School Zones Research Articles

Vehicular emissions and concentrations in school zones: A case study

Recent research has revealed that human exposure to air pollutants such as CO, NOX, and particulates can lead to respiratory diseases, especially among school-age children. Towards understanding such health impacts, this work estimates local-scale vehicular emissions and concentrations near a highway traffic network, where a school zone is located in. In the case study, VISSIM traffic micro-simulation is used to estimate the source of vehicular emissions at each roadway segment. The local-scale emission sources are then used as inputs to the California line source dispersion model (CALINE4) to estimate concentrations across the study area. To justify the local-scale emissions modeling approach, the simulation experiment is conducted under various traffic conditions. Different meteorological conditions are considered for emission dispersion. The work reveals that emission concentrations are usually higher at locations closer to the congested segments, freeway ramps and major arterial intersections. Compared to the macroscopic estimation (i.e. using network-average emission factors), the results show significantly different emission patterns when the local-scale emission modeling approach is used. In particular, it is found that the macroscopic approach over-estimates emission concentrations at freeways and under-estimations are observed at arterials and local streets. The results of the study can be used to compare to the US environmental protection agency (EPA) standards or any other air quality standard to further identify health risk in a fine-grained manner.

Evaluation of the effects of school zone signs and markings on speed reduction: a driving simulator study.

Traffic control devices are one of the most significant factors affecting driving behavior. In China, there is a lack of installation guidelines or standards for traffic control devices in school zones. In addition, little research has been done to examine the effects of traffic control devices on driving behavior. Few guidelines have been established for implementing traffic control devices in school zones in China. This research conducted a driving simulator experiment to assess the effects of school zone signs and markings for two different types of schools. The efficiency of these traffic control devices was evaluated using four variables derived from the driving simulation, including average speed, relative speed difference, standard deviation of acceleration, and 85th percentile speed. Results showed that traffic control devices such as the Flashing Beacon and School Crossing Ahead Warning Assembly, the Reduce Speed and School Crossing Warning Assembly, and the School Crossing Ahead Pavement Markings were recommended for school zones adjacent to a major multilane roadway, which is characterized by a median strip, high traffic volume, high-speed traffic and the presence of pedestrian crossing signals. The School Crossing Ahead Pavement Markings were recommended for school zones on a minor two-lane roadway, which is characterized by low traffic volume, low speed, and no pedestrian crossing signals.

A Study on the Critical Discourse Analysis of the Tourism Lodging Industry Policy for Facility Regulation : a Case of ‘the Hotel in School Zone Law’

본 연구는 관광숙박시설 입지규제완화에 관한 관광진흥법(일명 ‘학교 앞 호텔법’) 개정과정을 사례로 정책행위자들의 담론경쟁을 Fairclough의 비판적 담론분석을 적용하여 분석하는 데 목적을 두었다. 이를 위해 관광숙박업정책, 정책담론, 비판적 담론분석 관련 연구에 대한 이론적 고찰이 이루어졌다. 연구방법으로는 담론의 개념적 구조에 맞춰 분석의 틀이 구성되었으며, 텍스트 분석에서는 기술적 분석이, 담론적 실천 분석에서는 해석적 분석이, 사회적 실천 분석에서는 설명적 분석이 각각 활용되었다. 분석결과, 텍스트 분석에서는 찬성 측과 반대 측이 생산한 주요 단어, 주요 상징어, 주요 주제들이 도출되었으며, 담론적 실천 분석에서는 프레임을 기준으로 찬반 양측의 담론형성을 확인하였다. 사회적 실천 분석에서는 사회문화적 맥락 안에서 반대 측의 대기업 특혜 담론이 탈접합한 것을 계기로 찬성 측 담론이 강화되면서 정책지지 기반을 확보한 것을 확인하였다. 연구의 시사점으로는 이론적 측면에서는 분석기법의 체계화를 위한 세부 방안이 모색되었다는 점을 들 수 있으며, 실무적 측면에서는 정책행위자들을 대상으로 담론경쟁력 확보방안이 제시되었다.

