Impacts of Directional Rumble Strips on Vehicle Speeds and Driver Behavior at Freeway Off-Ramps
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146, Issue 9
Abstract
Drivers have an increased crash or incident risk when driving on freeway interchange ramps compared with the other interchange-related segments. Directional rumble strips (DRS), a pattern similar to the traditional traversable rumble strip, were developed as a low-cost traffic control device to deter wrong-way driving, meanwhile reducing right-way traffic speeds and changing driver behavior on off-ramps. This paper presents the impact of DRS on vehicle speed and driver behavior based on the two case studies at southbound off-ramps at Exits 208 and 284 on Interstate-65 (I-65) in Alabama. Three DRS patterns (D3, C, and E2) were implemented at different locations on off-ramps. Pattern D3 was installed at the off-ramp terminal near the stop bar or yield line. Pattern C was implemented at the segment between the terminal and ramp curve. Pattern E2 was placed on the tangent part before the ramp curve. A total of 1,344 h traffic speed data before and after the implementation were collected using magnetic sensors. Driver behavior was monitored for 576 h using video cameras. Before-and-after studies evaluated the impact of three DRS patterns on traffic speed on these two off-ramps. The results revealed that DRS can significantly reduce the mean, 85th percentile, and standard deviations (SDs) of off-ramp traffic speeds. In addition, DRS can help to mitigate aggressive driver behavior (e.g., exceeding the ramp speed limit) and guide turning traffics at ramp terminals.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the district administrators from ALDOT, Tracy Fletcher and Ben Thackerson, for arranging temporary traffic control during the field implementation of DRS at Exits 208 and 284 on I-65 in Alabama.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146 • Issue 9 • September 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 5, 2020
Accepted: Apr 15, 2020
Published online: Jun 30, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 30, 2020
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