Closed-Course Study to Assess the Conspicuity of Wrong-Way Driving Countermeasures

Abstract

Alcohol has been found to be the primary contributing factor in many wrong-way crash studies. Thus, Texas A&M Transportation Institute researchers conducted a night-time closed-course study to assess the conspicuity of select signing and pavement marking wrong-way driving countermeasures from the perspective of alcohol-impaired drivers. Lowering the sign height, making the sign larger (i.e., oversized), adding red retroreflective material to the sign support, or adding flashing red light-emitting diodes around the border of the sign did not improve the ability of the alcohol-impaired drivers to locate WRONG WAY signs in a search task. However, in post-task assessments it was the opinion of the participants that the oversized sign, red retroreflective material, and flashing lights made it easier to find the WRONG WAY sign. The participants also thought that these three countermeasures caught their attention more than the standard size WRONG WAY sign mounted at 7 ft. Researchers did not find a significant difference in the recognition time between standard and modified wrong-way arrow marking designs. The modified arrow had a narrower head that provided equivalent recognition while potentially reducing maintenance costs. The participants also similarly assessed the ease at which they could find the two arrow designs among the other markings. Thus, it appears that the modified design performed as well as the current design. Researchers recommend implementing the modified wrong-way arrow design as existing wrong-way arrows are replaced.