Citation

Johns RC, Matthias JS. Transp. Res. Rec. 1977; 643: 32-36.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1977, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The problem considered in this study was that of the effect of changing the color of the centerline stripe from white to yellow on the accident rate on undivided, two-lane, two-way highways in Arizona. Only sections of roadway that had remained essentially unchanged (except for the color of the centerline stripe) for a period of 1 year before and 1 year after the color change were studied. Accident data on 74 sections of roadway, totaling 4587 km (2867 miles), were analyzed and statistically tested for differences between the accident rate with white centerlines and the accident rate with yellow centerline under various road surface and light conditions. Of the eight accident-rate categories tested, the following four showed a significant increase: (a) the dawn or dusk accident rate, (b) the dawn or dusk accident rate during periods of wet pavement or poor visibility, (c) the nighttime accident rate during periods of wet pavement or poor visibility, and (d) the overall accident rate during periods of wet pavement or poor visibility. The following other four categories tested showed no significant change: (a) the nighttime accident rate, (b) the daytime accident rate, (c) the daytime accident rate during periods of wet pavement or poor visibility, and (d) the overall accident rate under all conditions combined. These data indicate that the currently used yellow centerline stripes are inferior to the previously employed white centerline stripes.