER BEHAVIOR FOLLOWING THE SIGN INSTALLATION. DURING THE FOUR MONTHS THE DIAGRAMMATIC SIGN HAS BEEN UTILIZED, NO ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED ON THE APPROACH, WHICH DENOTES A CONSIDERABLE REDUCTION IN THE ACCIDENT RATE. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ARE THAT DIAGRAMMATIC SIGNS CAN BE INITIALLY CONFUSING TO MOTORISTS BECAUSE THEIR USE ON MAJOR ROUTES IS STILL PRACTICALLY NONEXISTENT. HOWEVER, DRIVER INTERVIEWS INDICATED A FAVORABLE REACTION TO THIS TYPE OF SIGNING AND FUTURE RESEARCH WAS ENCOURAGED. /AUTHOR/
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- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vhrc 71-r6, 17 PP
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Corporate Authors:
Virginia Highway Research Council
Charlottesville, VA United States -
Authors:
- Hanscom, F R
- Publication Date: 1971-9
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Behavior; Diagrams; Drivers; Intersection elements; Problem drivers; Reckless drivers; Traffic crashes; Traffic signs; Weaving traffic
- Old TRIS Terms: Erratic driving behavior
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00226099
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Oct 25 1971 12:00AM