FLUORESCENT ORANGE SIGN SHEETING EVALUATION BY A STATE DOT

The following paper describes the first phase of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) fluorescent orange sign sheeting evaluation. The general goal of the evaluation was to develop a reasonable list of approved fluorescent orange sign sheeting products while ensuring the approved products will function adequately for the intended purpose. The evaluation used a human factors type test with an expert panel of test subjects. The evaluation resulted in the conditional approval of three fluorescent orange prismatic sign sheeting materials for use on rigid/semi-rigid substrate materials and four prismatic roll-up sign materials. The approval of the materials is conditional, pending a follow-up evaluation after one year of outdoor exposure. BACKGROUND A recent Arizona Transportation Research Center study (1) indicates that 3 % of all reported accidents occur in work zones. The study also indicates that work zone accidents on the Arizona state system are over-represented when compared to all accidents statewide. While this study did not recommend any specific counter measures related to the type of work zone signing, it is obvious that advance signing is the first line of defense for warning and directing traffic safely through the work zone. It is also widely held that conspicuity of the warning sign is an important factor in driver recognition of warning signs. Hummer and Scheffler (2) found fluorescent orange signs in work zone