Evaluating Countermeasures to Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

016533922018Research Report"A Report on Research Sponsored by SAFER-SIM"PDFTech ReportCountermeasuresCyclistsDesignDriversEvaluation and assessmentLeft turnsPedestrian safetySignalized intersectionsTraffic signalsWarning signsUnited StatesSafety Research Using Simulation (SAFER-SIM) University Transportation CenterNoyce, David A.Chitturi, Madhav V.Alsghan, IbrahimSantiago, Kelvin R.Bill, Andrea R.Safety Research Using Simulation (SAFER-SIM) University Transportation CenterUniversity Transportation Centers Program (U.S.)US Transportation CollectionPedestrian crashes have reached an alarming level in the U.S. Different factors could contribute to the occurrence of these crashes at an intersection, including driver errors, the type of maneuver, and pedestrian behaviors. All these factors highlight the need to develop a traffic warning signal to protect pedestrians and bicyclists at intersections. Therefore, a supplemental traffic signal has been proposed to warn the left-turning driver about crossing pedestrians and bicyclists at intersections. This signal will be activated when the pedestrian pushes a call button or when a bicyclist has been detected by a detection loop. The aim of this supplemental traffic signal is to enhance pedestrian and bicyclist detection by warning drivers who are focusing their attention on finding a gap in the oncoming traffic. A number of different supplemental warning traffic signal designs were proposed, and the evaluation of their designs was split into two stages. Stage 1 involved a screening tool to eliminate weak designs that are confusing or have poor legibility by asking drivers how well each design conveys the message. After collecting and analyzing 259 responses, results showed that two designs, identified throughout the report as Design 1 and Design 3, were ranked the highest. Design 1 is a supplemental yellow pedestrian warning indication. Design 3 is a modified version of an R10-15 MUTCD sign. Stage 2 involved an open-ended question survey that asked subjects to interpret the meaning of Design 1 and Design 3. A total of 145 responses were collected in Stage 2. An analysis of Stage 2 responses found Design 3 to be the most promising design for communicating the presence of conflicting pedestrians to left-turning drivers. Findings from the survey process will facilitate the evaluation of the scenarios on a driving-simulator platform by narrowing the conditions and factors tested during the experiment