Abstract
Increasing traffic volumes in cities leads to common traffic congestions building up, especially during peak hours. To protect city dwellers from excessive fuel exhaust and traffic noise and to prevent drivers from time loss due to overloaded routes, it is important to inform them about real-time traffic conditions and possible delays in advance. Effectively influencing drivers’ decisions to divert from an original route choice in case of traffic hinderance is essential, and application of dynamic travel information in the form of variable message signs (VMSs) is believed to be effective in these terms. The paper examines drivers’ willingness to divert from an initial route choice due to the information provided on VMS boards. Their behavior was analyzed in terms of their response to everyday and artificially elongated travel times displayed on the VMSs. Maximum simulated elongation reached 200% and 300% of the initial state, depending on the characteristics of the pre-peak conditions. To assess the effectiveness of VMSs, the changes in traffic intensities were statistically analyzed. In general, apart from few significant differences, the results revealed drivers’ ignorance of the travel time information provided on the VMS, regardless of the extension of the original times.
Highlights
The tested area included intersections of city arterial streets being managed by the The tested area included intersections of city arterial streets being managed by the traffic management system (TMS) and consisted of 5 intersections equipped with variable message signs (VMSs)
Several investigations testing drivers attitudes toward VMS placed on motorways have been conducted so far, but many of them were based on simulator surveys
Response to the information displayed on the VMSs, regardless of the length of expected travel time
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. As traffic builds, average speed decreases, and travel time and queue length increase, which in turn causes deterioration of driving To avoid such conditions, VMS are implemented to redirect traffic flows toward less crowded routes. Ducted into drivers attitudes toward and responses to expressway-based VMSs, we examIn this context, keeping in mind that several previous investigations have been conined the potential and influence of VMSs at inducing motorists to divert during congesducted into drivers attitudes toward and responses to expressway-based VMSs, we examtion in urban area For this purpose, research was conducted in Bialystok, a medium-size ined the potential and influence of VMSs at inducing motorists to divert during congestion city in Poland where is managed by aconducted traffic management.
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