Assessment of the Effectiveness of Wrong Way Driving Countermeasures and Mitigation Methods
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Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-15/0-6769-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WRONG WAY Published: December 2014 DRIVING COUNTERMEASURES AND MITIGATION METHODS 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Melisa D. Finley, Steven P. Venglar, Vichika Iragavarapu, Jeffrey D. Report 0-6769-1 Miles, Eun Sug Park, Scott A. Cooner, and Stephen E. Ranft 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas A&M Transportation Institute College Station, Texas 77843-3135 11. Contract or Grant No. Project 0-6769 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report: Research and Technology Implementation Office September 2012–August 2014 th 125 E. 11 Street 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78701-2483 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: Wrong Way Driving Countermeasures URL: http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6769-1.pdf 16. Abstract This report describes the methodology and results of tasks performed to evaluate the effectiveness of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers reviewed the state of the practice regarding wrong way driving in the United States and Texas. Based on Texas crash data from 2007 through 2011, the majority of wrong way driving crashes on controlled-access highways occur in major metropolitan areas at night between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Driving under the influence was the primary contributing factor. Therefore, researchers designed and conducted two closed-course studies to determine the effectiveness of select wrong way driving countermeasures on alcohol-impaired drivers. In addition, researchers obtained data from several Texas agencies that had installed wrong way driving countermeasures and/or mitigation methods on their road network. Using these datasets, researchers assessed the effectiveness of these strategies in actual operational environments. Researchers used the findings from these studies to develop recommendations regarding the implementation of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers used the focus group discussion method to obtain motorists’ opinions regarding the design of wrong way driver warning messages. Researchers also reviewed previous literature and message design manuals to gain insight into the design of wrong way driver warning messages that could be posted on dynamic message signs. Based on the findings, researchers developed two single-phase wrong way driver warning messages for dynamic message signs. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Wrong Way Driving, Wrong Way Countermeasures, No restrictions. This document is available to the Wrong Way Detection Systems, Dynamic Message public through NTIS: Signs, Impaired Driving National Technical Information Service Alexandria, Virginia 22312 http://www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 172 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WRONG WAY DRIVING COUNTERMEASURES AND MITIGATION METHODS by Melisa D. Finley, P.E. Eun Sug Park, Ph.D. Research Engineer Research Scientist Texas A&M Transportation Institute Texas A&M Transportation Institute Steven P. Venglar, P.E. Scott A. Cooner, P.E. Research Engineer Research Engineer Texas A&M Transportation Institute Texas A&M Transportation Institute Vichika Iragavarapu, P.E. and Assistant Research Engineer Texas A&M Transportation Institute Stephen E. Ranft Assistant Research Specialist Jeffrey D. Miles, P.E. Texas A&M Transportation Institute Assistant Research Engineer Texas A&M Transportation Institute Report 0-6769-1 Project 0-6769 Project Title: Wrong Way Driving Countermeasures Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration Published: December 2014 TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER This research was performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of FHWA or TxDOT. The United States Government and the State of Texas do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. This report is not intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. The engineer in charge of the project was Melisa D. Finley, P.E. (TX-90937). v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was conducted in cooperation with TxDOT and FHWA. Wade Odell, Cary Choate, and Darrin Jenson of TxDOT served as the project managers. The following TxDOT employees served on the project working group: Michael Chacon, Ted Clay, Rick Cortez, Brian Fariello, John Gaynor, John Gianotti, Martin Gonzalez, Omar Madrid, and Roy Parikh. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance and direction that these individuals provided over the course of the project. The authors recognize Mack Cowan, Margaret Cunningham, and the many other Department of Public Safety staff that assisted with the alcohol dosing and blood alcohol content measurements. The authors also acknowledge the contributions of Maury Dennis, Laura Higgins, Bari Kotwal, Albert Reeder, Sandra Stone, Nada Trout, Troy Walden, Christin Yager, and the many other Texas A&M Transportation Institute staff that assisted in the design and conduct of the various studies completed during this project. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 1 Contents of This Report .............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: State of the Practice ................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 Historical and Ongoing Wrong Way Driving Research ............................................................. 3 Outside of Texas ..................................................................................................................... 3 Within Texas ........................................................................................................................... 8 Catalog of Wrong Way Driving Countermeasures and Mitigation Methods ........................... 18 Analysis of Wrong Way Driving Crashes in Texas .................................................................. 19 Dataset................................................................................................................................... 20 Results ................................................................................................................................... 22 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3: Closed-Course Studies ............................................................................................ 35 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 35 First Study ................................................................................................................................. 35 Treatments............................................................................................................................. 35 Vehicles and Instrumentation ............................................................................................... 39 Study Procedure .................................................................................................................... 40 Participants ............................................................................................................................ 43 Data Reduction...................................................................................................................... 43 Results ................................................................................................................................... 45 Second Study ............................................................................................................................ 59 Treatments............................................................................................................................