Youth Weight Status and Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety Prompt Community-Level Engagement

Due to the confounding influence of factors which have given rise to the pervasiveness of childhood obesity, spatial epidemiology is becoming a prevalent methodological option for exploring the influence of non-biological factors on unhealthy weight gain in youth. Through the exploration of contributors to obesity across a known geographic area, researchers can better understand the community-level impact of those factors on youth health status. PURPOSE:To explore the relationship between perceptions of neighborhood-level safety and youth health status in a target school zone. METHODS:Objective measures of height and weight were gathered from 112 elementary students (age = 9.8±1.85; 54 female). Home addresses and familial perceptions of safety while engaged in neighborhood-level physical activities were gathered using a previously-validated questionnaire. Safety factors included perceived police presence in areas supporting physical activity and perceived safety for daytime or nighttime physical activities. Hot spot analysis using the Getis-Ord Gi* algorithm was used to identify spatial clusters of high and low BMI and safety zones. OLS regression was used explore associations in high and low spatial clustering between student BMI and familial perceptions of safety. RESULTS:55% of students displayed an unhealthy weight profile (BMI-for-age >85th percentile). Overall, spatial clusters of BMI hot spots were significantly associated with spatial clusters of perceptions of safety (F(4,106)=30.18, p<0.01; R2 = 0.53. Significant negative associations were observed for perceived police presence in areas supporting physical activity (p<0.01) and perceived safety for daytime physical activities (p <0.01); no association was observed for perceived safety for nighttime physical activities (p = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS:Unhealthy weight status in youth was significantly associated with perceptions of safety for engaging in neighborhood-level physical activities. By coupling hot spot analysis with OLS, overlapping spatial patterns of high need for perceived safety and BMI could be examined at the residential level. This approach has the potential to inform decision making among community partners regarding resource allocation to enhance youth health status in neighborhoods displaying utmost need.

School allocation rules and housing prices: A quasi-experiment with school relocation events in Singapore

This study uses a unique distance-based school allocation priority rule in Singapore as an identification to test school relocation effects on housing prices in the school zone. Using housing samples during the period from 1999 to 2009, our main results show that private housing prices within 1-km zone and in 1-km to 2-km zone from the old school zone decline by 2.9% and 6.0%, respectively, 6months before the school relocation events. Larger price declines of 5.5% and 6.9% are found for houses located in 1km and 1km to 2km school zones 12months before the school relocations. In the public housing market, we find that school relocations cause significant housing price declines of between 0.7% and 1.4% for households living within the 1-km school zone. The school relocation treatment effects are amplified by the school popularity ranking. The prioritization in school allocation accorded to houses within 1-km school zone has significant economic value in the private housing market.

Éducation Relative À L’environnement En Milieu Scolaire Ivoirien : Réflexion Pour Un Regard Critique

Environmental education uses some means and methods in order to create an environmental consciousness to the population. However, one seems to ignore the different hindrances engendered by the lack of appropriate teaching materials. The weight and influence of society and culture are perceived as potential obstacles. Our work aims at drawing people’s attention on what can be regarded as essential in education in connection with the environment of Côte d’Ivoire such as school environment. In our work, we will focus on the content and the methods of the teachings of this specific domain. In so doing, we will have a glance on primary school boys and their teachers’ behaviors and attitudes. This will help us to see the relationship they establish between “Health and Environment”. The methodology will revolve around the analysis of the content of the teachings and on a qualitative and quantitative study. Primary school boys and their teachers is target population of the survey. At the end of our analysis, it appears that the content of teachings linked to environment is not so explicit. The teaching method is suffering from a lack of explicit didactic and pedagogic materials. From the viewpoint of learns and teachers, we note a paradox between their words and deeds concerning environment. Finally, the link the learners and their teachers establish between Health and Environment let us see some problems of health. We wonder if people are aware of the threats and the social representations of environment in school zone for a sustainable development of our society. This is what can be a logic outcome of work.

Improving strategic policies for pedestrian safety enhancement using classification tree modeling

Pedestrian safety enhancement is a key component in reducing traffic fatalities in the Republic of Korea. The purpose of this study was to review, validate, specify, and prioritize Korea’s strategic policies for pedestrian safety enhancement using the classification tree method to model pedestrian injury severities. The findings show that pedestrian age and movement type are the two primary variables contributing to pedestrian fatalities and severe injuries. Traffic operation, road class, crash location, driver violation, and at-fault vehicle type are all secondary variables associated with pedestrian fatalities and severe injuries. Factors that contributed to crashes were compared with strategic polices for senior zones and school zones, road safety facilities, safe walking environments, and legal obligations of the driver in order to understand why certain polices are ineffective versus effective. Consequently, this study provides prescriptive analysis and specific insights pertaining to strategic policies for pedestrian safety enhancements, which can be employed in other countries for the similar purpose. For further research, this study suggests combining several other data-mining techniques with nationwide data collection.

