Effect of Variable-Message Signs in Reducing Railroad Crossing Impacts

2003 ◽  
Vol 1844 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sivanandan ◽  
Francois Dion ◽  
Hesham Rakha ◽  
Michel Van Aerde
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Microscopic Simulation ◽  
Freeway Traffic ◽  
Traffic Demand ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Train Duration ◽  
Railroad Crossings ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Message Signs

At-grade highway–railroad crossings cause traffic control problems that have a bearing not only on traffic safety but also on traffic flow efficiency. Crossings located near freeway exits pose particularly acute problems, as long closures could result in vehicle queues that spill back onto freeway lanes. A potential solution to this problem was evaluated by investigating the use of variable message signs to divert exiting freeway traffic through non-congested alternate exits. This was done using the crossing near the Fredericksburg Road exit on Interstate 10 (I–10) in San Antonio, Texas, as a case study. In the evaluation, microscopic simulation was used to determine the impacts of train operations at the crossing and the potential benefits of a variable-message sign (VMS) system installed on I–10. These effects were gauged by considering scenarios with varying levels of train duration, traffic demand on the freeway exit, and driver compliance to the displayed messages. While little network improvements were obtained, the analysis demonstrates the capability of the INTEGRATION software in analyzing such scenarios and the extent to which exiting freeway traffic may benefit from the VMS system, as well as the need to consider fuel consumption and vehicles emissions in the evaluations.

scholarly journals Improved Road Safety at Work Zones using Advanced Traveler Information Systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Suhail Almallah ◽  
Qinaat Hussain ◽  
Wael K. M Alhajyaseen ◽  
Tom Brijs
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Work Zone ◽  
Speed Limit ◽  
Work Zones ◽  
Treatment Scenario ◽  
Lane Changing ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Message Signs

Work zones are road sections where road construction or maintenance activities take place. These work zones usually have different alignment and furniture than the original road and thus temporary lower speeds are adopted at these locations. However, drivers usually face difficulty in adopting the new speed limit and maneuvering safely due to the change in alignment. Therefore, work zones are commonly considered as hazardous locations with higher crash rates and severities as reported in the literature. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a variable message signs (VMSs) based system for work zone advance warning area. The proposed system aims at enhancing driver adaptation of the reduced speed limit, encourage early lane changing maneuvers and improve the cooperative driving behavior in the pre-work zone road section. The study was conducted using a driving simulator at the College of Engineering of Qatar University. Seventy volunteers holding a valid Qatari passenger car driving license participated in this study. In the simulator experiment, we have two scenarios (control and treatment). The control scenario was designed based on the Qatar Work Zone Traffic Management Guide (QWZTMG), where the length of the advance warning area is 1000 m. Meanwhile, the treatment scenario contains six newly designed variable message signs where two of them were animation-based. The VMSs were placed at the same locations of the static signs in the control scenario. Both scenarios were tested for two situations. In the first situation, the participants were asked to drive on the left lane while in the second situation, they were instructed to drive on the second lane. The study results showed that the proposed system was effective in motivating drivers to reduce their traveling speed in advance. Compared to the control scenario, drivers’ mean speed was significantly 6.3 and 11.1 kph lower in the VMS scenario in the first and second situations, respectively. Furthermore, the VMS scenario encouraged early lane changing maneuvers. In the VMS scenario, drivers changed their lanes in advance by 150 m compared to the control scenario. In addition, the proposed system was effective in motivating drivers to keep larger headways with the frontal merging vehicle. Taking into account the results from this study, we recommend the proposed VMS based system as a potentially effective treatment to improve traffic safety at work zones.

