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Publication Number:  FHWA-HRT-17-014    Date:  April 2018
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-17-014
Date: April 2018

 

State of the Practice for Traveler Information During Nonrecurring Events

Appendix A. Taxonomy of Messages and Uses

A goal of the current study was to provide a list of representative messages for nonrecurring events that can be used for subsequent testing and guidance. The following table provides example messages for a range of events, as well as considerations of message timing in respect to the event and delivery method. Example messages were changed or tailored to be generic for the purposes of this table. There are cases where there is no information beyond the event type of specific event. These have been left in the table for the purposes of being comprehensive and in respect to the original goal of providing a range of considerations for testing. Example messages can be created for these categories for subsequent testing.

Table 3. Example messages for nonrecurring events.

Type of Event

Specific Event

Type of Information Presented in Relation to Event Timing

Delivery Method

Example Message

Hours Before Event

Minutes Before Event

At Time of Event

Minutes After Event Started

Incident

Crash

Incident occurrence (location, lane closures, etc.)

Incident occurrence (location, lane closures, etc.)

DMS

I-95 NB CRASH; AT RTE 240; EXPECT LONG DELAYS

Work zone

Speed management

Awareness of the presence of work zones along a route

Initial/ advisory speed control

Regulatory speed

Regulatory speed

CONGESTION AHEAD/REDUCED SPEED; XX MPH

Work zone

Queue management

Awareness of the presence of work zones along a route, departure time, and route selection

Initial queue warning

Specific speed/ merging action

Specific speed/merging action

WATCH FOR STOPPED TRAFFIC

Work zone

Lane configuration/

closure

Awareness of the presence of work zones along a route, departure time, and route selection

Initial notice of lane closure/ configurations

Specific merging/ lane tracking

Specific merging/ lane tracking

DMS

RIGHT LANE CLOSED; X MILES AHEAD/REDUCE SPEED

Work zone

Lane shift

Awareness of the presence of work zones along a route, departure time, and route selection

Initial notice of lane configurations

Specific lane guidance

Specific lane guidance

DMS

Weather

Snow

Awareness of the presence of work zones along a route, departure time, and route selection

Alert to upcoming condition; route change

Advisory or regulatory speed

Advisory or regulatory speed

Mobile app

Heavy Snow

Weather

Intermittent icy spots

DMS

ICY SPOTS, NEXT X MILES

Weather

Icy roads

DMS

ICE ON BRIDGE SLOW

Weather

Rain

Departure time

Initial/advisory speed control

DMS

PERIODIC RAIN

REDUCE SPEED

USE HEADLIGHTS

Weather

Wind/high wind

511 website

I-70 Westbound/ Eastbound Georgetown to Genesee (Milemarker 228–259). High wind advisory.

Weather

Fog/low visibility

Social media

***TRAVEL ALERT ***High winds, blowing dust, and limited visibility

Weather

Flooding

DMS

CAUTION FLOODING AHEAD

Weather

Hurricane

DMS

HURRICANE WARNING

SEEK SHELTER

Weather

Full roadway closure

DMS, Web app

ALL LANES CLOSED

Planned special event

Detours

DMS

ROAD CLOSED AHEAD; FOLLOW DETOUR

Planned special event

Traffic signal control

Planned special event

Remote video access

Evacuation

Lane reversals

Evacuation

Detours

DMS

Other

Smoke warning

511 website

Motorists are advised of possible heavy smoke on Interstate 10 east and west bound in Santa Rosa County. Use caution.

Other

Road blockage

Twitter™

Downed trees are causing issues on I-277 in Charlotte. Crews working to clear road before evening rush hour.

Other

Dangerous road conditions

Social media

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake followed by two small jolts strike east of Fresno

Other

Ramp metering

CMS

METER ON

—A lack of information was found during the scan. Cells are provided as an indication of considerations to subsequently test.

 

 

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