Road safety environment around urban schools of Dharwad, India: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: India accounts to 10% of global road deaths. In 2013 around 1,40,000 people were killed and 5,00,000 were severely injured or disabled. Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major health problem among young people. Children are vulnerable road users and safety issues near school zones are the major cause of concern. Improper road safety measures can seriously affect the safeness and security of school children. In this context the study was conducted to observe road safety features in close vicinity around all schools in Dharwad city Karnataka, India. Methods: An observational study was carried out in Dharwad city focusing the safe environment around the 43 schools, which included both the government and the private schools. Data was collected from 1st April 2014 to 30th April 2014. All schools in the city were included for the study purpose. Results: Total 43 schools were observed for road safety features, we found that the road safety features and the safe environment around the schools were inadequate putting children at risk. Conclusions: We concluded that there is a need for immediate action and the responsible local authorities should take up this issue as top priority and implement the corrective road safety measures for the health of school children. Key words: Road traffic injuries, Road safety, School children, Environment, SR2S Language: en

Near-Road Exposure and Impact of Air Pollution on Allergic Diseases in Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PurposeThe study aims to classify schools based on traffic pollutants and their complex sources, to assess the environment, to determine the state of allergic diseases among students using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC) questionnaire, and to assess their connection to air pollutants.Materials and MethodsA total of seven schools were divided into three categories according to the characteristics of their surrounding environments: three schools in traffic-related zones, two schools in complex source zones I (urban), and two schools in complex source zones II (industrial complex). ISAAC questionnaires were administered and the 4404 completed questionnaires were analyzed.ResultsThe frequency of asthma treatment during the past 12 months showed a significant increase (p<0.05) with exposure to NO2 [1.67, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.03–2.71] in the complex source zones. The frequency of allergic rhinitis treatment during the past 12 months increased significantly with exposure to Black Carbon (1.60, 95% CIs 1.36–1.90) (p<0.001), SO2 (1.09, 95% CIs 1.01–1.17) (p<0.05), NO2 (1.18, 95% CIs 1.07–1.30) (p<0.01) for all subjects.ConclusionIn terms of supporting children's health, care, and prevention related to major spaces for children, such as school zones, spaces used in coming to and leaving school, playgrounds, and classrooms are essential to ensuring not only the safety of children from traffic accidents but also their protection from local traffic pollutants and various hazardous environmental factors.

Motorcycle Speed Survey 2014: Results of the First Motorcycle Speed Behaviour Survey in Belgium

The main objectives of this study were to obtain an objective measure of the unrestraint speed driven by motorcyclists on several road types in Belgium and to compare their speed with that of car drivers and with the speed limits. The speed of the motorcyclists was measured by using handheld speed guns. Measurements were conducted at over 300 locations scattered all over Belgium. All motorcycles passing these locations were measured, and, as a control group, the speed of one car after each observed motorcycle was measured as well. Seven different road types were distinguished: 30km/h (zone 30), 30km/h (school zone), 50km/h, 70km/h, 90km/h (single lane), 90km/h (double lane) and 120km/h (highways). Only locations without particular properties or infrastructural measures that could impede the driven speed were chosen. The mean free speed, the 85th percentile of free speed (V85) and the frequency of speed infringements were calculated for the control group (passenger cars) and for two different types of powered two-wheelers: motorbikes and motorscooters. Only the observations where the driver could freely choose its speed were used. On all road types, the V85 values based on free speed measures of all three vehicle types are above the speed limit. Except in zones 30 and on highways, the V85 values for motorbikes are 6 to 8km/h higher than those for cars. The share of motorcyclists exceeding the 70km/h speed limit with more than 10km/h is twice as large the share of car drivers committing the same offence. Only on highways, motorcyclists did not commit more speed infringements than car drivers. The study reveals that excessive speed is a widespread problem among motorcyclists, even more than among car drivers. The average free speed of motorcyclists on 50 to 90km/h roads was significantly higher than that of car drivers (control group).

