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Psychological effects of work-zone length, design and staggered alignment thereof on traffic participants

Work-zones on federal motorways place high demands on the attention of road users. Particularly in work-zones of a lengthier duration, narrow lanes, transition sections and diversions onto the oncoming carriageway call for drivers to be particularly vigilant. The development towards wider vehicles exacerbates this problem. On behalf of the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), the Road Institute at the RWTH University of Aachen conducted an empirical investigation into the psychological effects of work-zone design, length and staggered alignment of work-zones on federal motorways. Of special interest here were the conditions on extremely long work-zones and work-zones following each other in close succession.

Qualitative recommendations may be derived from the study for the future design of work-zones. According to the results, the current recommendation of a maximum work-zone length of twelve kilometres in the “Guide on Work-Zone Management on Federal Motorways” (Leitfaden Arbeitsstellenmanagement auf Bundesautobahnen) can already be extended to 15 to 20 kilometres today in anticipation of the forthcoming revision of the guide. By contrast, the simulator-tested possibility of an altered coloured design for central reservations does not lead to any significant improvement in keeping a distance from the left edge of the carriageway. A need for optimisation was established in the design of digital information displays.

Additional Information

Research compact 13/2018

Report

Psychological effects of work-zone length, design and staggered alignment thereof on
traffic participants

Reports of the Federal Highway Research Institute, book V 303, 2018

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