Work Zone Simulator Analysis: Driver Performance and Acceptance of Alternate Merge Sign Configurations

Improving work zone road safety is an issue of great interest due to the high number of crashes observed in work zones. Departments of Transportation (DOTs) use a variety of methods to inform drivers of upcoming work zones. One method used by DOTs is work zone signage configuration. It is necessary to evaluate the efficiency of different configurations, by law, before implementation of new signage designs that deviate from national standards. This research presents a driving simulator based study, funded by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) that evaluates a driver’s response to work zone sign configurations. This study has compared the Conventional Lane Merge (CLM) configurations against MoDOT’s alternate configurations. Study participants within target populations, chosen to represent a range of Missouri drivers, have attempted four work zone configurations, as part of a driving simulator experience. The test scenarios simulated both right and left work zone lane closures for both the CLM and MoDOT alternatives. Travel time was measured against demographic characteristics of test driver populations. Statistical data analysis was used to investigate the effectiveness of different configurations employed in the study. The results of this study were compared to results from a previous MoDOT to compare result of field and simulation study about MoDOT’s alternate configurations.

• Record URL:
  https://spexternal.modot.mo.gov/sites/cm/CORDT/cmr16-014.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Report Date: April 4, 2016; Published: June 2016.
• Corporate Authors:

  Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla

  Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
  600 W 14th Street
  Rolla, MO  United States  65409-1330

  Missouri Department of Transportation

  Construction and Materials Division
  P.O. Box 270
  Jefferson City, MO  United States  65102

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Long, S K
  • Qin, R
  • Konur, D
  • Leu, M
  • Moradpour, S
  • Wu, S
• Publication Date: 2016-4-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 99p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demographics; Driver performance; Drivers; Driving simulators; Evaluation; Geometric configurations and shapes; Merging traffic; Statistical analysis; Traffic signs; Travel time; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Geographic Terms: Missouri
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01605637
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: cmr 16-014
• Contract Numbers: TR201512
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 5 2016 1:03PM