Investigating macro-level hotzone identification and variable importance using big data: A random forest models approach

As Connected Vehicle technologies begin to be deployed along roadway networks, they will be providing massive amount of data. This big data can be useful in identifying safety hazardous zones, which can be complicated and unreliable today. Without sufficient data, past studies had to focus mostly on the micro-level networks. Research on macro-level hotzone identification is limited, and until this point, the contribution of various macroscopic features on the macro-level crash risks is still in dispute. This paper, with the help of massive amount of data, investigates the feasibility of using random forest for hotzone identification at macro-level – the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level. At the same time, the most influential macro-level crash risk determinants were identified by applying a series of random forest models in combination with the cross validation methods. The differences of all features between hotzones and normal TAZs were also recognized through Wilcoxon tests. Crash data of three counties in Florida during 2008 and 2009 were employed. Crash risks by different injury levels and collision types were investigated separately. Finally, the significance of various macroscopic variables was determined by different types of crash risks using variable importance analysis.The research results suggest that the distribution of road network and socio-economics are the two most important factors when proactively alleviating traffic safety issues. For developed urban areas, it is desirable to formulate specific traffic safety management strategies that accounts for zone-level socio-economics and development of road infrastructure. For zones with a higher percentage of school enrollment, pedestrian and bicycle friendly roadway system design are most beneficial. It is also desirable to take efficient countermeasures such as law enforcement and driving school training to regulate young drivers׳ behavior in school zones. For areas with high minority residence, there might be a need to use awareness campaigns in multiple languages to relieve pedestrian safety issues. Finally, additional attention should be paid to improve intersection design and management during the planning and operation processes.

Teaching traffic safety in Qatari schools: Expectation and reality

Introduction In pursuit of the realization of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) and to ensure the success of the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Qatari higher authorities have assigned paramount importance to instilling and prorogating traffic awareness among the various community groups and school students. Thus, the establishment of the National Committee for Traffic Safety (NCTS) headed by His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior in which the relevant authorities in Qatar have been accomplished. The National Committee for Traffic Safety has prepared a general educational framework for traffic safety program, familiarizing students of all age groups with many of the traffic safety concepts to ensure instilling the needed traffic awareness. This study aims at identifying the effectiveness of the application of the general educational framework of the traffic safety program on experimental basis in some governmental and private schools in Qatar (2015-2013) in preparation to introducing it to all schools in the coming years (if the outcome of the pilot project is proved positive). Study Approach This study will be made as part of the assessment of the implementation of the procedural action plans for teaching traffic safety in Qatar. The study will include conducting a survey among school principals, teachers, parents and students, and measuring the impact of the acquisition of traffic safety knowledge on the students› behavior by examining the school zones and how far the traffic safety measures are applied. It will also follow-up the extra-curricular activities carried out by students outside the classroom. Study Expectations The results of this study are expected to contribute to the enhancement and improvement of the general framework of the proposed educational content before its application on all Qatari schools. As expected in this study, many government and private entities are to be engaged in the preparation of the teaching aids and awareness films to ensure the effective application of the traffic safety concepts on schools. It is also expected that the development of the framework would include the following aspects: preparation of teaching aids, production of awareness films appropriate for each age group and preparation of illustrative pictures and workshops designed to educate teachers before the application of the educational framework. It also aims to improve school zones to enhance traffic safety around schools in accordance with the international safety standards and measures among other improvements.

Embedding the Safe System approach at schools in Qatar

Providing safe roads around schools is a challenge faced by all communities. Children’s behaviour is unpredictable and their safety is of particular concern in an area where there is often a mix of vulnerable road users and motor vehicles. In 2011, Ashghal commissioned a major road safety contract to conduct road safety assessments at 200 schools throughout Qatar. The results have since been collated into a comprehensive school safety improvements program and Ashghal is now constructing safe and convenient school zones for all road users throughout Qatar, based on the principles of a Safe System. The Qatar National Road Safety Strategy (2013-2022) has a vision of “a safe road transport system that protects all road users from death and serious injury” and adopts the Safe System as the guiding principle for building safe roads. The Safe System acknowledges that people make mistakes and that there is a limit to human injury tolerance. For example, a pedestrian hit at 30km/h is likely to survive (OECD, 2008). Whereas, a pedestrian hit at 60km/h is likely to be killed. Schools in Qatar are being treated with standard traffic engineering measures in a way that aims to achieve a Safe System 30km/h environment. Schools that have been completed show tremendous success and the benefits are being directly felt by parents, teachers, children and key stakeholders. Survey results show that vehicle speeds within school zones are successfully lowered to Safe System limits and that these speed reductions are being achieved over a 24 hour period without the need for Police enforcement. The improvements carried out to date have been well received and are seen as a positive step towards Qatar’s ambitious road safety vision. Site observations and speed surveys undertaken to date support the proposition of developing Safe System schools in Qatar.

