U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
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| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-09-061
Date: February 2010 |
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Simulator Evaluation of Low-Cost Safety Improvements on Rural Two-Lane Undivided Roads: Nighttime Delineation for Curves and Traffic Calming for Small TownsPDF Version (1 MB)
PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader® FOREWORDMotor vehicle crashes on the Nation's roadways extract a high toll on American productivity and quality of life. Highway and traffic engineers have been in pursuit of relatively low-cost safety improvements that might have the potential to reduce crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and lower property damage. For many rural areas, low-cost safety treatments are the only affordable option. This report describes a driving simulator experiment designed to evaluate two sets of alternative low-cost safety improvements for rural areas. The first set of improvements is directed at enhancing the visibility of curves on rural two-lane undivided roads at night. The second set of improvements is directed at slowing traffic on rural two-lane undivided roads in small towns. This report should be of interest to highway engineers, traffic engineers, highway safety specialists, local planners, researchers, and others involved in the design and operation of rural roadways. Raymond A. Krammes Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the
U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The
U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. The
U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. Quality Assurance Statement The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
Table of ContentsCommonalities for Both Curves and Towns Simulated Safety Improvements for Curves Simulated Safety Improvements for Towns Design of Small Towns and Traffic-Calming Treatments Small Town Speeding Countermeasures Effects of Possible Interactions Acceleration Profiles for Curves Acceleration Profiles for Towns Chapter 4. Discussion and Summary Summary of Findings for Curves Answers to Research Questions for Curves Potential Safety Benefits for Curves Novel Curve Treatment Solution Answers to Research Questions for Towns Potential Safety Benefits for Towns List of Figures Figure 2. Screenshot. Curve baseline condition Figure 3. Screenshot. Edge lines condition Figure 4. Screenshot. Single side PMDs condition Figure 5. Screenshot. Both sides PMDs condition Figure 6. Screenshot. Streaming PMDs condition Figure 7. Screenshot. Town baseline condition Figure 8. Screenshot. Parked cars condition Figure 9. Screenshot. Curb and gutter bulb-outs condition Figure 10. Screenshot. Painted bulb-outs condition Figure 11. Screenshot. Curb and gutter chicanes condition Figure 12. Screenshot. Painted chicanes condition Figure 13. Screenshot. Plan view of chicane geometry Figure 14. Graph. Average speed as a function of the distance from the PC for sharp curves Figure 15. Graph. Average speed as a function of the distance from the PC for gentle curves Figure 16. Graph. Average speed as a function of the distance from the PC Figure 17. Graph. Average acceleration as a function of the distance from the PC Figure 18. Graph. Average curve direction detection distance as a function of drive Figure 19. Graph. Average curve severity detection distance as a function of drive Figure 20. Graph. Average speed as a function of the distance from the beginning of the town Figure 21. Graph. Average acceleration as a function of the distance from the beginning of the town List of Tables Table 1. Distribution of research participant characteristics Table 2. Curve roadway characteristics Table 3. Luminance of nighttime visual stimuli Table 4. Town roadway characteristics Table 5. Average speed and speed reduction advantage in curves (mi/h) Table 6. Percentage of correct responses and no change responses for feature detection Table 7. Average feature detection distance and distance advantage for curves Table 8. Average speed and speed reduction advantage in towns (mi/h) Table 9. Estimated safety advantages and rank ordering of treatments for curves Table 10. Estimated speed reductions and rank ordering of treatments for towns |
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