Determining the Drivers’ Acceptance of EFTCD in Highway Work Zones

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2011

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

Accident Analysis & Prevention

Source ISSN

0001-4575

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2010.10.023

Abstract

Traffic safety is a major concern in the temporary one-lane, two-way highway work zones due to the increasing of construction and maintenance operations. To prevent rear-end crashes and to mitigate the severity of these crashes caused by the inattentive driving, the utilization of the Emergency Flasher Traffic Control Device (EFTCD) was under consideration by government agencies, in addition to existing temporary traffic control devices installed in the one-lane, two-way highway work zones. The EFTCD was a newly proposed traffic warning device implemented through the use of vehicles’ hazard warning flashers. The primary objective of the research project was to investigate the drivers’ acceptance of the proposed EFTCD by measuring the mean speed changes of vehicles with and without EFTCD and by evaluating the drivers’ opinions of the EFTCD using the survey method. Field experimental results revealed that the EFTCD effectively reduced the mean vehicle speeds in the upstream of two work zones. A slow speed is more likely to reduce the severity of a crash in work zones. In addition, survey results indicated that 60% of the drivers thought the EFTCD signified a need for speed reduction and 82% of drivers recommended the implementation of the EFTCD in one-lane, two-way work zones. These results provide the necessary scientific justifications for the government agencies to decide if the EFTCD should be implemented in the one-lane, two-way highway work zones to prevent rear-end crashes and to mitigate the severity of these crashes.

Comments

Accepted version. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Vol. 43, No. 3 (May 2011): 762-768. DOI. © 2011 Elsevier. Used with permission.

Yong Bai was affiliated with The University of Kansas at the time of publication.

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