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Citation |
Batz TM. Transp. Res. Rec. 1989; 1239: 41-53. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1989, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of a new passing zone gore design on traffic characteristics. The new design was a painted gore at the beginning of the passing zone to guide the traffic into the right lane, thereby directing the slow-moving vehicles out of the left lane. The project was to determine whether the new gore design is more efficient than the old design because it allows more vehicles to pass and reduces illegal and erratic maneuvers and whether it has any effect on the safety of the roadway. The study demonstrated that when the new passing zone gore design was used, passing efficiency within the passing zone actually decreased at the 0.4-mile site, although it increased slightly at the 0.9-mile site. The number of illegal or erratic maneuvers, such as passes on the right and platoon leaders staying left or going through the gore, was reduced at the longer site, but increased at the shorter site. Safety did not appear to be affected by either passes on the right or going through the painted gore. From these findings came the following recommendations: (a) the new passing zone gore design should not be implemented at this time on passing zones of one-half mile or less in length; (b) the new passing zone gore design could be implemented on passing zones greater than one-half mile; (c) further research to deal with such factors as total passes and different passing zone lengths should be carried out to determine more specifically the effects of this new design on the traffic characteristics. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Highway Signs, Signals and Markings; Highway Systems; Highway Accidents--Accident Prevention; Highway Engineering--Research |