The TRL car driving simulator (CarSim) has been used to evaluate several novel traffic management schemes, including Active Traffic Management, segregated motorway and a car share or High Occupancy Vehicle lane. Car share lanes are designated for vehicles with two or more occupants with the aim of increasing passenger throughput by giving priority to vehicles with multiple occupants. CarSim was used to assess the design of a car share lane for use on the motorway. The project evaluated the clarity of the signing and road markings; use and violations; impact on motorway exit behaviour; and driver attitudes towards the scheme. Forty-eight participants drove the route either as a single occupancy vehicle or as a high occupancy vehicle. The virtual environment was a realistic representation of a proposed motorway car share lane scheme. The results indicated a high degree of comprehension and compliance with the scheme. However the rules under emergency traffic arrangements were less well understood. The results provided valuable insight into the best strategies for their design and implementation on UK motorways.
Abstract