Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 23, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-126).

This paper reviews the effectiveness of vehicle activated signs. Vehicle activated signs are being reportedly used in recent years to display dynamic information to road users on an individual basis in order to give a warning or inform about a specific event. Vehicle activated signs are triggered individually by vehicles when a certain criteria is met. An example of such criteria is to trigger a speed limit sign when the driver exceeds a pre-set threshold speed. The preset threshold is usually set to a constant value which is often equal, or relative, to the speed limit on a particular road segment. This review examines in detail the basis for the configuration of the existing sign types in previous studies and explores the relation between the configuration of the sign and their impact on driver behavior and sign efficiency. Most of previous studies showed that these signs have significant impact on driver behavior, traffic safety and traffic efficiency. In most cases the signs deployed have yielded reductions in mean speeds, in speed variation and in longer headways. However most experiments reported within the area were performed with the signs set to a certain static configuration within applicable conditions. Since some of the aforementioned factors are dynamic in nature, it is felt that the configurations of these signs were thus not carefully considered by previous researchers and there is no clear statement in the previous studies describing the relationship between the trigger value and its consequences under different conditions. Bearing in mind that different designs of vehicle activated signs can give a different impact under certain conditions of road, traffic and weather conditions the current work suggests that variable speed thresholds should be considered instead.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: Haitham Al-Deek. Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-177).

With perpetual strains on resources, road agencies need to develop network-level decision-making frameworks to ensure optimum resource allocation. This is especially true for incident management services and in particular variable message signs (VMS), which are relatively immature disciplines compared to traditional road engineering. The objective of incident management and VMS is to minimise the safety, efficiency, reliability and environmental impacts of incidents on the operations of the transport system. This may be achieved by informing travellers of the incidents so they can adapt their behaviour in a manner that reduces community impacts, such as lateness and the associated vehicle emissions, unreliability of travel times, as well as secondary accidents due to incidents. Generally, road authorities do carry out needs assessments, but qualitatively in many cases. Therefore, this masters research presents a framework that is systematic, quantitative and relatively easy to implement. In order to prioritise VMS infrastructure deployment, a risk management approach was taken that focuses on minimising the impacts on, and costs to the community. In the framework and case study conducted, safety, efficiency and reliability, and environmental impacts are quantified using an economic risk management approach to determine an overall risk score. This score can be used to rank road sections within the network, indicating the roads with the highest risk of incident network impacts and therefore the roads with the highest need for intervention. A cost-effectiveness based risk-reduction ranking can then be determined for each incident management treatment type, comparing the net risk with treatment to that without treatment, and dividing by the net present value of deployment. The two types of ranking, pure risk and cost-effectiveness based risk reduction, will help to minimise the network impacts on the community and optimise resource allocation.

Este trabalho propõe um método para avaliação das condições de fluidez do tráfego em vias arteriais da cidade de Porto Alegre sob a ótica de seus usuários, de modo a subsidiar a apresentação destas informações através dos painéis de mensagem variável (PMV). Para atingir o objetivo proposto, foram levantados: (i) estado-da-arte e da prática sobre a utilização de PMV; (ii) características das vias arteriais da cidade; (iii) imagens de vídeo e dados de tráfego destas vias; (iv) a percepção dos usuários sobre a fluidez do tráfego. O levantamento do estado-da-arte e da prática permitiu conhecer quais as características das mensagens, sejam elas do padrão construtivo ou do conteúdo, podem influenciar no comportamento do usuário. O estudo do sistema viário permitiu a escolha de vias de grande importância para a mobilidade da população para a aplicação do estudo. Os dados de tráfego e as imagens de vídeo destas vias foram utilizados na elaboração de cenários que buscaram representar situações de tráfego encontradas nos grandes centros urbanos. Os cenários foram avaliados por usuários das vias em questão. A partir dos resultados da pesquisa qualitativa, foram realizadas modelagens e obtidas equações que relacionam a percepção de fluidez do tráfego por parte dos usuários com a velocidade média do trecho. Os resultados indicaram que: (i) a velocidade média tem grande influência sobre a percepção de fluidez por parte dos motoristas; (ii) a avaliação sobre a fluidez do tráfego piora significativamente com a redução da velocidade média; (iii) os modelos para vias em estudo tem comportamentos semelhantes. Além disso, este trabalho propõe uma escala de qualificação da fluidez do tráfego levando em consideração a percepção dos usuários, utilizando a velocidade média com indicador de desempenho. / This paper proposes a method for analyzing the conditions of traffic flow on arterial roads of the Porto Alegre city from the perspective of its users in order to submit this information by variable message signs (VMS). To reach that goal has been raised: (i) state of the art and practice on the use of VMS; (ii) characteristics of the arterial roads of the city; (iii) video images and data traffic from these roads; ( iv) the perception of users about the traffic flow. The lifting of the state of the art and practice which helped identify the characteristics of messages, whether constructive or the standard of content, can influence the behavior of the user. The study of the road system allowed the choice of channels of great importance to the mobility of the population to implement the study. Traffic data and video images of these routes were used in the preparation of scenarios that sought to represent traffic situations found in large urban centers. The scenarios were evaluated by users of the roads in question. From the results of qualitative research, modeling was performed and obtained equations that relate the perception of traffic flow for users with average speed of the stretch. The results indicated that: (i) the average speed has great influence on the perception of fluidity by the drivers, (ii) the assessment of traffic flow worsened significantly with the reduction of average speed, (iii) models for railway under study have similar behaviors. In addition, this paper proposes scales qualification of traffic flow from the perspective of users, using the average speed with performance indicator.

