Three-dimensional stopping sight distance control on passing lanes of divided highways

Abstract

Stopping Sight Distance control of passing lanes of divided highways represents currently a discussion point among researchers. A 3-D approach to address the issue is accepted as the overall solution to the problem by both researchers and contemporary design policies. This paper aims to contribute to the problem by presenting a sound and practical design solution to it with an analytic and a design values based format. The solution approach consists of both a realistic description of the 3-D highway configuration and a 3-D vehicle kinematics calculation of the stopping maneuver along the vehicle’s actual path. A SSD control method, previously developed by the authors’, that relates concurrently the 3D configuration of a roadway to the kinematics of a vehicle moving along the actual roadway path, is applied, as a tool for the assessment of critical design parameters directly related to SSD adequacy. A rather comfortable alignment case consisting of a left curved divided highway overlapped with crest vertical curve parameters for numerous horizontal—vertical arrangements is examined, where an extensive area of SSD inadequacy during emergency braking procedure is reported. The authors propose that the optimal solution to achieve SSD adequacy on left curved divided highways is to increase object height. This would preserve design consistency as well as driver expectations, by avoiding the need for lateral widening or site-specific speed limits. More specifically the object height is suggested to be equivalent to the driver’s height of 1.08 m (AASHTO 2011). This would require additional stop lights on those vehicles whose stop lights are currently below this level. Although such a requirement regarding the current vehicle fleet is not feasible, vehicle industries as well as road design guidelines should address this issue in the near future.