Safe Kids/FedEx children pedestrian road safety program

The Philippines is a low-middle income country with an estimated population of 102 Million and a 2.18 annual population growth rate. The consequent urbanization has rapidly increased the number of motor vehicles resulting in increased number of road traffic injuries in the country. According to the World Health Organization, next to assault, road traffic crashes are the second leading cause of injury deaths for all ages. Among 0 to 17 years old children, road traffic crashes is also the second leading causes of deaths, next to drowning. In 2004, Safe Kids Worldwide Philippines (SKWP) and FedEx worked hand in hand to address this problem using a pedestrian safety program called “Walk This Way”. The aims are to educate the children on pedestrian safety and improve the walking environment of the schools thereby improve the safety of children and other road users while on the roads. SKWP and FedEx started to organize and build coalitions in five cities and used the three E’s - Education, Engineering and Enforcement. For education, it tries to transfer the knowledge by giving training to principals, teachers, children and parents on pedestrian safety. The Engineering component looks into improvements in the walking environment of the children and their guardians to and from the schools by working with concerned government and non-government organizations. The Enforcement component on the other hand seeks to improve implementation of pertinent laws through dialogues, advocacies and events. The Walk This Way Program has been implemented in 6 cities in the span of 11 years, 5 in a given year. In 2014 a modified approach, the Young Road Safety Advocate Program (YRSAP) was introduced. This “peer to peer” approach enlists senior outstanding students to teach younger students in their own schools. The last two years saw the training of about 900 outstanding students on pedestrian safety who in turn taught approximately 100,000 younger students. The Safe School Zone Project was developed in 2009 and was able to improve four (4) public elementary schools through road safety environment education and the installation of road signs and permanent barriers. Safe Kids Worldwide Philippines through the partnership with FedEx has been recognized in the country in the field of injury prevention programs. SKWP has been invited by the Department of Health to be a member of the Technical Working Committee on Violence and Injury Prevention. Coalitions with the various cities and elementary schools have helped increase the knowledge of over a Million children on pedestrian safety. The National TV Networks have recognized and utilized SKWP in discussions about Road Safety and has become a main resource on the recently enacted helmet law for children. National and local governments together with the involved non-government organizations have looked to Safe Kids Worldwide Philippines as a key organization in Children’s Safety Programs.

Differential effects of traffic sign stimuli upon speeding in school zones following a traffic light interruption

Motorists whose journey has been interrupted by signalized traffic intersections in school zones resume their journey at a faster vehicle speed than motorists who have not been required to stop. Introducing a flashing “check speed” sign 70m after the traffic intersections counteracts this interruptive effect. The present study examined which aspects of a reminder sign are responsible for reducing the speeding behavior of interrupted motorists. When a sign that combines both written text and flashing lights was introduced, interrupted motorists did not speed, traveling on average 0.82km/h below the 40km/h speed limit when measured 100m from traffic intersections. Alternatively, when only the flashing lights were visible the interrupted motorists sped 3.36km/h over the 40km/h speed limit. Similar vehicular speeds were observed when only the written text was visible and when no sign was present (7.67 and 7.49km/h over the 40km/h speed limit, respectively). This indicates that static reminder signs add little value over the absence of a school zone reminder sign; the presence of both cues is necessary to fully offset the interruptive effect. This study also highlights the benefit of using exogenous visual cues in traffic signs to capture drivers’ attention. These findings have practical implications for the design and use of traffic signs to increase compliance with posted speed limits.

Shortening the trip to school: Examining how children’s active school travel is influenced by shortcuts

For children and youth, the journey to and from school represents a significant opportunity to increase daily levels of physical activity by using non-motorized modes of travel, such as walking and biking. Studies of active school travel have demonstrated that the likelihood a child will walk or bike is significantly influenced by the distance they must travel between home and school, which in turn, is influenced by built environment characteristics such as the configuration of the local road network. This study examines how shortcuts can facilitate active school travel by decreasing the distance children must travel to get to and from school. A geographic information system was used to compare shortest route distances along road networks with and without shortcuts in 32 elementary school zones in London, Ontario, Canada and provide evidence on the effectiveness of shortcuts to facilitate active school travel. This study contributes two key findings: (1) shortcuts have a greater impact in areas with low street connectivity and low population density and (2) children living farther from school are more likely to benefit from shortcuts. The findings suggest that planners should consider the location and maintenance of shortcuts in school neighbourhoods in order to promote increased physical activity, health and well-being among students.