Este trabalho propõe um método para avaliação das condições de fluidez do tráfego em vias arteriais da cidade de Porto Alegre sob a ótica de seus usuários, de modo a subsidiar a apresentação destas informações através dos painéis de mensagem variável (PMV). Para atingir o objetivo proposto, foram levantados: (i) estado-da-arte e da prática sobre a utilização de PMV; (ii) características das vias arteriais da cidade; (iii) imagens de vídeo e dados de tráfego destas vias; (iv) a percepção dos usuários sobre a fluidez do tráfego. O levantamento do estado-da-arte e da prática permitiu conhecer quais as características das mensagens, sejam elas do padrão construtivo ou do conteúdo, podem influenciar no comportamento do usuário. O estudo do sistema viário permitiu a escolha de vias de grande importância para a mobilidade da população para a aplicação do estudo. Os dados de tráfego e as imagens de vídeo destas vias foram utilizados na elaboração de cenários que buscaram representar situações de tráfego encontradas nos grandes centros urbanos. Os cenários foram avaliados por usuários das vias em questão. A partir dos resultados da pesquisa qualitativa, foram realizadas modelagens e obtidas equações que relacionam a percepção de fluidez do tráfego por parte dos usuários com a velocidade média do trecho. Os resultados indicaram que: (i) a velocidade média tem grande influência sobre a percepção de fluidez por parte dos motoristas; (ii) a avaliação sobre a fluidez do tráfego piora significativamente com a redução da velocidade média; (iii) os modelos para vias em estudo tem comportamentos semelhantes. Além disso, este trabalho propõe uma escala de qualificação da fluidez do tráfego levando em consideração a percepção dos usuários, utilizando a velocidade média com indicador de desempenho. / This paper proposes a method for analyzing the conditions of traffic flow on arterial roads of the Porto Alegre city from the perspective of its users in order to submit this information by variable message signs (VMS). To reach that goal has been raised: (i) state of the art and practice on the use of VMS; (ii) characteristics of the arterial roads of the city; (iii) video images and data traffic from these roads; ( iv) the perception of users about the traffic flow. The lifting of the state of the art and practice which helped identify the characteristics of messages, whether constructive or the standard of content, can influence the behavior of the user. The study of the road system allowed the choice of channels of great importance to the mobility of the population to implement the study. Traffic data and video images of these routes were used in the preparation of scenarios that sought to represent traffic situations found in large urban centers. The scenarios were evaluated by users of the roads in question. From the results of qualitative research, modeling was performed and obtained equations that relate the perception of traffic flow for users with average speed of the stretch. The results indicated that: (i) the average speed has great influence on the perception of fluidity by the drivers, (ii) the assessment of traffic flow worsened significantly with the reduction of average speed, (iii) models for railway under study have similar behaviors. In addition, this paper proposes scales qualification of traffic flow from the perspective of users, using the average speed with performance indicator.

