THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT: ITS EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC FLOW

THIS STUDY WAS DIRECTED TOWARD EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN ARTERIAL TRAFFIC FLOW AND THE ARTERIALS' VISUAL SURROUNDING. THE HYPOTHESIS WAS THAT THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH AN ARTERIAL RESIDES PROVIDES AN INPUT INTO THE OPERATION OF A VEHICLE, AND BECAUSE IT PROVIDES AN INPUT INTO THIS OPERATION IT MIGHT LOGICALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE OUTPUT OF THE OPERATION. THE CONCERN IN THIS STUDY WAS DIRECTED TOWARD DEFINING HOW VARIOUS VISUAL INPUTS FROM AN ARTERIAL STREETS' VISUAL ENVIRONMENT RELATED TO THE OPERATIONAL OUTPUT OF THE DRIVER-VEHICLE SYSTEM. SPECIFICALLY, THE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED WAS: DOES POOR VISUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR DRIVING HAVE A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO THE BREAKDOWN IN URBAN ARTERIAL FLOW? THE VISUAL INPUT INTO THE DRIVER-VEHICLE SYSTEM WAS DEFINED BY THREE GENERALIZED CATEGORIES: (A) COLOR CONTRASTS OF POSSIBLE FOCAL POINTS, !B) DYNAMICS OF POSSIBLE FOCAL POINTS, AND (C) NATURALNESS OF FOCAL AREAS. THE EFFECTS THAT VARIANCE IN THESE THREE CATEGORIES OF VISUAL INPUT HAD ON THE BREAKDOWN OF THE OPERATIONAL OUTPUT OF THE DRIVER-VEHICLE SYSTEM WAS CATEGORIZED BY THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS AND THE AMOUNT OF INTERFERENCE TO TRAVEL APPARENT ALONG THE STUDY SEGMENTS. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY INDICATE THAT THERE DOES INDEED EXIST A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN ARTERIAL'S VISUAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE ABILITY OF THAT ARTERIAL TO HANDLE TRAFFIC WITHOUT A HIGH NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS AND/OR A HIGH RATE OF INTERFERENCE TO TRAFFIC FLOW. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1971/377/377-011.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309019923
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Visibility. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Smith, William L
  • Faulconer, Jay E
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 131-148
• Monograph Title: Visibility
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 377
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arterial highways; Distraction; Streets; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow; Visibility; Visual perception
• Old TRIS Terms: Traffic interference
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221664
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309019923
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-011 999
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 22 1972 12:00AM