Evaluation of the relationship between allergic diseases in school children at Seoul's roadside elementary schools and air pollution

An elementary school is an important public place for children and it is where they spend most of their days. The objective of this study was to survey the environmental conditions at schools and to assess the relationship between air pollution and allergic diseases using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. Nine elementary schools were selected and subsequently classified into three groups. The selection included two schools with no traffic-related or other pollutants, four schools situated near roads with six lanes, and three schools situated near beltways. Allergic diseases were assessed in a total of 6301 students. School zones with critical exposure to pollutants were selected within each school and were evaluated based on the levels of particulate matter, fine particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and black carbon. O3 and PM10 exposures were significantly associated with the prevalence of lifetime symptoms and diagnosis of asthma. O3 and PM10 exposures were also associated with lifetime symptoms, diagnosis, and 1-year physician diagnosis prevalence of allergic rhinitis. BC exposure was significantly associated with the rates of 1-year treatment of disease for allergic rhinitis. For schools located near sources of air pollution, the prevalence of lifetime symptoms for atopic dermatitis was significantly increased. Some symptoms of allergies were significantly increased at schools surrounded by a higher traffic volume. This study provides additional evidence that exposure to school zone air pollutants and traffic volume put school children at risk for childhood allergic diseases. Thus, strategies and actions are necessary to protect children in schools from exposure to environmental pollutants. In addition, future analysis to evaluate the relationship between traffic-related air pollution and the development of allergic diseases at more advanced ages are needed to confirm or refute these associations.

Middle School Students' Perceptions of Safety: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Active travel to school has been on the decline, despite its beneficial influence on children's current and future well-being. Adults' safety perceptions have been shown to influence children's active travel. Children's perceptions, particularly of safety, may be an important link not only to their present health and travel behaviors, but also their future health and behaviors. This study examined middle school students' perceptions of the built environment and safety. Overall, 776 students from 3 schools in Hudson County, New Jersey participated in a visual survey and structured, interactive classroom discussions. Emergent themes from the discussions were tested using multivariate statistical models. Findings suggest that older students, boys, and students who self-identified as black, rated built environment scenes as safer. Students also perceived being near adults, traveling in a group, and using crosswalks as significantly safer and want additional recognition of these to further improve safety. Students perceived that being near a school, in daylight, and aesthetics as factors contributing to safety. Schools and municipalities may increase programs for students to travel in groups, prioritize maintenance in school zones, and increase the number of crossing guards, particularly outside the immediate school proximity to further improve safety.

The Effect of Sign Saturation on Driver Speed Limit Compliance in School Zones

School zone sign saturation can be defined as the density of the school zones around a reference school zone. This study investigated the effect of school zone sign saturation on vehicle speed and compliance to school zone speed limit. Based on the models of human information processing, the presence of too many school zone signs in a given area could lead to inattention or lack of attention to those signs leading to a non-compliance of the speed limit in school zones. To investigate the effect of sign saturation, vehicle speed data was collected in four school zones. Results found that the vehicle speed is significantly lower and compliance is significantly higher in high saturation school zones.

A generic approach for examining the effectiveness of traffic control devices in school zones

The effectiveness and performance of traffic control devices in school zones have been impacted significantly by many factors, such as driver behavioral attributes, roadway geometric features, environmental characteristics, weather and visibility conditions, region-wide traffic regulations and policies, control modes, etc. When deploying traffic control devices in school zones, efforts are needed to clarify: (1) whether traffic control device installation is warranted; and (2) whether other device effectively complements this traffic control device and strengthens its effectiveness. In this study, a generic approach is developed to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of various traffic control devices deployed in school zones through driving simulator-based experiments. A Traffic Control Device Selection Model (TCDSM) is developed and two representative school zones are selected as the testbed in Beijing for driving simulation implementation to enhance its applicability. Statistical analyses are conducted to extract the knowledge from test data recorded by a driving simulator. Multiple measures of effectiveness (MOEs) are developed and adopted including average speed, relative speed difference, and standard deviation of acceleration for traffic control device performance quantification. The experimental tests and analysis results reveal that the appropriateness of the installation of certain traffic control devices can be statistically verified by TCDSM. The proposed approach provides a generic framework to assess traffic control device performance in school zones including experiment design, statistical formulation, data analysis, simulation model implementation, data interpretation, and recommendation development.