Este trabalho propõe um método para avaliação das condições de fluidez do tráfego em vias arteriais da cidade de Porto Alegre sob a ótica de seus usuários, de modo a subsidiar a apresentação destas informações através dos painéis de mensagem variável (PMV). Para atingir o objetivo proposto, foram levantados: (i) estado-da-arte e da prática sobre a utilização de PMV; (ii) características das vias arteriais da cidade; (iii) imagens de vídeo e dados de tráfego destas vias; (iv) a percepção dos usuários sobre a fluidez do tráfego. O levantamento do estado-da-arte e da prática permitiu conhecer quais as características das mensagens, sejam elas do padrão construtivo ou do conteúdo, podem influenciar no comportamento do usuário. O estudo do sistema viário permitiu a escolha de vias de grande importância para a mobilidade da população para a aplicação do estudo. Os dados de tráfego e as imagens de vídeo destas vias foram utilizados na elaboração de cenários que buscaram representar situações de tráfego encontradas nos grandes centros urbanos. Os cenários foram avaliados por usuários das vias em questão. A partir dos resultados da pesquisa qualitativa, foram realizadas modelagens e obtidas equações que relacionam a percepção de fluidez do tráfego por parte dos usuários com a velocidade média do trecho. Os resultados indicaram que: (i) a velocidade média tem grande influência sobre a percepção de fluidez por parte dos motoristas; (ii) a avaliação sobre a fluidez do tráfego piora significativamente com a redução da velocidade média; (iii) os modelos para vias em estudo tem comportamentos semelhantes. Além disso, este trabalho propõe uma escala de qualificação da fluidez do tráfego levando em consideração a percepção dos usuários, utilizando a velocidade média com indicador de desempenho. / This paper proposes a method for analyzing the conditions of traffic flow on arterial roads of the Porto Alegre city from the perspective of its users in order to submit this information by variable message signs (VMS). To reach that goal has been raised: (i) state of the art and practice on the use of VMS; (ii) characteristics of the arterial roads of the city; (iii) video images and data traffic from these roads; ( iv) the perception of users about the traffic flow. The lifting of the state of the art and practice which helped identify the characteristics of messages, whether constructive or the standard of content, can influence the behavior of the user. The study of the road system allowed the choice of channels of great importance to the mobility of the population to implement the study. Traffic data and video images of these routes were used in the preparation of scenarios that sought to represent traffic situations found in large urban centers. The scenarios were evaluated by users of the roads in question. From the results of qualitative research, modeling was performed and obtained equations that relate the perception of traffic flow for users with average speed of the stretch. The results indicated that: (i) the average speed has great influence on the perception of fluidity by the drivers, (ii) the assessment of traffic flow worsened significantly with the reduction of average speed, (iii) models for railway under study have similar behaviors. In addition, this paper proposes scales qualification of traffic flow from the perspective of users, using the average speed with performance indicator.

Changeable Message Signs (CMS) are commonly utilized by transportation agencies to inform motorists of traffic, roadway, and environmental conditions. They may be used to provide information, such as delay and alternate route guidance, in the event of an incident, construction or a roadway closure. The effectiveness of CMS in managing freeway traffic, however, is a function of many factors including the number of CMS installations, the location of CMS, the messages displayed, varied traffic network characteristics, and drivers' response to incident conditions and CMS information. The objective of this thesis is to develop a CMS location planning model that can be used by transportation agencies to develop a CMS location plan that could achieve the largest long-term benefit to the system. This research is mainly motivated by the lack of systematic, robust and practical methods for locating CMS. State-of-practice methods rely mostly on the practitioner's experience and judgement. Other methods fail to incorporate reasonable driver behaviour models, consider time-varying demand, allow for computational efficiency on large networks, or consider the spatial variation of incidents on a traffic network. A new CMS location optimization model has been developed that is unique in both model realism and computational efficiency. The model incorporates several components to estimate incident delay, predict driver response, estimate network-wide benefit, and choose those CMS locations that would provide the most benefit. Deterministic queuing methods are used in conjunction with historic incident characteristics to approximate the delay impact of an incident with and without CMS. A discrete choice model is used to predict the rate at which drivers would switch from the incident route to a less congested alternative under CMS information. A network traffic assignment model is then incorporated in an attempt to estimate the resulting traffic induced by incidents. Genetic algorithms are utilized as an optimization technique to choose a set of CMS that would provide the most benefit. An extensive computational analysis was performed on both a hypothetical network and a segment of Highway 401 through Toronto. A sensitivity analysis was performed to test the model's response to parameter and data estimation errors. The model was found to be most sensitive to the diversion model parameters. The model produced reasonable results with locations selected upstream of major freeway interchange diversion points. Considering the additional components included in the proposed model, and its ability to consider more location schemes, the proposed model may be considered superior to previous CMS location models.

Changeable Message Signs (CMS) are commonly utilized by transportation agencies to inform motorists of traffic, roadway, and environmental conditions. They may be used to provide information, such as delay and alternate route guidance, in the event of an incident, construction or a roadway closure. The effectiveness of CMS in managing freeway traffic, however, is a function of many factors including the number of CMS installations, the location of CMS, the messages displayed, varied traffic network characteristics, and drivers' response to incident conditions and CMS information. The objective of this thesis is to develop a CMS location planning model that can be used by transportation agencies to develop a CMS location plan that could achieve the largest long-term benefit to the system. This research is mainly motivated by the lack of systematic, robust and practical methods for locating CMS. State-of-practice methods rely mostly on the practitioner's experience and judgement. Other methods fail to incorporate reasonable driver behaviour models, consider time-varying demand, allow for computational efficiency on large networks, or consider the spatial variation of incidents on a traffic network. A new CMS location optimization model has been developed that is unique in both model realism and computational efficiency. The model incorporates several components to estimate incident delay, predict driver response, estimate network-wide benefit, and choose those CMS locations that would provide the most benefit. Deterministic queuing methods are used in conjunction with historic incident characteristics to approximate the delay impact of an incident with and without CMS. A discrete choice model is used to predict the rate at which drivers would switch from the incident route to a less congested alternative under CMS information. A network traffic assignment model is then incorporated in an attempt to estimate the resulting traffic induced by incidents. Genetic algorithms are utilized as an optimization technique to choose a set of CMS that would provide the most benefit. An extensive computational analysis was performed on both a hypothetical network and a segment of Highway 401 through Toronto. A sensitivity analysis was performed to test the model's response to parameter and data estimation errors. The model was found to be most sensitive to the diversion model parameters. The model produced reasonable results with locations selected upstream of major freeway interchange diversion points. Considering the additional components included in the proposed model, and its ability to consider more location schemes, the proposed model may be considered superior to previous CMS location models.