Traffic Control with Variable Message Signs

1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark G.M. Brocken ◽  
Martie J.M. van der Vlist
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Message Signs

Improved traffic safety at work zones through animation-based variable message signs

2021 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 106284
Author(s):  
Mustafa Almallah ◽  
Qinaat Hussain ◽  
Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen ◽  
Ali Pirdavani ◽  
Kris Brijs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Work Zones ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Message Signs

Influence of text luminance, text colour and background luminance of variable-message signs on legibility in urban areas at night

2020 ◽  
pp. 147715352095846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y He ◽  
Y Li ◽  
L Xing ◽  
Z Qiu ◽  
X Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Background Luminance ◽  
Traffic Sign ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Variable Message Sign ◽  
Message Signs

Variable-message signs, which are an important type of traffic sign, have been widely used in traffic control. This study examines the influence of text luminance, text colour and background luminance of variable-message signs on legibility in urban areas under night-time vision. First, the background luminance of variable-message signs in typical urban areas is investigated, tested and classified as high, medium or low depending on the obtained values (3.0, 1.0 or 0.1 cd/m2, respectively). Second, a calculation model is established for the experimental visual recognition distance under different visual acuity conditions, the experimental luminance interval is determined based on psychophysical magnitude perceived, and a legibility experiment is performed using Landolt-C rings. Finally, the reasonable luminance interval (minimum [replacement] luminance), optimal luminance and changing trends of luminance for red, green and yellow colours under different background luminances are obtained such that the legibility requirement is satisfied. The results indicated that different colours have different luminance interval and optimal luminance under different background luminances. This study is of great importance in determining the reasonable luminance of variable-message sign texts and improving the safety and efficiency of road traffic. In the future, these research results are expected to serve as guidelines for variable-message sign setup and management.

Simulation and Analysis of the Variable Speed Limit Controls on Highway Maintenance

2011 ◽  
Vol 97-98 ◽  
pp. 435-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bai Ying Shi ◽  
Xue Yu Gao ◽  
Zhi Ge ◽  
Xue Ping Ma
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Speed Limit ◽  
Variable Speed ◽  
Work Zones ◽  
Microscopic Simulation ◽  
Variable Speed Limit ◽  
Control Zone ◽  
Organization And Management

Despite of the fact that the traffic control zone for maintenance work (work zone) has been recognized as one of major priorities to guarantee the traffic safety, only one conventional posted speed limit (PSL) strategy is applied into the organization and management. This article presents the strategy of the variable speed limit (VSL) on highway work zones that brings about gradual deceleration and low speed variance. To evaluate the safety of the proposed VSL strategy, this study uses the microscopic simulation software VISSM to estimate the traffic flow and adopt transversal and longitudinal coefficients of safety (MSDE and cv) to compare the different speed limit strategies. The results of simulation and analysis confirm that VSL yield a substantial decrease the traffic turbulence caused by speed limit and increase the traffic safety throughout work zones.

Adaptive Cruise Control Operation for Improved Motorway Traffic Flow

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (22) ◽  
pp. 24-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Spiliopoulou ◽  
Diamantis Manolis ◽  
Foteini Vandorou ◽  
Markos Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Adaptive Cruise Control ◽  
Cruise Control ◽  
Microscopic Simulation ◽  
Traffic Conditions ◽  
Control Concept ◽  
Vehicle Delay ◽  
Potential Benefits

This study presents an ACC (adaptive cruise control)–based traffic control strategy which aims to adapt in real time the driving behavior of ACC-equipped vehicles to the prevailing traffic conditions so that motorway traffic flow efficiency is improved. The potential benefits obtained by applying the proposed control concept are demonstrated for different ACC penetration rates by use of validated microscopic simulation applied to a real motorway stretch where recurrent traffic congestion is created under the current manual driving conditions because of an on-ramp bottleneck. The simulation results demonstrate that, even for low penetration rates of ACC vehicles, the proposed control concept improves the average vehicle delay and fuel consumption by reducing the space-time extent of congestion compared with the case of only manually driven or regular ACC vehicles.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Variable Message Signs on Driving Behavior Based on a Driving Simulation Experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuedong Yan ◽  
Jiawei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Simulation Experiment ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Driving Simulation ◽  
Traffic Information ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Information Format ◽  
Message Signs

