At four test sites in Drenthe, one of the provices of the Netherlands, a basic package of speed-reducing measures for 80 km/h roads has been implemented consisting of a 2.25 m narrow traffic lane of 'smooth' asphalt, a 0.60 m 'discomfort' edge strip (4 m long blocks of chippings with a spacing of 4 m), and a 0.30 m central chipping strip marking. The emphasis of the current study was on quantifying effects of these measures on the lateral placement of vehicles. The driver behaviour at one experimental location was compared with that at a conventional 80 km/h road (lane width 2.75 m, and standard road delineation of 0.10 m centre and edge lines) by means of a quantitative analysis of video recordings.
Abstract