Effectiveness of Road Safety Messages on Variable Message Signs

Despite being promoted as a means to improve the efficiency and safety of the road network, the focus of most advanced technologies thus far has been on improving mobility rather than safety. For example, variable message signs are often installed for the sole purpose of providing travel advices to drivers even though they can be used to communicate a wide variety of messages. However, once installed, it is simply communication device and could be used for promoting road safety when not used to display traffic related information. This study examines the effects of some anti-speeding messages on driver attitudes and traffic speed on an inter-city highway. A questionnaire survey was developed and administered to a sample of nearly 100 drivers. The test site chosen for this quasi-experiment was Highway 2 between the Cities of Edmonton and Calgary. The study showed that the messages developed have only a relatively small albeit beneficial effect on driver attitudes and on-road traffic speed.

摘 要虽然多数先进技术应用的目的是改善路网的运行效率和安全性，但目前为止其在提高道路安全性方面的作用并不突出。例如，可以提供大容量、多方面信息的可变信息板，其设立之初的唯一目的是引导驾驶员的道路行驶。事实上，这种信息传达装置在不发布路段行驶信息的情况下，还可以发布交通安全信息以改善交通安全状况。本文选取两种禁止超速信息为研究对象，分析了该信息的发布对于驾驶员态度和路段行驶车速的影响。对近100名驾驶员进行抽样调查。测试路段为加拿大埃德蒙顿市和卡尔加里市间2号高速公路。研究结果表明，本文所选取的两种禁止超速标识对驾驶员态度和行驶车速产生的影响相对较小。