Variable message signs (VMSs), as one of the important ITS devices, provide real-time traffic information of road network to drivers in order to improve route choice and relieve the traffic congestion. In this study, the effectiveness of VMS on driving behavior was tested based on a driving simulation experiment. A road network with three levels of VMS location to route-diverging intersection and three types of VMS information format was designed in a high fidelity driving simulator platform. Fifty-two subjects who were classified by driver age, gender, and vocation successfully completed this experiment. The experimental results showed that driver characteristics, VMS location, and information format profoundly influence driving behaviors. Based on the research findings, it is suggested that VMS would be positioned between 150 m and 200 m upstream of the diverging point to balance the VMS effects on traffic safety and operation and the graphic information VMS format is better than the format with text massage only.

Content of Variable Message Signs and On-Line Driver Behavior

2000 ◽  
Vol 1725 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivas Peeta ◽  
Jorge L. Ramos ◽  
Raghubhushan Pasupathy
Keyword(s):  
Network Traffic ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Spatial Knowledge ◽  
Variable Message Signs ◽  
Driver Response ◽  
Traffic Conditions ◽  
Message Signs

Variable message signs (VMS) are programmable traffic control devices that convey nonpersonalized real-time information on network traffic conditions to drivers encountering them. Especially useful under incidents, VMS aim to influence driver routing decisions to enhance network performance. This study investigates the effect of different message contents on driver response under VMS. Presumably, if the message content is a significant factor in driver response, the traffic controller can use it as a control variable to influence network traffic conditions positively without compromising the integrity of information. This issue is addressed through an on-site stated preference user survey. Logit models are developed for drivers’ diversion decisions. The analysis suggests that content in terms of the level of detail of relevant information significantly affects drivers’ willingness to divert. Other significant factors include socio-economic characteristics, network spatial knowledge, and confidence in the displayed information. Results also indicate differences in the response attitudes of semitrailer truck drivers compared to other travelers. They provide substantive insights for the design and operation of VMS-based information systems.

Research on Freeway Traffic Safety Index Based on Toll Data

2013 ◽  
Vol 411-414 ◽  
pp. 2710-2714
Author(s):  
Xin Sun ◽  
Chang Cheng Li ◽  
Zhi Zhang ◽  
Jian Dong Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Engineering ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Safety Index ◽  
Freeway Traffic ◽  
The Road ◽  
Safety Operation

Because the current research on traffic level has not yet been achieved classification, it cannot timely and effectively provide the basis for the public transportation and safety management of the traffic control department. Introduce traffic safety index based on toll data to evaluate freeway traffic levels. Firstly, combined with the relevant indicators of traffic engineering, put forward the concept of freeway traffic safety index; secondly, calculate the traffic safety index by analyzing real-time toll data; finally, in order to improve the accuracy of evaluation, have an optimization of traffic safety index definition. Application on the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao freeway shows that traffic safety index can be combined with monitoring data to evaluate the condition of road sections and the road network, and its historical data can be used to predict the road traffic conditions, and provide effective guidance for freeway traffic safety operation.

Study on Control Design of Interchange Entrance Congestion Zone

2013 ◽  
Vol 361-363 ◽  
pp. 2270-2275
Author(s):  
Xian Guang Wang ◽  
Xiao Nian Sun
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Operational Reliability ◽  
Traffic Demand ◽  
Traffic Characteristics ◽  
Overall Reliability

Interchange entrance area is the key point which affects the overall operational reliability of an Interchange. In order to alleviate the crowded ramp merging area, improve the overall reliability of the interchange and improve traffic safety, when traffic demand increases to a certain extent, traffic control strategies should be used. According of the characteristics of the interchange ramp entrance area, the control strategy of interchange and the mainline which affect the reliability of high-speed road network most has been researched. Analyzing the geometric and traffic characteristics of the ramp merging area, different control strategies on the ramp and the mainline are proposed, that is ramp access control strategy and the main line lane running constraint strategy.

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