Citation

ITE J. 1980; 50(11): 12-15.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1980, Institute of Transportation Engineers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Research by Potters Industries investigated the effect of increasing roadway edgeline width on the lateral position behavior of alcohol-impaired drivers. Four edgeline conditions were evaluated on two-lane, curved rural roads: no marking, standard 4-in. wide lines, and lines 6-in. and 8-in. wide. Male college students drove twice around the test course on separate nights. A control group had only placebo drinks; the others were dosed (double blind) to 0.05 or 0.08 blood alcohol concentration on one trip and received placebos on the second. Vehicle position was evaluated photographically every 100 ft. along the test sections. All positional measurements showed adverse effects if the driver were alcohol-impaired. Statistically significant improvements were found with the standard edgelines; the 8-in. wide lines consistently resulted in further improvements. With the wider lines, the subjects exhibited less weaving and greater centrality of lane position. There was also tighter grouping performance, indicating fewer differences in the subjects' road perception. Wider edgelines produced reduced variations in mean position in both dosed and undosed subjects. This study, substantiated by real-world experience and other research results, underlines the importance of engineering approaches to cost-effective countermeasures against alcohol impaired driving.