Construction zones pose a significant threat to both workers and drivers causing numerous injuries and deaths each year. Innovations in work zone safety could reduce these numbers. However, implementing work zone interventions before they are validated can undermine rather than enhance safety. The objective of this research is to demonstrate how driving simulators can be used to evaluate the effect of various work zone interventions on driver performance. This research was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of reviewing current work zone interventions, identifying gaps in the literature, evaluating the simulator requirements to implement each intervention, and obtaining feedback from subject matter experts. In the second phase, a study was designed to evaluate the effect of work zone barrier type (concrete barrier, drums, or 42-inch channelizers), presence or absence of a 4-ft lateral buffer, and work zone activity level (high or low) on measures of speed and lane position. Twelve middle aged (35-50 years old) and twelve senior (65-80 years old) participants completed six 12-minute drives in a National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) MiniSim. Their average speed, speed variability, average lane position, and lane position variability were measured. (Author/publisher)
Abstract