This document provides practical guidelines for the development, design, and operation of driver displays, both visual and auditory, for freeway traffic management. The emphasis is on the recommended content of messages to be displayed in various traffic situations; the manner in which messages are to be displayed--format, coding, style, length, load, redundancy, and number of repetitions; and where messages should be placed with respect to the situations they are explaining. The guidelines for visual and audio messages to be displayed in incident management/route diversion situations are based upon research and operational experience. The subject matter in the Design Guide is basically restricted to human factors design considerations with respect to motorist information displays for traffic management in freeway corridors. Once a decision has been made by the engineer to implement a motorist information system, the publication should provide guidance in message selection and the manner of message presentation for specific situations. Although the Design Guide is primarily intended for traffic engineers working in city, county, state, or private organizations, it should also be useful to traffic engineering students or trainees and to FHWA engineers at the district and regional levels who are responsible for project review and approval. /FHWA/.
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