A COMPARISON OF LIGHTING, SIGNING, AND PAVEMENT MARKING METHODS FOR DETECTING RURAL INTERSECTIONS AT NIGHT

Six test drivers were tested over four nights each for their responses to different lighting, signing, and pavement marking configurations at rural intersections. There were 168 approaches made at the test sites under different treatment combinations. Performance measures included driver visual behavior measures and driver control and vehicular state measures. The major results were that when compared to a baseline, no-treatment condition, the use of lighting significantly improved driver performance resulting in earlier detection of the intersection and smoother velocity profiles. Signing had only marginal effects and new pavement markings showed no effect. The study suggests that additional research should be performed with larger sample sizes for the purposes of validation and to develop information that would aid in design-warrants for rural intersection lighting and signing. Such field studies would examine the effects of intersection treatment on driver performance according to type of maneuver performed at the intersection, e.g., left-turn drivers (as in this study), right-turn drivers, and through drivers. Future research should also examine the effect of driver anticipation of treatment at the intersection. Without waiting for follow-up study, rural intersections such as used in this study could be treated as follows with a positive effect on motorist safety: (1) use of reflectorized name markers on the crossroad on both sides of the road, (2) use of two signs similar to the SR-SR (state route-state route) junction sign, one sign at 900 feet and a second sign at 500 feet, (3) use of one mercury luminaire, or (4) use of one sodium luminaire. Accident data and driver velocity profiles could be studied in a subsequent two-year test period.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This report was sponsored by the Ohio Department of Transportation and prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
• Corporate Authors:

  Ohio State University, Columbus

  Department of Industrial and System Engineering
  Columbus, OH  United States  43210
• Authors:
  • Rockwell, T H
  • Bala, K N
  • Hungerford, J C
• Publication Date: 1976-6

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 80 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driver performance; Drivers; Driving; Field tests; Intersections; Lighting; Luminaires; Personnel performance; Road markings; Rural areas; Signs; Traffic signs; Vision
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver control response function; Driver vision; Traffic marking
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00167819
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: OHIO-DOT-08-76 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: State Job #14249(0)
• Files: NTIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1978 12:00AM