Unsafe driving habits increase the severity of roadway accidents. The behaviors that are generally associated with unsafe driving are influenced by drivers and their decision to engage in dangerous habits. In order to solve this problem, Departments of Transportation use roadside safety campaigns. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of these campaigns, this research study captured five different metrics of effectiveness to understand what messages are effective and how to target messages to different groups of people. Since reading and interpreting the messages produces cognitive activation among participants, a neuroimaging technology called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure neurocognitive activation as a proxy for response. The fNIRS system captures this cognitive activation by measuring change in oxygenated blood (oxy-Hb). An increase in oxy-Hb is a proxy for increased task engagement. The first journal paper provides an understanding of what types of messages are perceived as effective, are misunderstood, are memorable, are considered inappropriate, and cause the greatest increase in cognitive engagement. Overall, drivers perceive messages to be effective at changing behavior, but particular messages are perceived as more effective than others. Messages about distracted driving and driving without a seat belt, messages that are intended to produce a negative emotional response, and messages with statistics are the behaviors, emotions, and themes that are most likely to be perceived to change driver behavior. Messages about distracted driving and messages about statistics are most likely to be remembered by drivers. In general, drivers do not find messages used in safety campaigns to be inappropriate. Drivers elicit more cognitive attention to signs about distracted driving and signs with a humorous emotion. The second journal considers the effectiveness of these messages with different target demographics by further investigating the first journal's results by different dependent variables, including age, gender, and risky driving habits of the participants. In the second study, the results from the first study are further examined to determine if some campaigns are more effective among different demographics of drivers. The behavioral results indicated that females, drivers over 65, low-risk and high-risk drivers, and urban and rural drivers perceive the safety campaigns as more effective. The neurological data revealed that younger drivers had more activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, an area known for semantics and word processing, which might indicate more cognitive attention to these types of messages. This study provides a unique application of using neuroimaging techniques to understand driver response to safety messages. The recommendations for an effective safety campaign are to use messages about distracted driving, messages with an emotional stimulus, and messages about statistics. Messages about word play and rhyme are recommended for appealing to younger demographics. / Master of Science / Messages like "New year, new you, use your blinker" and "May the 4th be with you, text I will not" are increasingly used to catch drivers' attention. The development and use of these non-traditional safety messages are distinctly different than messages previously displayed on highway signs because the intent of these messages is to modify driver behavior rather than just provide information. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence measuring how effective these messages are at changing driver behavior or guidance on how to target messages for specific groups of people. The goal of this study was to understand what types of non-traditional safety messages are effective and how to target these messages to different target audiences. Roadway collisions are made more severe when the cause of the incident involves dangerous driving habits, such as distracted, impaired, or aggressive driving. The problem is made even more severe by the fact that the habits that make driving dangerous are affected by the driver's decision to engage in risky driving behavior. The solution to this problem is to gain an understanding of driver preferences and response, a research effort this study will address. Reading and interpreting the messages produces cognitive activation among participants. The study uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which allows researchers to capture this cognitive activation by measuring change in oxygenated blood (oxy-Hb). This provides not only the ability to gain a more detailed understanding of driver response, but the ability to triangulate this with what drivers perceive as effective in changing driver behavior. In the first study, the participants felt that campaigns targeting distracted driving, messages with a negative emotion, and campaigns about statistics were significantly more effective at changing driver behavior compared to other behaviors, emotions, and themes. The neurological data revealed that drivers respond more to campaigns about distracted driving. However, the neurological data indicates that humorous messages and messages that fit under the theme word play and rhyme elicit a greater cognitive response. The second study furthers the first study and revealed that females, drivers over 65, low-risk and high-risk drivers, and urban and rural drivers perceive the safety campaigns as more effective. The neurological data revealed that younger and older males and older high-risk drivers respond with greater peak oxy-Hb when compared to other groups of people. This study advances the applicability of fNIRS in traffic related studies.